From Bob Bowser:
On Friday, January 14th, Yellow Jackets Basketball traveled to Immaculate Conception School in Columbia, Illinois to take on OLMC Herrin in the first round of the Diocesan Tournament. The Yellow Jackets jumped out on top early in the game and led 9-1, but OLMC got on a long hot streak and made it close at the end of one quarter. The Yellow Jackets led 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, but OLMC continued red hot shooting in the second period and they led 27-16 at halftime. The second half didn't see much scoring from either team, but OLMC still led after three quarters 29-20. The Yellow Jackets tried everything possible in the fourth quarter to have a chance, but wasn't able to convert on four straight possessions and lost in the end 33-26. Scoring for the Yellow Jackets were: Elliott Acree with 13 points, Rhett Andrews with 9 points, Kasen Dulgar with 2 points, and Brendan Bowser with 2 points. We just couldn't shut down the hot streak OLMC had late into the first quarter and into the second quarter. We literally tried every defensive set we have to stop it, but they kept putting the ball into the hole at an alarming rate. Overall, our defense was really good. We only gave up 33 points. We need to rebound better and find ways to put the ball in the basket. The Yellow Jackets are now 8-8 on the season and will play Saturday morning against Immaculate Conception School in the Consolation bracket at 9:00 am. If the Yellow Jackets win in the morning, they will play at 6:00 pm in the Consolation Championship.