The Jackets walked away from a busy week with three wins and just one loss to improve to 15-8 overall and 5-1 in the Black Diamond Conference.
Chester 60; Christopher 56
At Christopher, the Yellow Jackets led, 14-10 after the first quarter, 29-22 at halftime, 47-35 after three periods and 60-56 to win the game.
Ian Reith paced CHS in the first quarter with three field goals. DeOndre Martin (4), Matt Korando (2), Jared Landeros (2) rounded out the first quarter appearance. In the second quarter Ian Reith made four baskets to maintain the Chester lead. DeOndre Martin hit a field goal and made 3-of-4 free throws to help secure the lead and Matt Korando made a field goal to bolster a 15-12 outing for Chester in the second quarter. The Jackets took a 29-22 lead into the locker room at the half.
The Jackets had an 18-13 third quarter behind DeOndre Martin's 10-point effort. Jordan Hughes came alive to add five points on two field goals and 1-of-2 free throws. Ian Reith contributed one field goal and Jared Landeros made one free throw for Chester's 18-point third quarter. CHS led, 47-35 after three quarters.
Christopher made a good run at the Yellow Jackets down the stretch, outscoring CHS, 21-13, however the 12-point Chester lead going into the fourth quarter kept the Jacket's heads above water and Chester brought home a nice, 60-56 road win.
"I thought we played well against Christopher," coach Brad Norman said. "We took care of the ball and attacked the rim early and often. We played good enough defense in the fourth quarter to win the game."
Chester 72; Zeigler-Royalton 34
The Jackets roared to a 29-9 lead after just one quarter of play at Colbert Gymnasium on Rocky Bridges Court.
DeOndre Martin was hot again for Chester scoring 13 of his 15 points for the night in the first quarter. Jared Landeros added seven on a three-pointer and a pair of two-point field goals. Ian Reith added five points on two field goals and a free throw. Matt Korando and Jordan Hughes each made 2-ofr-2 at the free-throw line in Chester's opening frame.
The second quarter was equally impressive as the Jackets outscored ZR 19-4 to lead, 48-13 at halftime. Ian Reith came alive in the second period scoring nine points on a three ball, a two-pointer and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. Jared Landeros popped a three ball and Matt Korando added a field goal to the 19-point second period. Chester led, 48-13 at the half.
The third quarter was another good one for CHS as they outscored the Tornadoes, 20-10. Matt Korando went to work in the third and earned his way to the free-throw line five times, making all five. He also made a basket giving his team seven points.
Jared Landeros connected for a pair of three-pointers and a deuce for eight points and Ian Reith drained a trey and a two-pointer for five points. Zeigler-Royalton added ten points from two players. Chekevdia made a pair of three pointers and Bate added a pair of two-pointers. After three quarters, Chester led, 68-23.
Coach Brad Norman emptied his bench in the fourth quarter as the Jackets enjoyed a 45-point lead. Cooper Eggemeyer, Aiden Jany, Eli Hughes, Ethan Stumpe, Nate Heffernan, Kolby Jany, Gavin Schroeder, Chance Mott and Chett Andrews all saw action down the final stretch.
Andrews popped a three-pointer and Heffernan made 1-of-2 free throws for four Yellow Jacket points in the fourth. The Tornadoes added 11 points on two field each from Earl and Cross and Humphrey drained a three ball. Chester led, 72-34 at the final buzzer. In the win, every Chester player got into the game.
"We started well against Zeigler-Royalton and didn't look back much," Norma said. "All the guys played well as a unit and managed to put the ball in the hole consistently for four quarters."
CHS 54; Gibault 32
The Gibault Hawks outscored the Yellow Jackets 10-6 in the first quarter behind the work of Hanvey (5), K. Bollinger (3) and Simonton (2). Chester started off cold and only scored six points from field goals by DeOndre Martin, Jared Landeros and Ian Reith.
The Yellow Jackets woke up and outscored Gibault, 20-4 in the second period. Ian Reith led the charge with a three pointer and a pair of two-pointers. Matt Korando and Joran Hughes each scored five points, and DeOndre Martin added three. For the Tornadoes, Bollinger hit his second three of the night and Green made 1-of-2 free throws. Chester led, 26-14 at halftime.
Chester came alive after the popcorn break as Jared Landeros scored nine points. DeOndre Martin added four and Ian Reith contributed four. Gibault's Hanvey scored four and Bollinger connected for his third three-pointer of the night. Kostelac added two points on a field goal and an extra point at the free-throw line. Chester led, 43-26 after three quarter of action.
To close out the game, the Yellow Jackets outscored the Hawks, 11-6 to win the game. Chett Andrews came to the light in the closing period and scored five points on a three ball and a traditional two-pointer. Matt Korando, Jared Landeros and Jordan Hughes each scored two-points apiece for Chester's 11 points. Gibault added a total of six points on two-point field goals made by Hanvey, Simonton, and Green.
Cobden 50; CHS 34
The Yellow Jackets faced the Appleknockers from Cobden on Feb. 1 in the Pinckneyville Panther Showcase. The event featured eight varsity games throughout the day beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending with the final game of the showcase tipping-off at 8 p.m.
The Jackets were cold throughout most of the game. After playing a game the night before and two other games earlier in the week, Chester may have been a bit fatigued.
The Appleknockers wanted a fast start and got it by shooting 75% (6-of-8) from the field in the first quarter.
"We knew we were playing a very good team," said Cobden Coach Wendell Wheeler, "so we wanted to come out and get rolling."
The Appleknockers led 14-6 after one quarter of play. Cobden led for 29:13 of the game and Chester led just 1:40. The lead changed four times, but Cobden was in the driver's seat most of the day.
In the first quarter the Yellow Jackets led by just one point at the 6:06 mark. A huge reason that CHS had difficulty getting control of the game was because of the play of Appleknocker Joe Brumleve who would eventually be named MVP of the game. Brumleve scored 20 points in the win.
The Appleknockers also made 6-of-8 shots in the opening period compared to 3-of-10 for Chester. The Jackets usually thrive from behind the three-point line, but made none in the first.
The second quarter was even worse for the Yellow Jackets as they were only able to score three points. Cobden, on the other hand, scored 13 points to take a 27-9 lead at the half.
Cobden knew they had to shut down Ian Reith and used a 1-2-2- zone against the typically powerful Yellow Jackets. It worked. Cobden led, 22-6 at the 4:01 mark in the half. The Jackets didn't score until the 2:50 mark on a three-pointer by DeOndre Martin. That would be Chester's only basket of the second quarter.
To end the half, the Jackets made just one shot from beyond the arc and just 4-of-15 overall. CHS missed the final three shots from the field to end the half.
The second half wasn't a lot better for Chester. Cobden led by 16-to-18 points most of the third period. The Appleknockers scored 15 points and the Yellow Jackets scored 11 in the third. Cobden led, 42-20 after three quarters of competition.
Chester entered the fourth quarter down by 22 points. They did shoot a bit better in the third quarter (38.5 percent or 5-of-13), however it wasn't enough to catch up with the Appleknockers.
In the fourth period, Cobden made 3-of-4 shots. The Jackets made 5-of-13. Ian Reith made a three-pointer with just 33.2 seconds to play in the game. That would be Chester's final basket.
With the loss Chester fell to an overall record of 15-8 and remained at 5-1 in the Black Diamond Conference.
