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| Maroa-Forsyth vs. Midland |
Midland vs. Maroa-Forsyth (Boy's Basketball)
Riverton Shootout
(2/12/11)
It was a late decision in the week to head down to Riverton for their annual shootout. I'm glad I made the trip, because in the end there was great basketball games, and I was able to catch up with several people I don't get a chance to see too often, and meet some new basketball friends.
Originally, this was an "off-day" due to our live radio auction that was scheduled. It was pushed back a week to next Saturday, so my options sprang to Riverton or the Chicago Public League Quarterfinals at Chicago State. After spending a week talking with various people that cover the Public League, I finally got some contact information for the CPL. Their administrator that usually handles the media never returned my call, which was pretty much expected. I didn't hesitate to forget my trip to the city, instead grabbing some broadcasts at Riverton.
There are eight games scheduled at the shootout, beginning at 9:00 a.m. Like any shootout, the "hotter" games are later in the day/evening, and with my trip on Friday night at East Moline, I could use the extra sleep Saturday morning.
I left Macomb at 9:00 a.m. and headed south. Even though there is a hospitality room (and a GREAT one at that) in Riverton, I packed some food in a cooler for the trip home. Typically, I get to the hospitality room in the early afternoon, but fail to get back for a "dinner," so I wanted to be prepared for a grumbling stomach for the drive back, without making a detour at a drive-thru. I packed a couple bananas and a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.
Before making the drive, I had to stop off for the essentials, a coffee and a couple granola bars. I also bought a large bottle of water to wash away the coffee taste before going on the air.
Many things pop into my head while making these road trips. One such thought: It's ironic that a town called Industry has very little.
Flipping through the radio stations, I found very little. This is the downside of driving from Macomb to Springfield. It seems as though every radio station is country. I can't listen to country. I popped in a CD, which I rarely do. It was titled, "Rock Mix." Among the tunes were Guns 'n Roses "Civil War," and Metallica's "Hero of the Day." After listening to a few tracks, I popped in a Theory of a Deadman album.
I caught the tale end of Jack Hull's Saturday morning coaches show on WBBA (Pittsfield). He was talking postseason boy's basketball and some of the regional complexes. As soon as the show ended, I flipped stations right because the next show was titled something like Between the Rivers Outdoors or something. That station flipped faster than after an NFL game and the tick, tick, tick, tick of 60 Minutes begins to sound.
For the first time in my 5 or 6 years of broadcasting at the Riverton Shootout, I didn't take a wrong turn, I didn't get misled, or lost! I've had my printed Mapquest directions mislead me (possibly could have been an operator's error), I've had my broadcast partner Kelly Sears direct me down the wrong exit, and I've had Garmin give me wrong directions. However, this time Garmin didn't lead me astray. I will say this....Garmin has screwed me up in Springfield more than any other cities I've traveled....by a long shot.
I headed to my usual broadcast location, the far end of the gym up in the balcony of the Hawk Center. I believe this has been my broadcast post for four of the six shootouts. I was directly across in the near balcony the first two years. This is the perfect location, because the access point of the gym at this location is nestled right between the men's bathroom and the hospitality room.
I spoke with Greg Behrens briefly when walking into the gym, before taking my spot. Riverton Principal Bill Lamkey, running the shootout, came up and delivered me stats for the Midland/Maroa-Forsyth game.
My arrival came at halftime of the Springfield Calvary/Lanark Eastland game. Surprisingly, Calvary was really handing it to Eastland. One of the struggles I've had in this broadcast location is the tight fit for fans to walk around me to access the bleachers. I did some strategic broadcast table maneuvering.
1) I placed my banner all the way to the edge over hanging the balcony so it wouldn't obstruct my view.
2) I moved the table away from the stair railing a few inches, and utilized the left side of the table for my equipment.
3) There is no leg room to squeeze my legs underneath the table, so this creates some of the tightness in the walkway, so I placed the stool to the left of the table. This also provides for a closer look at the gym with my stool all the way to the railing as opposed to two feet away.
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| Lanark Eastland/Springfield Calvary tip in OT |
At the end of the Calvary/Eastland game, Eastland made a valiant comeback, and led by three points in the final seconds. Calvary's Justin Tournoux hit a three-pointer at the right side wing to tie the game and send it into overtime. In OT, Tyler Hartman drained a three in the left corner to give Eastland the 55-54 win. Video of the game-winning shot can be viewed online at www.ihssn.net.
Midland and Maroa-Forsyth took the floor, with the Timberwolves bringing in an 11-12 record. That is a deceiving mark, with some tough competition such as the #1 ranked Wisconsin team, a team out of Tennessee with a player going to Vanderbilt, and Limestone. Maroa-Forsyth comes in at 16-7.
The Timberwolves took a 12-8 first quarter lead, and jumped out to a 27-16 halftime advantage. Josh Fenoglia and Doug Shanklin scored 21 of those 27 first half points. Fenoglia is headed to Illinois Valley Community College, while Shanklin, a junior, has not received much college interest at this time. He's a very nice 6'6" player that can play the perimeter.
The Trojans made a comeback effort in the 2nd half, despite trailing by 12 points to start the 4th quarter. Maroa-Forsyth outscored Midland 24-16 in the 4th quarter and fell 62-58. Midland struggled at the free throw line down the stretch, going 5-10 from the line. Maroa-Forsyth hit three big three-pointers in the final eight minutes, two by Drew Aschermann and one by Bo Banning. Each of them finished with three of them in the game.
Josh Fenoglia scored a game-high 23 points and was named the Player of the Game. Doug Shanklin added 22 points for the T-Wolves. Austin Jackson scored 16 points for Maroa-Forsyth. Midland won despite turning the ball over twice as much as their opponent (16-8).
After the game, I talked with a fan that was in the gym taking in some action. He is a teacher at Pleasant Plains. He asked me where I was from, and I said currently living in Macomb. He mentioned Danny Watson, as they taught together at Plains before Watson took the job at Macomb. Both Plains and Macomb were playing today in the shootout.
Game 129 Miles: 95
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