
Ricky Mock hits the jumpshot.
The Gillespie Miners opened their basketball season up on Thanksgiving week at Metro East Lutheran High School. Metro East Lutheran hosts an annual Thanksgiving basketball tournament that opens on Monday, November 21 and ends after the 8:30pm championship game on Saturday, November 26.
The Miners played 5 games in the four days they traveled down. They could only grab one victory in the tournament after playing Litchfield, Metro East Lutheran, East Alton Wood River, Dupo, and Lovejoy.
After getting the first night of the tournament off, the boys basketball team played Litchfield for their first game of the season. Michael Bussmann and the Miners were unable to control Valentine and the Panthers as he scored 26 of their 57 points.
The Miners came out of the locker-room still unsure about their offense, but managed to put up 8 points in the first quarter. Heading into the second quarter, the boys trailed by 7. But in the second quarter, the boys could only score 6 points with two being free throws as Valentine scored 13 of Litchfield’s 14 points in the second quarter to give them full control of the scoreboard: 29-14.
Trailing by 15 at halftime, the Miners were able to hold the Panthers to under 5 points in the third quarter as they accounted for 11 points as Cort Hellmann, starting pointguard, carried the offense with 8 of them. But after scoring just 6 additional points in the fourth quarter and missing 4 of the 6 freethrows, the Miners took their first defeat in the tournament: 57-25.
The Miners shot 55% from the free throw line Tuesday evening and were led in points by Michael Bussmann with 12. Other scorers were: Cort Hellmann (10); Jessie Smith (5); Chase Peterson and Dakota Barber (2); and Devon Schoen (1).
With their record now at 0-1, the boys returned Wednesday night to face off against Metro East Lutheran. With the home court advantage and the stands packed with yellow and green, the Knights were able to score early and score often as they led 21-14 after the first quarter.
Trailing by just 7 points to the Knights, the Miners kept up the pressure defense in the second quarter. As the Miners got winded, the Knights held no mercy as they added 12 more points on to the away side of the scoreboard. The Miners were able to add 8 points in the second quarter as Cort Hellmann carried the Miners in the first half as he scored 8 of their 22 points.

Cort Hellmann stars as pointguard for the Miners.
Trailing 37-22 at the start of the third quarter, the Miners decided to jump horses in the middle of the stream and pull of the full court pressure. The decision was successful, but the offensive woes continued as Bussmann was the only one able to score in the third quarter as he added 6 points to the home half of the scoreboard.
Heading into the final quarter, the team decided to start playing a little too late as Bussmann and Hellmann carried the team with 10 points. The Miners went on to score 18 points in the fourth quarter compared to Metro’s 11 and just before Thanksgiving, the Miners stood on an 0-2 record.
The Miners continued their success from the charity line, shooting 75%. Bussmann, 6’7″ center, led with 18 points followed by Cort Hellmann with 12, Jessie Smith with 6, Dakota Barber with 4, Brenden Engelke with 3, Patterson Friese with 2, and Ricky Mock with 1.
After getting Thanksgiving day off, the Miners loaded the bus at 7 o’clock Friday morning to head back to Edwardsville. The Miners took on East Alton Wood River for the early morning game and were neck and neck after the first quarter as the scoreboard read 12-12. Jessie Smith carried the team with 6 points in the first quarter, but the team struggled in the second as they could only find the bottom of the net for 7 points. Heading into the locker room at halftime, the Miners trailed 19-22.
Wanting to start the day off with a win, the Miners battled back in the third quarter. Ricky Mock led the team on the offensive end in the third quarter as he scored 8 of the 19 points and gave the Miners a 7 point lead after the third quarter. The boys went on to score just 10 points in the final quarter, but were able to hold the Oilers to 7 as they took their first victory in the tournament: 48-38.

Jessie Smith lays it in for 2.
Mock went on to be the leading scorer in the Miners first victory on the season as he posted 13 points. Bussmann checked in with 12 points, Smith with 10 points, Barber with 6, Peterson with 4, and Hellmann with 3.
The Miners returned later in the day to match up with Dupo at 3 o’clock. Both teams were neck and neck after the first quarter as the Tigers wanted their first win of the tournament and the Miners wanted their second win on the day. Trailing by just 1 point starting the second quarter, the Miners were outscored again in the second quarter as they trailed by 7 at halftime.
Ricky Mock again played his A game from the offensive side as he carried the team with 6 points in the third quarter. The Miners went on to outscore the Tigers by 1 point in the third quarter, but the fourth quarter happened in opposite fashion as the Miners were outscored 10-20. After being outscored by 10 points in the final quarter, the Miners fell for the third time in the tournament: 57-39. Scorers were: Bussmann (12), Hellmann (11), Mock (6), Smith (5), Peterson (2), and Barber (1).
After winning just 1 game out of 4, the Miners were facing off against Lovejoy for the 7th place game. The Miners got off to a slow start as they only scored 7 in the first quarter, but the defense held Lovejoy to 9 to keep the game exciting. The game would not stay close for long though as Lovejoy scored 23 points in the second quarter and were able to hold the Miners to just 12.

Michael Bussmann dominates the paint for the Miners.
Trailing 32-19, the Miners had 16 minutes left to turn the game around. With the 3 point arc being the Miners best friend, the boys tossed in 9 points from behind the arc and 3 other field goals to score 15 points in the third quarter. Holding Lovejoy to just 4 points in the third, the Miners were trailing by 2 points (34-36) heading into the final quarter of play.
With just 8 minutes standing in between 7th place or 8th place, the Miners got a little slap happy and landed Lovejoy in the bonus. Lovejoy took full advantage of the free shots as they outscored the Miners 15-12 in the final quarter with 4 points made from free throws. As time ran out, the Miners lost their last game of the tournament 51-46 and received the 8th place title. Scorers were: Bussmann (14), Mock (11), Hellmann (9), Barber (6), Smith (4), and Peterson (2).
The Miners will open their regular season up on Tuesday when they travel to Carlinville. Both boys and girls varsity team will play on the same night with the girls’ action starting at 6:00pm and the boys scheduled to start at 7:15.
Share this story
Comments
comments