It was the matchup everyone wanted to see, the once-beaten Trico Pioneers against the undefeated Murphysboro Red Devils for the championship of the 47th annual Sparta Mid-Winter Basketball Classic Saturday night.
With two of the best teams in southern Illinois going head-to-head, the fans came out in full force. So many, that the band was sent home early to make room for more people and that wasn’t even enough as some people were turned away.
In the first half the game lived up to all of the hype. The first quarter was a defensive battle between the two teams, but Murphysboro found a way to grab an early 7-2 advantage midway through.
The Pioneers battled back to outscore Murphysboro 8-2 to end the first quarter with a 10-9 lead. Murphysboro was just 2-of-10 from the field but were a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Orlando Jarrett had seven points in the opening quarter for the Red Devils.
Heins had four points to pace Trico, which was 4-of-9 from the floor in the first frame.
The second quarter saw both teams fight back and forth looking for an advantage. In the second quarter, there were two ties and seven lead changes but after a three-pointer from Dylan Witthoft, his second of the quarter, the Pioneers led 25-20 with 2:04 left in the first half.
The momentum quickly switched sides as Dylan Craig was able to knock down two three-points to spark a 10-0 run by Murphysboro to end the first half up 30-25.
The Red Devils caught fire in the second quarter, making 8-of-12 shots, for the five-point lead.
That 10-0 run to end the half turned into an 18-0 run for Murphysboro, as the Red Devils opened the third quarter with an 8-0 run for a 38-25 lead.
Trico struggled to do anything on the offensive end going just 1-of-4 from the floor with five turnovers.
The Pioneers couldn’t cut the deficit closer to 12 points the rest of the way as the Red Devils cruised to the 18-point win and the tournament title.
Craig finished with a game-high 15 points to pace Murphysboro, while Jerrod Gaston had 14, Eben Brooks added 13 and Jarrett tossed in 12.
Heins and Witthoft each had 11 to lead Trico, while Tyler Coleman added seven.
Witthoft and Craig were named to the all tournament second team, while Heins, Gaston and Jordan Stanton (Murphysboro) were named to the first team. Other second team members included Adam Kunkel (Red Bud), Andrew Pokrzywinski (Steeleville) and Sam Gossett (Du Quoin). Other first team selections were Connor Wheeler (Du Quoin) and Aaron Rushing (Sparta).
Du Quoin 65, Sparta 54
Connor Wheeler and Sam Gossett each scored 21 points to lead Du Quoin past the host Bulldogs 65-54 Saturday night in the third place game.
The Bulldogs trailed 15-11 at the end of the first quarter, 29-20 at halftime and 49-38 after three quarters of play.
Aaron Rushing led Sparta with 16 points, while London Oliver and Wes Kiner each had 10.
With the loss, Sparta wrapped up tournament play with a 2-2 record.

Steeleville 75, Red Bud 52
Steeleville exploded for 42 points in the first half en route to a 75-52 victory over Red Bud in the fifth place game Saturday.
The Warriors led 22-78 at the end of the first quarter and 42-18 at the break.
Coire Reel led Steeleville with 23 points, while Colin Smith added 15 in the win.
Adam Kunkel had 26 points to pace the Musketeers.
Trico 58, Sparta 44
Trico was able to end each quarter with an offensive run to knock off Sparta 58-44 Friday night in the Sparta Mid-Winter Classic tournament.
“We fought and fought,” said Sparta coach Rich Williams. “Trico is so well-coached and they took away some of the things we do well. If we could have hit a few more shots, we could have been right there with them at the end. I am pleased with our progress and we have four weeks to go before we host the regional tournament.”
With the game tied 6-6, the Pioneers took control by finishing the opening period with a 7-1 run for a 13-7 advantage.
Trico made 4-of-9 shots against Sparta’s zone defense and Chase Heins had five points in the first eight minutes.
Sparta was just 3-of-14 from the floor and struggled early on finding consistency on offense.
Holding a six-point lead, Trico went on a another late run, finishing the second quarter with a 10-2 offensive spurt for a 27-13 lead at the break.
Heins came through big again in the second quarter, scoring seven points for the Pioneers.
Following the pattern of the first two quarters, a late run by the Pioneers pushed the lead back into double digits after Sparta had the deficit down to seven points.
Jordan Thompson made two three-pointers and London Oliver also had six points in the third to lead Sparta on a 13-6 run to cut Trico’s lead down to 33-26.
Facing some adversity, Trico ended the third period with a 10-5 run for a 43-31 advantage heading into the fourth.
Heins continued to carry the Pioneer attack as the 6’7 junior had eight points in the third frame.
The Dawgs still had some fight in them and opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 scoring run to cut the lead down to 45-38.
However, once again, the Pioneers answered. This time it was an 8-1 run to push the lead up to 14 points to seal the win and a spot in the tournament’s championship game.
Heins finished with a game-high 20 points, while Dylan Witthoft had 13 and Taylor Pyatt added 11.
For Sparta, Thompson led the way with 14 points, while Aaron Rushing had 11 and Oliver tossed in nine.
The loss was Sparta’s first in the tournament.
Murphysboro 68, Steeleville 58
A late rally by Steeleville came up short as Murphysboro held on for a 68-58 victory Thursday night.
The Warriors trailed 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, 33-26 at halftime and 54-39 after three quarters of play.
Steeleville outscored Murphysboro 19-14 in the fourth but couldn’t cut into the lead any further.
Andrew Pokrzywinski led Steeleville with 18 points, while Colin Smith had 12. Jacob Combs, Coire Reel and Torrey Gerberding all had eight points in the loss.
Trico 60, Red Bud 44
Trico ran out to a big first quarter lead and never looked back in a 60-44 win over Red Bud Wednesday night.
The Pioneers led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and held a 30-21 advantage at the half.
Trico iced the win in the second half outscoring the Musketeers 30-23.
Chase Heins led Trico with 16 points, while Dylan Witthoft added 11.
Tyler Magruder nailed four three-pointers and finished with 14 points to pace Red Bud.
Sparta 76, Cleveland 59
Sparta’s inside presence of Aaron Rushing and Weslin Kiner was too much for Cleveland Junior Naval Academy of St. Louis Wednesday evening.
Rushing and Kiner each scored 24 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 76-59 victory.
Sparta outscored Cleveland in every quarter including 26-17 in the third en route to the 17-point decision.
Steeleville 70, Waterloo 60
Andrew Pokrzywinski and Coire Reel combined to score 45 points to lead Steeleville past Waterloo 70-60 Wednesday night.
Pokrzywinski finished with a game-high 26 points, while Reel added 19 in the win.
The Warriors led 17-15 at the end of the first quarter, 37-28 at the half and 50-34 after three quarters of play.
Waterloo battled back to outscore Steeleville 26-20 in the fourth, but the Warriors held on for the 10-point decision.