Chester opens up the season at Marissa Tournament with a 1-2 Record
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[Chester competed in the Marissa Post-Turkey Invitational Tournament last week. The tournament was a six day event hosted by the Marissa High School. These were the opening games of the season for the Chester Yellowjackets. Starting the season out with 1-2 record.
For their first matchup at the Post-Turkey Tourna-ment, Chester was defeated by Okawville on Monday, December 1st, with a final score of 45-65. "[Okawville] was better prepared," Head Coach Mark Riley stated, "We had way too many turnovers."
The first quarter ended with the score board showing 12-12. Alex Lankford, 42, hit two baskets. Steve Wallace, 25, Zach Lochhead, 21, Matt Roth, 20, and Adam Lutz, 25, all sank one field goal apiece.
The second quarter brought 20 points to Okawville, while Chester only brought home 8. This gave Okawville a 12 point lead at the buzzer. Aaron Grah, 52, sunk the ball from downtown for three. Lutz and Wallace got two field goals apiece. Zach Lochhead, made one of his two free throw attempts which made the score 20-32 at the end of the first half.
The beginning of the 2nd half was rough for the Yellow jackets, scoring three points and allowing twenty to be taken. The score at the buzzer was 23-53. Lutz drilled one field goal. Alex Lankford, 42, drilled one and missed one on the foul line.
The final quarter saw a hard drive by Yellowjackets, scoring 22 points, allowing 13. The high scorer of the 4th quarter was Shane Lawrence, 14, with two 3 pointers and one field goal. David Winters, 13, also sank one from downtown. Dan Adams, 30, dropped one field goal as did Nick Mathis, 12. Wallace made one basket and sank both his free throws. Also on the foul line was Lochhead, who successfully made his two attempts. The final was 45-65.
Tuesday, December 2nd, Chester played a hard game against the host of the tournament, Marissa. Marissa defeated Chester with a final score of 39-49. "We should have won that game," Riley said, "If we play Marissa again, we will have a good chance of beating them."
In the first quarter, Lawrence put one in the pit from downtown for 3 points. Roth and Lutz sank one basket apiece. Adams made one free throw and missed the second. This gave the Yellowjackets a score of 8 at the end of the first quarter. Unfortunately, they allowed Marissa one 3 point, three 2 point field goals, and four of the six free throws they were allotted, giving Marissa 13.
The Yellowjackets scored 7 points in the second and only allowed the Meteors 8. Lochhead and Lutz sank one field goal apiece. Roth brought home a three from beyond the arc, giving the Jackets 14 and the Meteors 21 at the half.
The opening of the 2nd half was a defensive one for the Jackets, only allowing 5 points by the Meteors. They took 11, tying the game 26-26 at the buzzer. Roth had his second successful three point of the game while Lankford made two field goals and one free throw. Lutz also helped tie the quarter with one basket to his record.
The fourth quarter was a hard battle, with the Jackets obtaining 13 points. Nine of those were made from beyond the perimeter with Lutz, Lochhead, and Lawrence each making a three point. Lochhead made one of his two free throws. Lankford made a field goal and his one free throw. However, the Meteors scored four field goals and 15 of their 22 free throw attempts, making the score Chester- 39, Marissa- 49 at the final buzzer.
On Thursday, Dec. 4th, in their final game of the tournament, The Jackets rallied to defeat Valmeyer, 46-36. Riley said, "Valmeyer was struggling. We had too much for them I think. We played intense."
In the first quarter, Winters dropped one in the bucket from outside the perimeter and Adams put one in from inside. Lutz stepped up to the foul line and sank both his free throws to give the Jackets 7, at the buzzer. They allowed Valmeyer 9 points, which would be Valmeyer's only lead during the game.
The boys brought home 16 points in the second quarter, Ron Baughman, 10, sunk a three pointer. Roth and Lankford each drilled two baskets. Roth made his one and only free throw. Grah and Wallace brought in two field goals apiece. They allowed Valmeyer 11 points, which made the score 23-20 at the end of the first half.
The third quarter saw 12 points added to Chester's score. Lochhead drilled 3 field goals. Winters made two. Lankford sank one. The Jackets defensive wall only allowed Valmeyer one field goal during the quarter.
The final quarter of the game locked in 11 more points for Chester and 12 for Valmeyer. Grah had one 3 pointer. Lankford and Lochhead brought in two field goals combined. Lankford shot one of four free throws and Roth shot three of five. The score at the final buzzer was 46-36, Yellowjackets.