Jackets now, 6-7 overall and 1-3 in conference play
By Jim Beers
CHESTER — The Chester YellowJackets hosted long-time rival Sparta on Tuesday December 19 at Chester High School’s Colbert Memorial Gymnasium. It was a nice night in Chester and a great crowd turned out to see the Jackets and Bulldogs fight it out.
Sparta and Chester have a long history of being very competitive and any time that the two play in any sport, the game is always challenging and very exciting. At times over the years, games were even known to be heated and somewhat combative.
CHS senior, Gabe Steele (24) a 6’4, 179 lb., YellowJacket Basketball player had one of his best games of the season Tuesday December 19 when Chester hosted Sparta in a Cahokia Conference, Illinois Division match-up. In the game, Steele led the YellowJackets in scoring with 14 points. Jim Beers Photo
The YellowJackets and Bulldogs just recently returned to being conference rivals after having been separated for several years when Chester went to the Black Diamond Conference.
Other than those few years, the two have been conference rivals in the early days of the SWE (Southwest Egyptian Conference), the River to River Conference in the Mississippi Division, and now back together again in the Cahokia Conference in the Illinois Division.
The rivalry has not been as strong or confrontational during the past decade, but when the two Randolph County schools meet, it is always a good, exciting, and competitive.
Tuesday night was no exception as Sparta ran out to a five-point lead in the first quarter on Chester’s own Rocky Bridges Court.
In that opening frame, Sparta’s Monroe paced the Bulldogs with three baskets worth six points. Lanton added five points on a trey and 2-pointer. Bodeker drained a 3-pointer to complete Sparta’s first round.
Chester seemed to have a bit of trouble getting the basketball into the hoop early on. Senior Lucas Thompson gave the Jackets three points on a trey, and junior Brenden Malley knocked down a shot to add two points.
Senior Gabe Steele was Chester’s go-to guy in that first frame. He knocked down a bucket and was 2-for-2 from the free throw line for four points. Sparta led, 14-9 after one quarter of play.
As in many games against Sparta, the second quarter was a total reversal as the competitive nature of the YellowJackets and Bulldog’s battles go! Chester outscored Sparta, 14-7, in the seconds frame to take the lead.
Five different YellowJackets contributed to the offensive effort including Devante Palacio (4), Gabe Steele (4), Brenden Malley (2), Kolton Jany (2), and Cayden Brunkhorst who went 2-for-2 at the free throw line.
Sparta’s Monroe continued to be the workhorse for the Bulldogs hitting a 3-pointer and sinking a 2-point basket. Greer was 2-for-2 from the free throw line. At halftime, Chester had a two-point, 23-21, lead heading into the locker room.
Following the halftime break, Sparta came back and outscored Chester, 14-9, to re-take the lead by three points, 35-32. The back-and-forth, see-saw game continued.
In the third period, Sparta’s Monroe continued to be the top-dog for Sparta. He made four buckets and a free throw giving him nine of Sparta’s 14 third quarter points and 20 of Sparta’s 35 points at the end of the frame. Bodeker popped his second three ball of the game and Greer made a basket to round out the third quarter 14-point offense.
The Jackets’ Tray Peters hit a trey, Kolton Jany hit a pair of field goals and made a free throw and Gabe Steele continued his scoring quest with another bucket to round out the 9-point YellowJacket effort.
Down the stretch, Chester and Sparta traded baskets and came out with an even, 15-15, scoring effort.
Gabe Steele, a YellowJacket senior, forged through the 4th quarter adding two baskets for four points. Tray Peters, a YellowJacket sophomore, drained his second 3-pointer of the game and hit a 2-point bucket for five points. Devante Palacio added two baskets for four points, and Kolton Jany struck again for two points to complete the Jacket’s 15-point scoring effort.
Sparta’s Monroe, who led the Bulldogs in scoring throughout the entire first three quarters, was silent in the 4th quarter. Greer picked up the slack by hitting a pair of 3-pointers for six points and he additionally went 1-for-2 at the free throw line. Pillers knocked down two field goals and sank a pair of free throws. Rounding out the Bulldog’s 15-point performance was Smith who made a bucket.
With just seconds remaining in the game, Chester had a chance to potentially tie the game, however a last ditch three point attempt missed the mark and Sparta took home a three point, 50-47 win from Colbert Gym.
The YellowJackets were led offensively by Gabe Stele who recorded 14 points for the night. Six other scorers included Tray Peters, Devante Palacio, Kolton Jany, Brenden Malley (4), Lucas Thompson (3), and Cayden Brunkhorst (2).
Sparta was paced by Monroe who scored 20 points, followed by Greer (11), Pillers (6), Bodeker (6), Lantor (5), and Smith (2).
With the loss, the YellowJackets fell to an overall record of six wins and 7 losses and a Cahokia Conference Illinois Division record of 1 win and 3 loses. The Jackets will close Week 5 with another home game Friday December 22 when the Carterville Lions come to town for a non-conference game.