Saxony will play for 3rd Place
By Jim Beers
CHESTER – Round 2 of the 2026 Chester Invitational Tournament is complete and the schedule is set for Championship Day Saturday January 17th.
Round 2 Day 2 on Thursday January 15 featured Valmeyer vs Lovejoy in Game 7 at 6:00 p.m. and Chester vs Saxony at 7:30 p.m.
Game 7 was to determine who would be facing Lebanon in the 7th Place game to kick-off basketball action on Saturday. The winner of Game 7 advanced to the Consolation Championship game at 3:30 p.m.
Game 8 determined who would advance to the tournament Championship game at 6:30 Saturday and who would play for the 3rd Place title at 5:00 p.m.
Valmeyer beat Lovejoy, 56-31 to advance to the Consolation Championship contest and Chester defeated Saxony, 58-29, to play for the 62nd Annual CIT title.
Game 7: Valmeyer 56-Lovejoy 31
Valmeyer jumped out to a 17-point lead, 25-8, after one quarter of play. The second quarter was much more competitive as the Pirates only edged the Wildcats by one point, 10-9. At halftime, Valmeyer led, 35-25. At that time in the game, Lovejoy still had hope to overcome that 10-poit deficit.
The 3rd Quarter had the Pirates outscoring the Wildcats by just five points, 13-8. That performance gave Valmeyer a 23-point lead, 48-25, going into the final stretch. The 4th Quarter had the Pirates outscore the Wildcats by just two points, 8-6. The final score was 56-31, a 25-point difference.
In the win, Valmeyer use a scoring offense from eight different players. Three of those players scored in double figures. Carter McSchooler led all players with 15 points. Tallen Jakimauskas added 14 points and Evan Hill contributed 10 points. Other scorers included Chase Snyder (7), Gavin Rau (2), Caleb White (2), and Parker Frierdich (2).
The Lovejoy Wildcats had just five players score, one of which scored in double figures. Odell Jordan led the team with 11 points. He was followed by Mylan Brown (7), Keith Bowens (6), James Harrell (5), and Jaquan Brown (2).
The Lovejoy loss moved the Wildcats to face Lebanon in the 7th Place game 9 at 2:00 p.m. Saturday January 17. The Valmeyer win advanced the Pirates to the Consolation Championship Game 10 Saturday January 17 at 3:30 p.m.
Game 8: Chester 58-Saxony 29
In this semi-final game the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders struck first, but it took both teams a minute and 30-seconds to achieve an initial score. Saxony’s Brayden Zoellner popped a 3-point field goal at the 6:30 mark of the first quarter to take a very early 3-0 lead.
During the next minute, Chester’s lone senior, Tray Peters, mounted a 6-0 run on the Crusaders as he drained back-to-back 3-pointers on two consecutive possessions. Chester led, 6-3 at the 5:20 mark.
Zach Roth was fouled and made both of his free throws at the 5:11 mark to get Saxony within one point, 6-5. The Crusaders took an 8-6 lead at 4:35 when Baylor Wilson made a deuce and was fouled. He made his free throw to complete a three-point play.
The YellowJackets tied the game, 8-8 on TaShawn Palacio’s two-pointer at 4:10 and finished the 1st Quarter with a 10-0 run to lead 16-8. In that run, Trey McCartney hit a 3-pointer, Tallen James hit a bucket and Zane Eggemeyer drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Chester an 8-pont, 16-8 lead.
During the first quarter the Jackets recorded four 3-pointers. The score was changed three times and tied once. It appeared as if the table was set for a close, exciting, competitive game.
Chester’s Tallen James started off the second quarter by draining the first of five YellowJacket three pointers. CHS extended the lead to 11 points, 19-8. TaShawn Palacio scored a minute later to extend the Chester lead to 21-8.
The rest of the second quarter the Jackets used a 14-11 run to head into the locker room with a 35-19 lead at halftime. Chester already had five three-pointers at the start of that run then added four more. Tray Peters (1), Trey McCartney (2), and Tallen James (1) made those four treys.
In the Crusader’s 11-point effort, James Hope (1), Zach Roth (2), Brayden Zoellner (3), and Baylor Wilson (2), combined to give Saxony another eight points. With just 6.9 seconds on the clock, Brayden Zoellner was fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. He missed the shot, but calmly sank back-to-back-to-back free throws to complete the Crusader’s 11-point finish. With 6.9 seconds on the clock, CHS led, 33-19.
Just when it seemed as if the half would end, Chester’s Trey McCartney drained a 2-pointer at the buzzer to boost the YellowJacket’s score to 35 points. At halftime, Chester led, by 16 points, 35-19. In the first half, Chester hit nine 3-pointers, including Trey McCartney (3), Tray Peters (3), Tallen James (2), and Zane Eggemeyer (1).
After the halftime break, the YellowJackets used a 16-6 run to further extend their lead to 26 points, 51-25.
The Crusaders started to second half with a basket by Sam Janet who came off the bench. The score was 35-21 at the 6:55 mark. CHS answered with back-to back baskets, one by TaShawn Palacio and the second by Zane Eggemeyer. Chester led, 39-21 at 5:59.
Saxony’s Brayden Zoellner made a bucket at 5:00 to give the Crusaders two more points, 39-23. Chester’s TaShawn Palacio answered with back-to-back hard moves to the hoop for four points. With 2:55 to play in the 3rd Quarter, CHS led 43-23. Just 34 seconds later, Trey McCartney drained a 3-pointer and extended the Chester lead to 23 points, 46-23. That completed a 7-0 run.
At that point, Saxony called a time out!
Saxony came out of the time out and scored its 6th point of the quarter when Bryce Gaebler knocked down a shot at the 1:59 mark. The score was then, CHS 46-Saxony 25. Trey McCartney answered that bucket by draining his 5th 3-pointer of the game to further extend Chester’s lead to 24 points, 49-25 with 1:35 to play in the 3rd Quarter.
Chester defended the Crusader’s next possession, took the ball and scored two more points on back-to-back free throws by TaShawn Palacio. The 3rd Quarter ended with Chester leading by 26 points, 51-25.
The YellowJackets ended the game outscoring Saxony 7-4. During that run, Chester’s bench helped with the scoring duties as Trey McCartney began the period with a basket, Kale Sprengel knocked down a shot, and with just 25-seconds left on the clock, Jaden Ramirez connected for a 3-pointer to end the game! Chester won by 29 points, 58-29.
In the win, the YellowJackets scored a total of 12 three-pointers, led by Trey McCartney (5), Tray Peters (3), Tallen James (2), Zane Eggemeyer (1), and Jaden Ramirez (1). The Jackets had a total of seven players contribute to the 58 point total.
Two YellowJackets scored in double figures. Trey McCartney led all players with 19 points. TaShawn Palacio added 12 points. Tray Peters just missed double digits with nine points. Other contributors included Tallen James (8). Zane Eggemeyer (5), Jaden Ramirez (3), and Kale Sprengel (2). Chester only went to the free throw line twice making both (100%). For the game, CHS made 12 three pointers and 10 two-pointers. With the win, Chester improved to 8-11 overall and advanced to the 2026 CIT Championship game.
In the loss, the Crusaders were led by Brayden Zoellner who scored 13 points. He was followed by Zach Roth (6), Baylor Wilson (5), Bryce Gaebler (2), Simon May (2), and James Hope (1). The Crusaders made 7-of-8 free throws (88%). They also made two 3-pointers and eight 2-pointers.
The Championship Saturday (January 17th) Schedule is as follows:
Game 9 at 2:00 p.m. 7th Place Game: Lebanon vs Lovejoy
Game 10 at 3:30 p.m. Consolation Championship Game: Perryville vs Valmeyer
Game 11 at 5:00 p.m. 3rd Place Game: Valle Catholic vs Saxony Lutheran
Game 12 at 6:30 p.m. 62nd Annual CIT Championship Game: Chester vs New Athens
Chester’s TaShawn Palacio sinks two free throws at the 1:13 mark of the 3rd Quarter to give the YellowJackets a 51-25 lead in the Semi-Final game vs Saxony Lutheran. In the win, Palacio scored 12 points and was a key defensive player for the Jackets. Jim Beers Photo
Chester’s Trey McCartney (32) prepares to make his move late in the game against the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders. The YellowJackets won, 58-29, to advance to the 62nd Annual Chester Invitational Tournament Championship game. In the win, McCartney led all players from either team with a total of 19 points. Fifteen of those 19 points came from five 3-pointers. Jim Beers Photo
Tallen James (10) prepares to launch another 3-pointer against the Saxony Lutheran Crusaders Thursday January 15 in the CIT Semi-Final game. James contributed a total of 8 points in the YellowJacket’s 58-29 win. Six of his points came from two 3-pointyers, In the win, the Jackets scored 36 of their 58 points from 12 three pointers. Jim Beers Photo
The Chester High School Dance Team, under the direction of Head Coach Adrianne Kern, performed a Pom Pom routine Thursday January 15 at the CIT Semi-Final game when Chester hosted Saxony. The high-energy routine had basketball fans on the edge of their seats throughout the entire performance. The CHS Dance Team will make a special guest performance Wednesday January 28 at Southern Illinois University when the SIU Salukis host the University of Northern Iowa in a Missouri Valley Conference game. Jim Beers Photo