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Gillespie boys win Carlinville Holiday Tournament Championship
For the first time since 2002, the Carlinville Holiday Tournament title is coming home to Gillespie. The Gillespie boys’ basketball team closed out 2014 in grand style on Tuesday night by knocking off Litchfield 69-58 in the finals of the 49th Annual Holiday Tournament.
The win gave Gillespie their fourth Carlinville Holiday Tournament title after the team went 4-0 and moved their record to 8-5 on the season. It was the first time the Miners won the title since Zak Allan and company won back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.
It also gave the surging Miners the perfect ending to 2014.
[pullquote]It was the first time Gillespie won the title since winning back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.[/pullquote]Gillespie fell behind after the opening tip-off around 8 p.m. as Litchfield jumped ahead 4-10 giving the Miners much trouble in the opening stanza as the team struggled on both ends of the court. Before the first quarter clock ended, the Miners made a 13-4 scoring run to gain control of the lead by the end of the quarter, 17-14.
They were just getting started.
Eli Fox goes up and over his defender to score a layup and a free throw to lead the Miners into halftime.
Despite being in foul trouble and Litchfield shooting bonus shots within 1:30 of the second quarter, the Miners coasted to a 5-0 scoring run, 22-14, while their defense held Litchfield scoreless for nearly the first four minutes of the second quarter. The Panthers scored their first field goal of the quarter with 4:30 left before halftime.
Two minutes later, Gillespie trailed Litchfield 22-23 after the Panthers ran ahead with a 9-0 scoring run. After a steal near mid-court by Eli Fox and a layup in transition, the momentum changed sides as Gillespie regained the lead, 28-23, after responding with three field goals. Eli Fox carried the team into halftime with an old-fashioned three-point play after making a layup with 7 seconds remaining in the half and then converting on his free throw pulling the Miners ahead 31-23 at halftime.
Gillespie’s lead grew even larger after halftime.
Evan and Nick Price led the charge in the second half as the Miners outscored the Panthers 8-4 before Litchfield called a timeout with 4:21 left in the third quarter. After the timeout, Gillespie continued to widen the gap after outscoring Litchfield 8-5 making Gillespie’s lead 47-32 by the end of the third quarter.
[pullquote]Both Price brothers were named to the six-person All-Tournament team following the game.[/pullquote]Nick Price opened the final period with a three-pointer as the Miners created an 18-point lead within five minutes, 60-42. In what seemed to be an insurmountable lead, coach Casey Sholtis began rotating fresh legs into the game, but the Panthers roared back in only 40 seconds of play outscoring Gillespie 7-0 and trimming the Miners’ lead to 60-49 with 2:36 left in the game.
The Miners began to slow play down on the offensive end with their starters back in the game and as the game clock reached 2 minutes, the Panthers began to foul to put the Miners in bonus. For the fourth night in the tournament, Gillespie paved the way for their win by shooting lights out from the charity line. The Miners made 16 of 20 attempted from the line against Litchfield and made 9 of 10 in the last two minutes of the game posting a 69-58 win over the Panthers for the victory.
Evan Price led the team with 23 points while younger brother Nick Price finished with 22. Eli Fox was the third highest scorer with 7 points. After combining for 45 poitns in the championship game, both Price brothers were named to the six-person All-Tournament team following the game.
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Another major winter storm is forecasted to blanket the BenGil area in heavy rains, flooding and snowfall starting Wednesday night through Thursday.
The mixture of precipitation and rapidly changing weather likely will produce the potential for sudden icing on roads, with high winds leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility.
“The Illinois Department of Transportation’s snow-and-ice teams will be prepared and out in force, but the public needs to be ready for conditions to change quickly and worsen if they are out on the roads,” said Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman. “As always during periods of extreme weather, the safest option is to postpone any unnecessary trips and stay home. If you must travel, prepare for very slow and potentially hazardous conditions. And please slow down around our plows and other emergency vehicles, giving them plenty of room to do their jobs.”
The National Weather Service is predicting a wintry mix of precipitation to start with thunderstorms and heavy rain in much of the state this evening, converting to freezing rain overnight before turning to snow Thursday morning. In addition to localized flooding, ice and sleet accumulations are likely, creating extremely slippery surfaces and slick conditions.
Due to the rainy conditions ahead of temperatures falling overnight, the effectiveness of pretreating and salting surfaces in advance of significant snowfall will be limited. The public should anticipate icy conditions even when roads appear clear and greatly reduce speeds.
“As the Illinois State Police plans to take on the unpredictable Illinois weather, we would like to remind motorists to do their part in keeping the roads a safe place,” said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. “ISP, alongside IDOT and other agencies, will be working in hazardous weather conditions. Please remember to slow down, stay vigilant and move over for ANY vehicle on the side of the road.”
Statewide, IDOT has available more than 1,800 trucks and equipment to plow, treat roads and respond to weather emergencies. If you encounter a plow or any maintenance vehicle during your travels, please slow down, increase your following distance and remain patient. Do not attempt to pass – conditions in front of the plow will be worse than behind it.
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Police are investigating the death of a Bunker Hill woman who was found dead at the end of her driveway near the roadway on Monday morning, January 31.
Nancy Blycker, 91, had multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. The Macoupin County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call to the 2900 block of Wood Hill Lane around 7:40 a.m. on Monday.
The initial suspicion was homicide, according to a release by the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis who said approximately 20 investigators were working the investigation, but the autopsy contradicted that suspicion.
The Major Case Squad said on Tuesday it is “highly unlikely” Blycker’s death was the “result of homicidal means.”
The Major Case Squad turned the case back over to the Macoupin County Sheriff’s Department. The official cause of death is pending further lab analysis.
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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the BenGil area, southwestern Illinois, and the St. Louis area.
The warning was issued early Tuesday taking effect at midnight tonight until noon on Thursday, February 3 calling for a “wet, heavy” snow. The forecast also calls for ice prompting a warning about possible power outages.
“All indications continue to point to a disruptive, impactful, and dangerous winter storm impacting the region starting late tonight and lasting through Thursday night,” the National Weather Service said in its Area Forecast Discussion.
The BenGil area is expected to receive heavy mixed precipitation including snow accumulations between 6 and 10 inches, sleet accumulations around three-quarters of an inch, and ice accumulations around two-tenths of an inch. Wind gusts will be as high as 35 mph on Thursday.
The storm is expected to start with rain most of the day today before transitioning into a mixture of freezing rain and/or sleet Tuesday night, then all snow Wednesday morning or as late as Wednesday afternoon continuing until about noon on Thursday.
