DU QUOIN - It was a rough first week of basketball for the Sesser-Valier Red Devils. They finished 1-3 at the Du Quoin Tip Off Classic.
After the loss to Cairo on opening night, the Red Devils returned to action on Friday night against the host team. The Red Devils came up short, 56-48.
"We clicked early and executed well," said S-V head coach Shane Garner. "Turnovers again were an issue. They (Indians) really dominated us on the glass, also. We could force them into missing a shot, but couldn't capitalize on it by giving up second chances. They were able to put together some runs and we weren't."
The Red Devils were led by Tyler Winchester with 19 points. Preston Launius and Peyton Rock each chipped in 9 points.
Lukas Gunter, playing in his first game, scored 8, while Addison Page and Josh Gunter had 2 and 1 points respectively.
On Saturday, the Red Devils played two games. The noon game had the Maroon and White squaring off against the Bulldogs from Carmi.
Carmi came out on top, 55-41.
"We were slow from the start," Garner said. "We couldn't get into a flow of anything. We got down early and had a hard time stringing things together from there."
Winchester led the Devils again with 12 points. Adding to the scoring were: Launius (8), Lukas Gunter (6), Peyton Bates (5), Rock (4), Page (4), and Josh Gunter (2).
The evening contest had the Red Devils taking on a Class 3A school in Massac County. Despite the lack of enrollment, the Devils thrashed the Patriots, 72-44.
"We played pretty well. Winchester got hot early to give us a boost," Garner said. "Our defense was pretty solid and forced turnovers that we were able to capitalize on.
"We still had some unforced turnovers in the first half, but did much better in the second half," Garner added. "Our shot selection was better which led to better offensive production."
The Devils were led in scoring by Winchester who hit five 3-pointers in the game and finished with 25 points. Eli and Lukas Gunter also combined for 25 total points.
Rounding out the scoring for the Devils were Josh Gunter and Page with 7 points each, Launius with 6 points, and Kadin Kiselewski with 2.
