Hunter Whitecotton for River Radio Sports Central
BENTON — The Benton Rangerswasted little time asserting control and cruised past Sesser-Valier 78–46 in the opening round of the 51st Annual Benton Invitational Tournament on Monday night.
The host Rangers jumped out to a 24–16 lead after one quarter behind eight points from T.J. Hamilton and steadily widened the gap with pressure defense and transition scoring. Sesser-Valier kept pace early as Paxton Schurtz scored eight points in the opening frame, but Benton’s depth proved decisive.
“I thought our guys did a really good job to start the game through the first quarter,” Sesser-Valier coach Marcus Clarry said. “But they really punched us in the mouth in that second quarter. Our guys weren’t ready for that and didn’t respond very well.”
Benton opened the second quarter on a 10-5 run to extend the lead to 34–21. A 3-pointer from Kruz Koester followed by a steal-and-score from Drake Porter pushed the margin to 39–22 with 3:20 left in the half. Late perimeter shooting capped the surge, as Clay Gage knocked down a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds to send Benton into the locker room with a commanding 50–26 halftime lead.
Hamilton and Nolan Schafer each scored 13 points in the first half to lead all scorers. Kyan Short paced the Red Devils with 11 points before halftime.
“T.J. has made a bunch of shots for us,” Benton coach Ron Winemiller said. “When he’s knocking those down, it really helps us expand our offense and lets guys like Nolan get to the rim and finish in transition.”
The Rangers continued to apply pressure in the third quarter, quickly turning defense into offense. After Sesser-Valier opened the half with a basket, Porter converted a steal into a three-point play, and Hamilton followed with a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 58–30. Bentons Van Horn beat the buzzer at the end of the quarter to take a 63–36 advantage into the fourth.
“We’re still a pretty young team,” Clarry said. “But at some point we can’t keep hanging our hat on that. These guys have varsity experience now and they’ve got to step up into their roles.”
With a running clock in the final period, Benton controlled the tempo and continued to extend the lead with inside baskets and second-chance points before closing out the win.
“That’s exactly what we talked about,” Winemiller said. “You can’t win a bracketed tournament without winning the first one. Our guys did a really good job keeping them off balance and executing our game plan.”
Benton improved to 15–4 on the season and advanced to the semifinals, where it will face Flora, a 55–47 winner over Herrin in Monday’s second game.
“It’s really important to bounce back,” Winemiller said. “You can’t let one loss turn into three or four. Our guys stepped up tonight and put that behind them.”
Sesser-Valier fell to 6–11 overall and will play Herrin in the consolation bracket Thursday.
“This tournament will challenge you and make you better,” Clarry said. “The opponents we see here will only help these kids develop, and the new format gives us a chance to reset and be more prepared.”
Stats
SVW – Schurtz – 5 0/0 – 13 points, Short – 4 0/0 – 11 points, Downey – 4 0/0 – 8 points, Kistner – 2 1/2 – 5 points, Williams – 2 0/0 – 5 points, Packer – 1 0/0 – 2 points, Newberry – 1 0/0 – 2 points Totals – 19 1/2 (50%) 46 points.
Benton – Hamilton – 6 2/3 – 18 points, Porter – 6 2/2 – 14 points, Schafer – 6 1/1 – 13 points, Wiggs – 4 0/0 – 9 points, Gage – 2 1/3 – 6 points, Croslin – 3 0/0 – 6 points, Vanhorn – 2 0/0 – 5 points, Dawson – 1 0/0 – 2 points, Koester – 1 0/0 – 2 points Totals – 31 8/11 (73%) 78 points
