Hunter Whitecotton for River Radio Sports Central
MURPHYSBORO — Benton built an early lead, withstood a second-half rally and closed the game at the free-throw line to beat Murphysboro 54-47 on the road Tuesday night.
The Rangers led 13-8 after the first quarter and stretched the margin to 22-15 midway through the second. Nolan Schafer scored 12 points to lead all scorers in the first half as Benton carried a 28-18 advantage into halftime.
“I was just trying to let the game come to me,” Schafer said. “I try not to get ahead of myself and force things. It’s easier to get into a rhythm that way.”
Murphysboro made its push after the break, cutting the deficit to five with 4:38 left in the third quarter. Cash Brooks, who scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half, knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the lead to two at the 3:20 mark. Airrion Swansey Jr. followed with a 3 that briefly put Murphysboro ahead 35-34 with 2:52 remaining in the period.
“We talked at halftime about how good teams like Murphysboro make runs,” Benton head coach Ron Winemiller said. “Brooks got hot in the second half, so we made an adjustment and put Schafer on him, which helped us a lot.”
Benton answered quickly. Schafer hit a 3-pointer to regain the lead, and senior T.J. Hamilton followed with another from deep to push the margin back to five. Benton took a 40-35 lead into the fourth quarter.
“Schafer is one of the guys we got back who played in the state championship,” Winemiller said. “We really rely on him, and so far he’s risen to the occasion.”
Drake Porter scored on Benton’s opening possession of the fourth to make it 42-35, and the Rangers extended the lead to 11 with 4:05 remaining. Murphysboro continued to battle as Brooks connected on another 3-pointer and senior Myles Guthman later cut the deficit to four, but Benton sealed the win by going 8 for 8 from the free-throw line in the final minutes.
“That’s huge,” Winemiller said. “You never know how a new team is going to react, and for our guys to step up and put the game away was big. I’m really proud of them.”
Benton improves to 7-1, while Murphysboro falls to 4-2. The Rangers return to Southern Illinois River-to-River Mississippi Conference play Friday at home against Anna-Jonesboro before traveling to Cairo on Saturday in non-conference action. The Red Devils will try to rebound Friday on the road against Herrin in SIRR-Ohio play
Scoring:
Benton
Nolan Schafer – 16, Drake Porter 12, Jaxton Wiggs, 10, Clay Gage 9, T.J Hamilton 7
Murphysboro
Cash Brooks 16, Myles Guthman 12, Michael Bradfield 10, Airrion Swansey Jr. 5, DaeJohn Beard 4
