Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 7

Saturday, March 12, 1988 Mattoon, (11.) journal uazetie u-i 7 Cards' Magrane prefers actions over words. B4 Gene Mauch leaves Angels team. B5 6 golfers share lead in Honda Classic. B6 Feezel paces St.Elmo win I iyji 1 4-ij I i tea T- 1. APUMfPtlOtO St.Elmo's flashy little senior guard Kevin Maxey sails into basket 'Lucky' Eagles still flying of 3 points in the first half.

Funneman opened the second half with a 3-point goal and added two more 3-pointers in the third period to open a 41-16 advantage. Pana led 44-23 after three periods. Pana then scored 13 straight points before Beardstown scored again as Panther Coach Charles Strasburger emptied his bench midway through the fourth period. Hamilton led Beardstown with 10 points and Morrow finished with 7, getting 5 of them in the closing seconds. Walther Lutheran 59, Lena-Winslow46 CHAMPAIGN Andrew Amaya scored 22 points and Brian Hill added 20 Friday night to lead Walther Lutheran to a 59-46 victory over Lena-Winslow.

The triumph sent the Broncos from Melrose Park charging into the semifinals of the Class A Illinois High School Basketball Tournament. Walther Lutheran, a team that had a 0-24 record two years ago, boosted its mark to 30-3 while Lena-Winslow dropped out of contention with 26-4 record. Jon Julius led the Panthers with 16 points. Two of Walther's three losses this season were to Class AA teams. Lena-Winslow got off to a quick start.

The Panthers led 4-0, 6-4 and 7-6 before they got stuck. Walther Lutheran's bucking Broncos, led by Hill and Amaya, scored the next 22 points to take a 28-7 lead. The Panthers went dry for nearly nine minutes until 3:11 remained in the first half when Julius, their leading scorer throughout the season, finally converted a 3-point play to chop the lead to 28-10. But Lutheran scored the next four points for a 32-10 advantage on the way to 34-15 half time lead. Hill, who had a 3-pointer in the second quarter, popped in two more from long range early in the third quarter to send the Broncos winging to a 42-19 lead.

Lena-Winslow put on a late surge in the third quarter with three 3-point goals, one by Jess Schumacher and two by Julius, but the Broncos answered with three regular baskets and it was 52-30 after three quarters. The final quarter saw reserves from both benches flood the floor. P-ville 83, Watseka 64 CHAMPAIGN All-State Barry' Graskewicz scored 24 points Friday night to lead top-ranked Pinckneyville to an 83-64 triumph over No. 2 Watseka in the quarterfinals of the Illinois High School Basketball Tournament. The Panthers took the lead late in the first quarter and gradually rolled to what finally turned into a rout despite 28 points by All-State Dennis Miller of Watseka.

Pinckneyville advanced to the semifinals with a 31-2 record while Watseka dropped out of the tournament with a 28-3 mark. Both teams played well, and it appeared to) be a well-matched contest except that Pinckneyville kept pulling farther ahead. By the end of three quarters, Pinckneyville held a 64-43 lead. Watseka, on the shooting of Miller which included a pair of 3-point baskets, held early leads of 14-8 and 17-12 before the Panthers came on roaring. Pinckneyville scored the next 15 points to take a 27-17 lead into the second quarter.

Aaron Epplin led the surge with three baskets including Miller halted the skid with another 3-pointer and Derek Hagen helped cut the Panther lead to 27-22. But Pinckneyville went on another spree, outscoring the Warriors 10-4 for a 37-26 advantage. The Panthers closed the half with still, another flurry capped by a Graskewicz basket for a 43-28 halftime lead. Pinckneyville, getting additional scoring from Danny Harris, who finished with 16 points, and Epplin with 13, rode to its 64-43 lead after three quarters. ByJOEMOOSHIL AP Sports Writer CHAMPAIGN, 111.

Greg Feezel scored 31 points including a pair of sensational 3-point baskets Friday to lead St. Elmo to a wild 75-67 victory over Forreston in the quarterfinal round of the Class A Illinois High School Basketball Tournament. Feezel, who tied the game with a 3-pointer at the half, hit another to open the fourth quarter to break a 50-all tie and put the Eagles ahead to stay. St. Elmo opened a couple of seven-point leads in the final period but the outcome remained in doubt until Feezel and playmaker Kevin Maxey connected on a flurry of free throws down the stretch.

Maxey finished with 15 points and Ted Moss had 17 for the Eagles as he hit a 3-pointer on the game-ending buzzer. Karl Lewis, who kept the Cardinals in the running down the finished with 26 points while teammates Darin Stykel had 17 and Ryan Cornelius 16. St. Elmo advanced to the semifinals with 28-2 record and Forreston bowed out with 28-3 mark. The game was close throughout although Forreston opened up a couple of eight-point leads in the second quarter at 26-18 and 28-20 after holding a 16-14 edge at the end of the first period.

Feezel and Ted Moss began hitting for St. Elmo as the Eagles cut it down to 34-31. Feezel then unloaded a 2ff3bot desperation shot at the buzzer to end the first half, leaving the game tied at 34-34. It remained close through the third quarter and St. Elmo finally gained its first lead 50-48 on a basket by Ed Moss with :55 remaining in the period.

But Forreston came right back and tied it at 50 on a basket by Stykel going into the fourth period. Feezel broke the tie with a 3-pointer and-JVf axey and Pat Mattix both scored to give the Eagles a 57-50 lead. Forreston kept coming back on the shooting of Lewis and Cornelius but Feezel kept offsetting the scores with baskets or free throws. Pana 63, Beardstown 34 CHAMPAIGN Tom Funneman scored 20 points, 15 on 3-point goals, and Mark Heaton added 19 Friday to lead Pana to a 63-34 victory over Beardstown in the quarterfinals of the Class A Illinois High School Basketball Tournament. Funneman scored 18 of his points in the first three quarters and Heaton got hot and scored 10 of his in the final period when the Pan- thers held Beardstown scoreless until 3:43 remained in the game on a 13-1 run.

Pana boosted its record to 26-3 and advanced to the semifinals while Beardstown was eliminated with a 26-5 record. It was a big letdown for the Tigers, who finished fourth last year and had hoped to make a better showing this time around. But Pana would have none of it. The Panthers, not deliberate but smart and well-coached, had complete control of the game. Tfeey took leads of 4-0, 8-2 and 12-4 at the end of the first quarter.

Heaton and Kevin Micek scored six points each in the period to account for all of Pana's points while Rob Force had all four points for the poor-shooting Tigers. Funneman didn't score in the period but he took charge of the rebounding and had a couple, of steals. Funneman, Pana's leading scorer with a 17.4 average, picked up in the second period when he connected on a pair of 3-point goals and added a conventional basket to put the Panthers ahead 22-9. Pana closed out the half with four free throws for a commanding 26-11 lead. Beardstown's one-two scoring punch of Joe Hamilton and Terry Morrow, both 6-5, had a total DEKALB Mattoon's Pete Stanley and Mike French advanced to the semifinals of the 1988 Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation state finals here Friday in impressive fashion.

Stanley, a defending state champion, scored a pin and then a 13-0 decision in 105-pound competition while French pinned both op Si. timo coach Dan Denton. has learned to accept some mistakes from Maxey. He wouldn't be in today's semifinals without the 5-8 guard who hit a last-second 40-footer in St. Elmo's 60-59 sectional championship win over Trenton-Wesclin.

Maxey made the assist for the game-winning three-point play in a 54-53 win over Teutopolis in the Charleston Supersectional. "I've learned with Kevin you've got to live with him," Denton said. "I wasn't happy with some of his bad passes and bad fouls. But he's our heart and soul. We've been through this for 30 games now." With Maxey the Eagles have been lucky enough to win by one point twice, by two twice including an overtime game, by three twice, by four once and by five once.

That's if you still want to be stubborn enough to call them lucky. There has to be more to it than that. Knowing how to make the right plays at the right time is more like it. "These kids have so much confidence," Denton said. "I'm not saying things like we don't know how to lose, but we don't lose very often." So far these 28-2 Eagles haven't By BRIAN NIELSEN Staff Writer CHAMPAIGN Everywhere St.

Elmo's Eagles go they hear the rap. "The first thing we heard when we were checking in our motel today was there's that lucky team," guard Kevin Maxey said. Those lucky Eagles, who needed a desperation shot to win their sectional, added to their legend Friday. Take the first half of what turned out to be a 75-67 state quarterfinal basketball win over Forreston. Outplayed for a good part of the first half and once down 28-20, the Eagles fought back to within one point.

Then Maxey seemingly blew his team's momentum when he fouled in the backcourt with five seconds on the clock. It was his third foul and it allowed Forreston to regain a three-point edge. Dumb move, right? Even the dumb things work out right for St. Elmo. Greg Feezel hit a 28-foot three-pointer at the buzzer and the game was tied 34-34.

Jim Maton Maton has fastest time OKLAHOMA CITY Jim Maton beat everyone Friday. If he does again today he's a national champion. The Eastern senior had the fastest preliminary time among the eight qualifiers for today's 800-meter finals in the NCAA indoor track meet. Maton finished his prelim heat in 1 minute, 49.76 seconds, which Is 1.14 seconds off his season's best time. Friday's second best time also came from Maton's heat.

Jaynes of Idaho State ran a 1:50.29. Illinois' Charleton Hamer, who beat Maton earlier this season, won his heat in 1:50.49, while Virginia's Erving won the third heat in 1:50.64. Arkansas' Lorenzo Brown, who had the nation's best collegiate time this year at 1:48.5, qualified second in the third heat at 1:50.68. Maton, who had the nation's third best time of the season, now gets prefered starting spot for the final, scheduled for about 9:30 p.m. "The big advantage is you can run from the front, and that's where Jim wants to run," EIU coach NeilMpore said.

"If you get behind on a 200-yard bank track it's hard to pass someone. It's a little like roller derby. "He ran the way we wanted him to. Last year he learned about the bank track in the nationals and again this year at the Mason-Dixon Games. You get out front and go fast.

It's not like an outdoor track. The chance for getting bumped and fouled is much greater (Indoors)." Moore, who had to stay behind so he can make a recruiting trip this weekend, got word of Friday's results from assistant Tom Akers, who handles Eastern's running events. "Coach Akers said he looked very strong," Moore said. "He. ran from the front all the way.

"Tom was really happy with the race he ran. I'm sure that being a returning ail-American in the 1,000 helped. There are some people who are wondering was he pushing it all the way or can he run faster. He's sitting in the best possible position." Maton, who was second in last year's NCAA indoor race and third in the outdoor 800, can become Eastern's first Division I national champion. Today's games GAME 5: 11:15 a.m.-Pana (26-3) vs.St.Elmo(28-2).

GAME 6: 12:45 p.m.-Walther Lutheran (30-3) vs. Pinckneyville (31-2). GAME 7: 6:30 p.m.-Losers meet for third place. GAME 8: 8:15 meet for championship. Friday's results Pana 63, Beardstown 34 St.Elmo 67.

Walther Lutheran 59, Lena-Wlnslow46. Pinckneyville 83, Watseka 64. Two MYWC entries in state semis learned how to get jitters. People said Lantz Gym would scare them in the supersectional. As it's turned out, the Assembly Hall hasn't even fazed them.

"Before the game I didn't think there were any nerves in here (the dressing room) at all," Feezel said. "We came here for one purpose only and that's to be playing tomorrow night." Not nervous for a state quarterfinal? "Maybe in the morning we were a little," Feezel said. "But you don't hear the fans here as much as in smaller gyms. This is an easy gym to play in." It must be. Feezel had game highs of 31 points and 10 rebounds.

In addition to the tying three-pointer at the end of the first half, the 6-3 senior forward hit one to start the fourth quarter and break a 53-50 tie. St. Elmo led the rest of the way. "Overall I felt this was the best game I've played," Feezel said. "Having a guard like him helps." Feezel was pointing to Maxey, who had 15 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.

Not bad numbers. Maybe the Eagles are a little more than just lucky. 59-58 Argo, 25-3, was led by Ray Thompson with 30 points. East St. Louis Lincoln, 24-4, rolled to a 22-3 first-quarter lead en route to its victory over Belleville West.

Laphonso Ellis scored 22 points and Conzo Martin added 20 for the winners. Brian Hohlt scored 24 points for Belleville West, 20-9. Sophomore Thomas Wyatt had 23 points and hauled down 11 rebounds for Aurora East, 27-2, Naperville Central, 22-8, was led by Dave Elliott with 13 points. At East Moline, John Barnes scored 17 points for Rock Island, which 38-36 at halftime. Scott Cofoid had 18 for Ottawa, but missed two shots with seven seconds left as Rock Island hung on for the victory.

Rock Island Improved to 25-4 while Ottawa finished 24-3. Kric Davis (68), Ron Bateman (105), Kasey Alexander (119) and Matt Beeler (127) were eliminated in first round matches, according (o Bonic. "Really, all of the kids did well," Bonic credited. The tourney winds up today. It is being held on Northern Illinqis University's campus in DeKalb.

Champaign loses Boyland downed Crystal Lake South 60-49. In Peoria, Manual, 25-4, took control midway through the third quarter with nine straight points for a 36-24 lead, and was ahead 46-36 at the end of the third quarter. Central, 27-2, was led by Mick Hughes with 13. In Springfield, all-stater Andy Kaufmann scored 34 points and hit a shot from the top of the key with two seconds left to lift Jacksonville over Champaign Central. Jacksonville, 25-3, had rallied from a 10-point deficit in the final quarter.

Bernard Shaw was high for Champaign, 24-5, with 15 points. Eric Anderson sparked a second-half rally for St. Francis de Sales, 26-1, which trailed 26-23 at halftime. Anderson finished with 25 points and teammate Don Akins added 12 from three-point range. wrestler among Mattoon's seven entries to remain alive.

The 60-pounder "won his first match by fall, lost a quarterfinals match and then won his quarter' finals wrestleback to remain in contention for a medal," Bonic said. "He needs one more win to be assured of capturing a medal Mattoon's other four entries By the Associated Press All-stater David Booth scored 22 points and Ken Sydnor added 20 as eighth-ranked Peoria Manual knocked off top-ranked neighborhood rival Peoria Central 63-54 in Class AA boys basketball actional finals Friday night. Second-ranked St. Francis de Sales downed Summit Argo 60-51 and third-ranked East St. Louis Lincoln clobbered Belleville West 7M5.

In other games, fifth-ranked Aurora East' beat Napervile Central 88-58, sixth-rated Westchester St. Joseph downed Fenwick 63-53 and lOth-ranked Palatine Fremd overpowered Schaumburg 86-5. Rock Island edged Ottawa 55-54, Jacksonville slipped by Champaign Central 59-58 and Rockford "So does i'eie. lie faces a kid off the Harvey Twisters (pre-meet favorites to walk off with the team title) who is 34-0." Stanley will enter with an equally impressive 27-3 mark while French will attempt to Improve upon his outstanding 21-4 mark. Steve Stanley is the only other ponents in his two matches at 72 pounds, "They assured themselves of returning home with a medal," MJWC coach Mike Bonic noted.

"They both looked tough. "If Mike keeps wrestling like he has been he will be tough to beat although he faces a real tough opponent Saturday today.