Cold Opening
Cougars shoot poorly, start off poorly in 48-38 loss to Salt Fork ...
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
PEORIA – Both the Eastland Cougars and Caitlin Salt Fork Storm qualified for the Boys
Basketball State Tournament for the first time this year. Because of this, first time jitters
being a factor would cancel itself out.
However, the Cougars were unable to put away those jitters. They started their Class 1A
semifinal game in a 7-0 hole and 0-for-6 shooting, eventually falling to the Storm 48-38 at
Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena.
Eastland (28-5) had a difficult time trying to knock off a lid on their bucket. The Cougars
shot 30% (6-for-20) from the field in the first half despite trailing by four at halftime. The
task was more difficult in the second half as they shot 21.7% (5-for-23) from the field.
Shooting difficulty for the Cougars was most evident at the beginning of quarters. In
addition to their poor start to the game, they were also outscored 7-0 to begin the second
quarter. Prior to that, Eastland countered its poor start with an 11-0 run to end the quarter.
"We couldn’t start a quarter, I think we got down each quarter of the ballgame, we finished
pretty well but couldn’t start,” said Eastland coach Tony Dunlap, Sr. “I don’t think we
played our best basketball by any means, give Salt Fork credit, they did a nice job, but I
don’t know if we played as well as we could have.”
What kept the Cougars in the game were the more-difficult long range shots. After putting
up a field goal and a pair of free throws to put Eastland on the board, Tony Dunlap, Jr. hit
a three-pointer with 1:24 left in the first to tie the game at seven. Brother Brad Dunlap
followed with a steal and layup and a shot with 2.4 remaining.
Threes would help Salt Fork (32-1) in the second, as Ryan Anderson hit two of them to
help lead his team to a 25-21 halftime lead.
With the Storm maintaining the four-point lead halfway through the third quarter, the
Cougars countered that from more shooting from behind the arc. Brad and Tony
connected on three straight three-pointers to give their team a 34-29 lead with two
minutes left.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, Tony, Jr. went down with a shoulder dislocation with 27.3
left in the third. Driving toward his basket, he had the ball stripped by Salt Fork's John
Chandler. Chandler then ran away from a chasing Dunlap, who fell to the floor on his left
shoulder.
"It’s a tough way to go out," he said after the game.
Tony's loss was felt throughout the rest of the game. Without him, and his game-leading
22 points, the Cougards struggled to make up for the loss. Salt Fork put up runs of 9-0
and 12-1 to begin the fourth quarter.
Even Salt Fork didn't want to see Tony go down.
"I feel it was very unfortunate for Lanark that they had to finish the game without the
Dunlap boy," said Salt Fork coach Aaron Hird. "He played a phenomenal first half and
came out and did very well in the second. We are hoping for the best for him and hope he
gets the opportunity to get back and play."
No other Cougar scored in double digits. Brad Dunlap scored nine points, while Colin
Macomber had three and Mack Byers and Calvin Cassens each having two. Macomber
pulled down 13 rebounds in the paint.
Joel Learnard led the Storm with a double-double performance, scoring 22 points and
pulling down 12 rebounds. Anderson had 17 points.
Eastland will face Madison, who fell 58-40 to Sesser-Valier in the other Class 1A
quarterfinal, in Saturday's semifinal game at 12:15 p.m.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message
Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
PEORIA – Both the Eastland Cougars and Caitlin Salt Fork Storm qualified for the Boys
Basketball State Tournament for the first time this year. Because of this, first time jitters
being a factor would cancel itself out.
However, the Cougars were unable to put away those jitters. They started their Class 1A
semifinal game in a 7-0 hole and 0-for-6 shooting, eventually falling to the Storm 48-38 at
Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena.
Eastland (28-5) had a difficult time trying to knock off a lid on their bucket. The Cougars
shot 30% (6-for-20) from the field in the first half despite trailing by four at halftime. The
task was more difficult in the second half as they shot 21.7% (5-for-23) from the field.
Shooting difficulty for the Cougars was most evident at the beginning of quarters. In
addition to their poor start to the game, they were also outscored 7-0 to begin the second
quarter. Prior to that, Eastland countered its poor start with an 11-0 run to end the quarter.
"We couldn’t start a quarter, I think we got down each quarter of the ballgame, we finished
pretty well but couldn’t start,” said Eastland coach Tony Dunlap, Sr. “I don’t think we
played our best basketball by any means, give Salt Fork credit, they did a nice job, but I
don’t know if we played as well as we could have.”
What kept the Cougars in the game were the more-difficult long range shots. After putting
up a field goal and a pair of free throws to put Eastland on the board, Tony Dunlap, Jr. hit
a three-pointer with 1:24 left in the first to tie the game at seven. Brother Brad Dunlap
followed with a steal and layup and a shot with 2.4 remaining.
Threes would help Salt Fork (32-1) in the second, as Ryan Anderson hit two of them to
help lead his team to a 25-21 halftime lead.
With the Storm maintaining the four-point lead halfway through the third quarter, the
Cougars countered that from more shooting from behind the arc. Brad and Tony
connected on three straight three-pointers to give their team a 34-29 lead with two
minutes left.
Unfortunately for the Cougars, Tony, Jr. went down with a shoulder dislocation with 27.3
left in the third. Driving toward his basket, he had the ball stripped by Salt Fork's John
Chandler. Chandler then ran away from a chasing Dunlap, who fell to the floor on his left
shoulder.
"It’s a tough way to go out," he said after the game.
Tony's loss was felt throughout the rest of the game. Without him, and his game-leading
22 points, the Cougards struggled to make up for the loss. Salt Fork put up runs of 9-0
and 12-1 to begin the fourth quarter.
Even Salt Fork didn't want to see Tony go down.
"I feel it was very unfortunate for Lanark that they had to finish the game without the
Dunlap boy," said Salt Fork coach Aaron Hird. "He played a phenomenal first half and
came out and did very well in the second. We are hoping for the best for him and hope he
gets the opportunity to get back and play."
No other Cougar scored in double digits. Brad Dunlap scored nine points, while Colin
Macomber had three and Mack Byers and Calvin Cassens each having two. Macomber
pulled down 13 rebounds in the paint.
Joel Learnard led the Storm with a double-double performance, scoring 22 points and
pulling down 12 rebounds. Anderson had 17 points.
Eastland will face Madison, who fell 58-40 to Sesser-Valier in the other Class 1A
quarterfinal, in Saturday's semifinal game at 12:15 p.m.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our Message
Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
At Carver Arena, Peoria
Class 1A State Tournament
Semifinal Game
Caitlin/Sidell Jamaica 48 -
Eastland 38
key: 2pt, 3pt, ft, pts
Eastland 38 - Mack Byers 1-3
0-0 0-0 2, Reid Lessman 0-7
0-3 0-0 0, Collin Macomber
0-4 0-0 3-5 3, Brad Dunlap
3-12 2-6 1-2 9, Tony Dunlap
6-13 3-5 7-9 22, Zeke
Hartman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan
Stichter 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Austin
Hansen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Ty
Hartman 0-2 0-2 0-0 0, Kevin
Glastetter 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Fisnik Seferi 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Calvin Cassens 1-1 0-0 0-0
2. Totals: 11-43 5-17 11-16
38.
Salt Fork co-op 48 - Joel
Learnard 7-13 0-0 6-8 12,
Ryan Anderson 4-10 3-7 6-6
6, Nathan Fathauer 0-0 0-0
2-6 2, John Chandler 0-2 0-0
1-2 1, Joe Pratt 2-2 0-0 1-3 5,
Conner Plotner 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Ryan McCord 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Jake Manning 0-3 0-0 0-0 0,
David Keenan 1-3 0-0 1-2 3.
Totals: 14-33 3-8 17-27 48.
Eastland 11 10 13 4 - 38
Salt Fork 7 18 8 15 - 48
Offensive Rebounds -
Eastland 11 (Macomber 5),
Salt Fork 7 (Learnard 3).
Defensive Rebounds - Salt
Fork 24 (Learnard 9),
Eastland 18 (Macomber 8).
Assists - Salt Fork 8
(Fathauer 3), Eastland 6
(Lessman 3), Steals -
Eastland 9 (T. Dunlap 4), Salt
Fork 6 (Chandler 3). Blocks -
Salt Fork 3 (Anderson 2),
Eastland 1 (Lessman).
Turnovers - Salt Fork 11,
Eastland 11. Total Fouls -
Eastland 22, Salt Fork 16
Fouled out - Glastetter.
Records: Salt Fork 32-1,
Eastland 28-5.
Class 1A State Tournament
Semifinal Game
Caitlin/Sidell Jamaica 48 -
Eastland 38
key: 2pt, 3pt, ft, pts
Eastland 38 - Mack Byers 1-3
0-0 0-0 2, Reid Lessman 0-7
0-3 0-0 0, Collin Macomber
0-4 0-0 3-5 3, Brad Dunlap
3-12 2-6 1-2 9, Tony Dunlap
6-13 3-5 7-9 22, Zeke
Hartman 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Dylan
Stichter 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Austin
Hansen 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Ty
Hartman 0-2 0-2 0-0 0, Kevin
Glastetter 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Fisnik Seferi 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Calvin Cassens 1-1 0-0 0-0
2. Totals: 11-43 5-17 11-16
38.
Salt Fork co-op 48 - Joel
Learnard 7-13 0-0 6-8 12,
Ryan Anderson 4-10 3-7 6-6
6, Nathan Fathauer 0-0 0-0
2-6 2, John Chandler 0-2 0-0
1-2 1, Joe Pratt 2-2 0-0 1-3 5,
Conner Plotner 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Ryan McCord 0-0 0-0 0-0 0,
Jake Manning 0-3 0-0 0-0 0,
David Keenan 1-3 0-0 1-2 3.
Totals: 14-33 3-8 17-27 48.
Eastland 11 10 13 4 - 38
Salt Fork 7 18 8 15 - 48
Offensive Rebounds -
Eastland 11 (Macomber 5),
Salt Fork 7 (Learnard 3).
Defensive Rebounds - Salt
Fork 24 (Learnard 9),
Eastland 18 (Macomber 8).
Assists - Salt Fork 8
(Fathauer 3), Eastland 6
(Lessman 3), Steals -
Eastland 9 (T. Dunlap 4), Salt
Fork 6 (Chandler 3). Blocks -
Salt Fork 3 (Anderson 2),
Eastland 1 (Lessman).
Turnovers - Salt Fork 11,
Eastland 11. Total Fouls -
Eastland 22, Salt Fork 16
Fouled out - Glastetter.
Records: Salt Fork 32-1,
Eastland 28-5.
TOUGH LOSS: Eastland head
coach Tony Dunlap talks to the
press after his team's loss to
Salt Fork in the Class 1A
semifinal. Collin Macomber is to
his right, while coach's sons
(Brad and Tony) are behind him.
Photo by Cody Cutter
coach Tony Dunlap talks to the
press after his team's loss to
Salt Fork in the Class 1A
semifinal. Collin Macomber is to
his right, while coach's sons
(Brad and Tony) are behind him.
Photo by Cody Cutter
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