BY JOHN D. HOMAN

Logan Media Services

CARTERVILLE – John A. Logan College men’s basketball coach Kyle Smithpeters may have found a new weapon Wednesday night as the Volunteers crushed Lewis & Clark College on “Carterville Night” in a Region 24 match, 95-53.

In his first college start, sophomore forward Jamie Jones of Herrin unloaded for 33 points and tied a school record for most 3-pointers made in a game with nine. He now shares the record with Russell Jupiter first set in 1991. Jones did manage to set the record for consecutive triples with eight.

“I guess the extra shots in the gym are paying off,” said Jones, who was unable to suppress a smile. “On a couple of them I heard the crowd yell…I didn’t even know I made them.”

JALC sophomore forward Jamie Jones goes up for a 3-pointer Wednesday against Lewis & Clark College. Jones cut loose with nine bombs that reached their destination, tying a 21-year-old school record. (Photo courtesy Jonathan LeBlond)

Jones said it felt like anything he shot was going to go in the basket. On one occasion, one of his long-range bombs was even tipped, but still found the mark.

“It’s a great feeling to have. I guess I made Coach look good for starting me tonight,” he joked. “The only thing better is if this had happened on Herrin Night. I guess I’ll have to make 10 threes next week.”

Smithpeters had only praise for Jones.

“Jamie’s done everything we’ve asked him to do since Day One,” he said. “He has struggled at times just because of his size and the physicality of the game, but he can shoot the basketball. We had one of our best practices of the year Tuesday and I told everybody that whoever plays well and competes hard is going to play a lot.

“And Jamie’s had a great month of January, both in practice and in the games. Tonight, everything fell into place for him and I’m very happy for him. He’s a great weapon. It’s good to have somebody on the floor who can hit shots and force the other team to guard you. When that happens, things open up inside.”

While it was Jones’ night to shine, his supporting cast was none too shabby. Freshman center Kaylen Shane scored a season-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and yanked down seven rebounds. Freshman forward Sondale Conner followed with 14 points, including two ferocious windmill slams and a pair of triples.

“I felt really comfortable out there tonight. We needed this one. We needed to come out and play hard and get a win,” Conner said. “Now, it’s a matter of staying focused and carrying this momentum over to the next game.”

Jamie Jones (middle) gets congratulated by Carterville native Drew Bonner (left) and Du Quoin grad Connor Wheeler after Jones knocked down his eighth-straight 3-pointer. (Photo courtesy Jonathan LeBlond)

Freshman forward Jay Johnson was also in double figures with 11. Aaron Adeoye chipped in eight points. Julian Hernandez knocked down a trey and finished with five points.

Freshman point guard Connor Wheeler didn’t shoot once, but had a whopping nine assists with no turnovers. Stephen McCarty’s 16 points led the Trailblazers.

The Vols led 40-27 at the half and never looked back.

Smithpeters said it was important to get back on the winning track after dropping consecutive road games at Vincennes and Rend Lake.

“I’m very happy for the guys. They did this for themselves and showed what kind of team they can be,” he said. “But we have to be consistent. It can’t be one game and then take another one off.”

The Vols, now 11-6 overall, travel to Mattoon Saturday night to take on Lake Land.

“They have big guys to match us inside and quick guards. We’re going to have to come out and compete hard and keep them off the glass,” Smithpeters said. “It will be a very tough game for us, but hopefully, we’ll be ready to go.”

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Northern Iowa used suffocating defense and timely 3-point shooting to coast past Southern Illinois, 58-45, on Wednesday night.

The Salukis (8-11, 1-7) were held below 50 points for the first time this season and the 45-point total was the lowest for SIU in the 51-game history of the series between the schools.

“The thing they do defensively is they make you shoot jump shots,” SIU head coach Barry Hinson said. “They’re absolutely the best. They play man-zone and they back off, make you hit jump shots, and when you don’t have a guy who can score inside, it makes you a jump-shooting team.”

Dantiel Daniels led SIU with 11 points.

Trailing by six points at halftime, Southern went more than four minutes to start the second half without scoring. That allowed the Panthers (11-9, 4-4) to run off 10 unanswered points. The final six came on 3-pointers by Marc Sonnen, who converted 5-of-8 shots from downtown and led all scorers with 15 points.

“He’s put in a ton of time for the past 18 months — a minimum 500 shots a day in the off-season,” said UNI head coach Ben Jacobson. “The confidence he’s playing with is a result of working hard.”

Northern made 8-of-15 shots from 3-point as a team, and Hinson said Sonnen’s hot shooting was no surprise.

“He just sits over there in that corner and waits,” Hinson said. “Seventy-two percent of his shots have been threes on the year. We knew it, we expected it. I’ll give up a wide-open three before I give up a dunk or a layup.”

As it has all year, Southern played small-ball, always using a lineup with four or five guards. Jacobson said it was difficult, at times, for his team to run offense against such an unusual alignment.

“You don’t practice against five guards and you don’t play against five guards except in this game,” he said. “When they have four or five guards on the floor, it changes the way you can run your offense. We were able to get a few more touches (inside) in the second half and that jump-started us.”

The Panthers led by as many as 19 points in second half, and the closest the Salukis came was 13. SIU attempted a season-low 41 shots, but that was partially by design, Hinson said.

“The pace was exactly what we wanted,” he explained. “The last two teams to come in here got beat 31 and 13. We knew that we would have to literally grind it a little bit. Mr. (Henry) Iba would have been proud of me tonight.”

Dantiel Daniels was SIU’s only double-figure scorer with 11 points. Hinson pointed out that the team’s primary big man only had one rebound, however, and Southern lost the battle of the boards, 29-22.

“Dantiel has to play a lot better for us, and I think he can,” Hinson said. “When you’re that size and you get one rebound, I think that speaks volumes with what’s going on with energy and effort. Offensively, it’s not an issue, but he’s got to come out of a game with more than one rebound.”

Midway through the second half, the officials stopped play, reviewed the in-house video and ejected SIU forward Jeff Early for committing a Flagrant 2 foul. Hinson said he didn’t see the play, but acknowledged that his senior leader may have to serve a one-game suspension after the league reviews the incident that occurred between Early and Jake Koch.

“I think there were two culprits, but the second guy gets caught,” Hinson said.

After losing its first two conference games, Northern Iowa is starting to get hot, having won four of its last six. The Panthers are certainly in contention for one of the coveted top six seeds at the conference tournament.

“We bounced back and forth for so long and our guys deserve credit for not allowing that early part of the season to distract from our preparation,” Jacobson said.

The last time SIU won at Northern Iowa was 10 years ago, nearly to the day, when Bruce Weber guided the Salukis to an overtime victory.

The Salukis have lost 12-straight MVC road games dating back to last season. It is the second-longest streak in school history behind a 15-game road losing streak in conference games from 1982-84 under head coach Allen Van Winkle.

Herrin High School senior Abby Horn signed a letter of intent Thursday to play volleyball on scholarship at John A. Logan College next fall. The three-sport standout is expected to play either the middle or outside-hitting position on the front row for the Vols. (Logan Media Services photo)

BY JOHN D. HOMAN

Logan Media Services

HERRIN – One of the premier female prep athletes in Southern Illinois accepted a scholarship offer Thursday to play volleyball at John A. Logan College next fall.

Herrin High School senior standout Abby Horn is a multi-year All-Conference and All-South spiker and was a key component of the Tigers’ regional championship team in 2011. She has mostly played middle hitter for Herrin, but can also play the outside or rightside hitter’s positions. Horn is a skilled passer from the back row, as well, making her an all-around talent.

The signing was music to the ears of Vols head coach Bill Burnside.

“We’re real excited. I think Abby is a heck of a volleyball player, will get even better the next two years, and is going to have a big impact on our program,” he said. “She’s very good defensively, blocking in the front row, and even better offensively as a hitter. She can help us a number of different ways.”

Burnside said that once Horn locks in on one sport, there’s no telling just how good she can be.

“I think that Abby is one who will focus on becoming the best player she can be. If she progresses as I think she will, she can be an impact player with a four-year school when she leaves Logan.”

Burnside said this year’s senior class is exceptionally talented throughout the region.

“I’m glad to say we have quite a few of these local kids signed,” he said. “I think it’s going to be nice to represent this area the way we will be able to next fall. It will make winning matches that much more enjoyable.”

Many of the Logan players already know one another.

“They’ve played quite a bit of volleyball together at the SIU club, so I think they can build on that experience here at Logan,” he said.

Also a talented basketball player and track athlete, Horn said she is ready to specialize in one sport.

“It’s been a long time coming to just focus in on one sport and then have time to recover after the season is over,” she said. “Don’t get me wrong. Playing the other sports has been fun. I wouldn’t trade those experiences for the world, but it’s kind of exciting not knowing exactly what my potential could be when I compete in volleyball only. By getting to work with college coaches every day, I’m excited to see how far that instruction takes me.”

Horn said choosing Logan was made easier by the fact that she had already played for Vols assistant coach Jimmy White at the club level and has competed with and against so many other current and future Logan players.

That list includes current JALC freshmen Kasey Krough and Ryley Miller of Carbondale and Alyssa Sturgeon of Murphysboro, as well as incoming freshmen, Audrey Vaughn and Jessica Stanton of Murphysboro, Alison Webb of Goreville and Erin Dodd of Marion.

“I’m looking forward to having these girls as teammates,” Horn said. “It’s going to be fun going to school together and rooming together. I just hope that we can help make the team even more successful than it already is.”

Herrin head coach Irv Lukens had high praise for his prize pupil.

“I’m very happy for Abby,” he said. “It’s always pleasing to see one of your players move forward to the next level and I think she can be a good one for Logan. She handles herself well around the net, can spike the ball very well and is a good blocker – a real force.”