Vols pour it on Wabash Valley to win fifth straight

Dating back seven games -- or the start of the season -- John A. Logan men's basketball coach Kyle Smithpeters hasn't had his entire arsenal of players, namely big man Sydney Curry and freshman Detrick Reeves.
Still, the Volunteers marched to wins in four-of-five games, the only hiccup, coming in the form of a 90-74 loss to Mineral Area College.
Fast forward to Thursday night and Smithpeters was fully loaded as the Vols shot down Wabash Valley 92-64.
JALC (7-1) put six players in double figures, led by Cam Alford's 18 points and six assists.
Xavier Ball came off the bench to finish with 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while Jamarion Sharp, Doug Watkins and Curry all, tossed in 12 points a piece. Sharp swatted seven blocks, Watkins grabbed eight rebounds and Curry hauled in six boards. Reeves finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in his first game back from a minor knee injury.
Smithpeters said the culmination of a solid week of practice and having all his guys was the difference for the nation's No. 4 team in the country.
"It was a great pregame workout, we had a warmup leading into the game. The energy level from our guys was high. We valued the basketball and were able to cut down on the turnovers. It's a very fun group to coach and I am extremely fortunate.
"They have all waited so long to play," Smithpeters added. "That's what you want to see from a team with this amount of talent."
Logan led 44-30 at the break and Wabash Valley was able to cut the lead to 10 at one point early in the second half, but the Vols outscored the Warriors, 48-34 in the second half.
Marion native and JALC freshman scored six points, drilling a pair of corner pocket 3-pointers. Dre Boyd and Isiah Ervin each tacked on three points and Carterville's Austin Garbe had a bucket.
The Vols are scheduled to travel to Shawnee Saturday for a 3 p.m. game.