Sparta, Du Quoin and Murphysboro all picked up impressive wins in the opening night of the 47th annual Sparta Mid-Winter Basketball Classic Tuesday.
The host Dawgs ran past Red Bud 69-51, Du Quoin used the long ball to knock off Steeleville 87-63 and Murphysboro remained undefeated by blowing out Waterloo 74-45.
Sparta 69, Red Bud 51
Four players scored in double figures for Sparta, as the Bulldogs opened up their own tournament with a 69-51 victory over Red Bud Tuesday night.
Sparta led 22-7 at the end of the first quarter and 41-18 at the break.
The Bulldog attack was led by Aaron Rushing with 18 points, Wes Kiner 14, Jordan Thompson 13 and London Oliver 12.
Du Quoin 87, Steeleville 63
Du Quoin jumped out to a 24-9 lead in the first quarter and rolled to a 87-63 victory over Steeleville Tuesday night.
Connor Wheeler scored 43 points to pace Du Quoin, as the Indians nailed 10 three-pointers in the win.
Torrey Gerberding led Steeleville with 18 points, while Colin Smith added 17 and Andrew Pokrzywinski finished with 13.