Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • 9

PORT MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2016 I www.jg-tC.COm I SECTION Defense leads EIU men over WIU EIU ends season with a win we communicate," said Crossland, who also finished with 17 points. "We know if we want to win, the offense will come, we have to worry about stopping people from scoring. Everyone can score the ball, but it's about who is going to get the stop first. If we keep playing defense, we are going to be alright." McReynolds led EIU with 21 points and seven rebounds, Montell 'Silk' Goodwin had 12 points, Muusa Dama had 10 points and seven rebounds and Cornell Johnston had 10 points and four assists. Down 8-4 start, Johnston hit a 3-pointer, which sparked a 10-0 run to give EIU a 14-8 lead and the Panthers never trailed again.

After Covington hit a 3-pointer, EIU came back with Please see EIU MEN, Page B3 Covington all game. The Panthers forced 21 turnovers and turned those into 33 points, which proved to be crucial as EIU snapped its losing streak to WIU with a 73-64 victory on Saturday at Lantz Arena. EIU improved to 2-2 with the win. "Coach installs in practice defense, defense, defense, so we know if we want to win, defense is first," said EIU's Ray Crossland, who had six steals and helped guard Covington along with Demetrius McReynolds. "Covington is a hell of a player and difficult to defend.

We are going to see him again, so we will keep working on our defense so we can hopefully do the same thing again. We just had to bring energy and stay focused." EIU coach Jay Spoonhour said Crossland gives the team something it's been missing the past few seasons. JUSTIN RUST justin.rustlee.net CHARLESTON Even though the Western Illinois men's basketball team was 1-2 coming into Saturday's contest against Eastern Illinois, the Leathernecks were still averaging 73.7 points a game and had three players averaging double figures. So if the Panthers were goingto snap a five-game losing streak to the Leathernecks, they needed some help from their defense. EIU's defense did more than just help, though.

Even though Garret Covington, who was averaging 17 points per game coming into the contest, scored 22 points, he was 5-of-14 from the field and 3-of-11 from behind the arc. He was 9 -of- 9 from the free throw line, but he also turned the ball over six times. EIU's defense did more than bother "We have played them enough to know how good Covington is and how good (Jabari) Sandifer is. They have talented guys. Ray is something we haven't had since I've been here, a 6 -5 guy who is athletic and likes to guard and has length," Spoonhour said.

"That's an important thing. I thought he was outstanding tonight. I thought Demetrius was good, too. The guys defensively did a nice job." Crossland and McReynolds stuck with Covington even with WIU running a bunch of screens to try and get the senior open. Even when another WIU player had the ball, the Leathernecks kept running a good amount of screens.

EIU was able to recognize the screens with good communication. "If you communicate anything on defense and we all want it, we have a very good defensive team as long as RICHMOND, Ky. (JG-TC) Even though Eastern Illinois' playoff chances were wiped out, the Panthers still wanted to finish the 2016 season with a winning record. Thanks to EIU's defense, another big game from Devin Church and a good performance from quarterback Jared Pilson, the Panthers ended the season with a 6-5 record (4-4 Ohio Valley Conference) after a 24-0 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. "I am proud of the effort.

I am proud of our coaches. I am proud of the kids to stay the course. To play that game at the end of the season when you are playing for pride says a lot about the kids," EIU coach Kim Dameron said. "I would like to be in the playoffs. It's hard to end the season, but we are looking to the future now and have a lot of kids back.

We are looking forward to seeing what the team looks like in the fall." EIU's defense was strong from the start, holding the Colonels to only 152 yards of total offense with most of the mnasium production coming in the first half. EKU was held to 19 total yards and no first downs in the second half. It was the first shutout for EIU since Sept. 12, 2009, when the Panthers blanked Indiana State 31-0. The last OVC shutout before Saturday for EIU was Oct.

7, 2006, with a 21-0 victory over Southeast Missouri State. The Panthers also forced four turnovers on the day. "They played very well, played hard and fundamentally played good. It wasn't super complicated, line up and play the run and see if they could beat us," Dameron said. "The turnovers were a welcome sight.

It helped with momentum. A couple of them were mistakes on their part and a cou- Tr ') itiiiA, WA injt' JUSTIN RUST, JOURNAL GAZETTE TIMES-COURIER Pictured is the 2016 Charleston High School boys basketball team. In front, Luke Buescher, Isaiah Hughes, Darrell Phillips and Reid Littleford. In the middle, manager Jimmy Peterlich, Mason McGahey, Blake Bonnstetter, Chaz Acord, Justin Wilson, Blaze Lutz, Chase Staggs and manager Alex Loy. In back, assist coach Jon Hanner, head coach Blain Mayhall, Ridge Boyer, Wyatt Garrett, Zach Bennett, Kevin Dowd, assistant coach Andrew Leigh, assistant coach Craig Boone and junior varsity coach Randy Harpster.

Mayhall wants Trojans to play as a unit things we've been needing more and more all year along and it was good to see that performance in the last game." Church came into the game needed 111 yards to reach 1,000 for the season. In the fourth quarter, Church broke free for a 68-yard run to reach the mark. The senior, who transferred from Illinois, finished with 177 yards on 25 carries and a touchdown. He added 31 yards on two catches. "We were going to give him opportunities, not just for him, but because our football team is better when he is running well," Dameron said.

"If anyone deserves it, it's him. He'll be an all-conference performer and he is going to lead the conference in rushing. Devin is a class act and I was very happy to see it not only for him, but for the team. When you have a rushing, it's the offensive line, the quarterback, the receivers and tight end, the coaches, the gameplans, all of that. It's a heck of a team thing." Pilson, a Mattoon graduate, received his first career start at quarterback with Mitch Kimble out with an ankle injury.

Pilson rotated with Austin Green in the first half, but he played the whole second half. Pilson finished with 41 yards rushing and a touchdown on 11 carries and he was 8-of-ll passing for 127 yards. "I was really proud of Jared and the way he played. The one thing we know with Jared, he does exactly what you ask him to do and is very careful with the football," Dameron said. "He has some athleticism.

He operates well, he is smart, makes the right reads and I am proud of him." cept on offense, too. "I feel that we need to move the ball well and attack the basket when given the opportunity," Mayhall said. "We don't have a lot of size, but I feel that we can still get plenty of inside shots. When we do that, we will be able to kick it back out for open, outside looks." While Mayhall hopes the offense improves this season, his focus is on the defensive end. The Trojans gave up 63.1 points per game.

"That has been a main focus this summer and into the beginning of the season," Mayhall said. "We want to get after other teams on the defensive end. Hopefully using our quickness to cause some turnovers. My thought has always been that the best offense is a great defense. If you can turn the ball over, it creates opportunities for fast break points.

It also gives you more Please see TROJANS, Page B2 schedule is important, but we must do a better job in conference play." The Charleston boys' basketball games will be broadcasted on WWGO 92.1 FM this season. So far, the team has put in the work Mayhall is looking for right away. They have worked their tails off this summer and so far this season," Mayhall said. "They have bought into playing hard at the defensive end, being aggressive and working together as a team on both ends." The Trojans return their leading scorer from last season. As a junior, Blaze Taylor-Lutz averaged 14.2 points per game and was an All-Apollo Conference selection and earned a spot on the JG-TC All-Area team.

He shot 45.1 percent from the field and he was second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game. Charleston is going to lean on Taylor-Lutz this season again. "He is very capable of scoring a lot of points on any given night Mayhall said. "He will have a lot of help this year on both ends." The Trojans do need to find a second scorer with the graduation of Will Strader. Seniors Mason McGahey, Ridge Boyer and Wyatt Garrett all return and all three received starts at different points of the season.

Mayhall thinks there plenty of players who can pick up the points Charleston needs alongside Taylor-Lutz. "We have probably eight guys that can put the ball in the basket," Mayhall said. "It wouldn't surprise me if we have a different leading scorer every night. None of them care who ends up having the most points as long as we win. They are unselfish and aware of who has the hot hand.

This will help us in games where the defense focuses on one or two of our top scorers." Mayhall is sticking to an easy con JUSTIN RUST justin.rustlee.net CHARLESTON -Even though the Charleston High School boys' basketball team won four more games last season than it did in 2014-15, the Trojans still finished with a 9 -17 including on only one win in Apollo Conference play. The Trojans hope to take another step forward this season and it will be with a different coach as Blain Mayhall takes over as the Charleston boys' basketball coachn replacing Jim Wood. While he would like to see the team win more than nine games, he has a simple goal for the team this season. "Our main goal this year is to play hard and be competitive on a nightly basis," Mayhall said. "We want to get after it on both ends every time we set foot on the floor.

We also want to focus on playing as a unit. Every game on our Maroa-Forsyth ends Shelbyville's sensational season EKU first turnover came early in the second quarter when onn third-and-7, Tyler Swafford went back to pass and Nick Home hit him as he was about to throw. Swafford fumbled and Johnson recovered the ball to end the drive. When EKU got the ball back, the Colonels drove to the EIU 22-yard line and faced third-and-4. Swafford's throw was intercepted by Tray Mitchell at the 17-yard line and he returned it to the 23.

The Panthers were forced to punt from their 37-yard line, but the Colonels had trouble fielding the kick and EIU recovered the fumble and took over at the EKU 34-yard line. game for us." With the wind howling in the 30 mile an hour range to the eastnortheast the coin toss became more important than it usually is. "We knew that with them kicking with the wind we were going to be pinned deep, said Duckett. "The entire first quarter they had us pinned." Maroa coach Josh Jostes said of the coin toss, "It was a great way to start. With conditions as they were you were hoping to win the toss.

Normally, I don't care about it and usually I take the ball even if we win the toss. It worked in our favor and we were able to get off to a fast start and make them punt into the wind." Shelbyville received the opening kick, but were only able to gain a yard in three plays and had a 15-yard punt. Maroa's first possession was at the Rams 43 and it took six plays to find the end zone as Jaxon Nelson scored on a four-yard run after the drive started with a 12-yard run by Deondre Greg EIU faced third-and-9 when Pilson MIKE MONAHAN mike.monahanlee.net MAROA Shelbyville's best football season since 2004 ended Saturday at Walter Boyd Field. Maroa-Forsyth out gained the Rams 469-212 and held Shelbyville to its lowest offensive game since falling to Tolono Unity Oct. 25, 2013 (25-7) in a 48-8 Trojan victory.

Shelbyville's season ends at 9-4 and the nine wins was the most in a season since the 2004 team went 10-3 and the 1987 team that went 9 -2. The 2004 team also reached the Class 2A semifinals. Shelbyville received the semifinal plaque and lifted a loft on a bitterly cold day from the team huddle. "We have had a lot of things on and off the field that led up this point and we are all going to be better for it," said Shelbyville coach Bill Duck-ett, who just completed his first season at his alma mater. "I know it is always tough for the seniors, being that last game.

We have talked in the last few weeks about how only one team goes home with a win. We wanted to be that team. There are a lot of others that went home with a loss earlier. I am just superproudof thenL It doesn't always go your way and it was a tough f'MA et jjjy rc H'f-'f i- iiriiiiiii" -nrii-ii threw to Church for a screen pass and the senior ninningback took it 30 yards to the 3-yard line. On second down, Pilson kept it and scored on a 3-yard run to give the Panthers a 7- 0 lead with 4:15 left before the half.

The two teams traded a couple of punts to start the second half, EIU's offense hit on abigplay to setup a touchdown. On second-and-3 from the EKU 48 -vard line. Pilson took a shot deeD and Anthonv Tavlor stretched out to ory. Reilly Fitzpatrick added the point after for Trojan lead. haul it in for a 40-vard train.

On the next Dlav. Church had some room on the outside and scored on the 8 -vard Shelbyfvlle picked up a first down on its next possession on a nine-yard run Please ice SHELfWiLU, Page B3 JIM BOWUN6, LEE NEWS SERVICE Shelbyville's Kentrell Beck (21) makes a catch while defended by Maroa-Forsyth's Jaxson Nelson In the IHSA Class 2A state semifinal game at Walter Boyd Field in Maroa Saturday. PtaM see MU FOOTBALL, Page B2.