The Goreville Blackcats enter the heart of January as one of southern Illinois’ most consistent teams, sitting at 14–1 overall and unbeaten at 4–0 in the Black Diamond West Conference.
Their lone blemish came earlier this season against 2A power Carterville, a loss that head coach Todd Tripp says revealed something more important than the final score.
“The fact that we did not give up and battled until the end showed me a lot about this team,” Tripp said. “As a coach, you love to see that stuff during the season, because how they respond matters in pressure situations.”
On January 13, the Blackcats picked up a 75-56 win against the Sesser-Valier Red Devils, which saw Lawson Land and Zech Green pick up 19 points each, as well as the team accumulating six total threes.
“The last couple of years, I’ve been blessed to be a part of phenomenal teams, and the common factor on all of those teams is that we all play together so well. Not one person cares if they end up with the most points on the night,” stated guard Zech Green, ‘26.
Past Goreville teams have been strong; however, Coach Tripp sees one quality this year that sets this team apart from the rest.
“Well, I think we guard the ball pretty well, and we look like when all is said and done, we could be one of the best shooting teams in school history….but it’s early! With that being said, I believe our upperclassmen learned a lot from the last two years, and they have that to help them. They have witnessed from the guys before them how to work, how to respond, and how to succeed,” described Tripp.
The never-say-die attitude that defines this Blackcats team leads them into a season-defining back-to-back stretch to close the month.
On January 30, the Blackcats face off against the Webber Trojans (13-2), who are led by junior scoring phenomenon Nathaniel Marlow, who already has 2,677 career points.
“We’ve played him the last couple of years, and he’s always been a handful to guard,” Tripp said. “We know the rest of their team can play too, but right now it’s about our next game on the schedule.”
“My mindset [when going against Marlow] is just embracing that challenge. Marlow is an elite scorer for a reason, so it’s just about being disciplined and making it as hard for him as possible. We’re just going to be focused on effort, defense, and doing whatever it takes for us to win,” explained forward Lincoln Turley, ‘26.
On the second half of the back-to-back, on January 31, the Blackcats match up against the #1 ranked team in 1A, the Woodlawn Cardinals (15-2).
Playing on the road means that there is little to no margin of error available, and when in a hostile environment, you must be on top of your game.
“Winning on the road is difficult at any level,” Tripp stated. “Crowd noise, their rims, and back-to-back nights against really good teams all play a role.”
“Anything can happen on any given night, we just have to clear our heads and play ball,” explained guard Lawson Land, ‘27.
Despite falling under these teams in rankings and spotlight matchups, Goreville insists its identity has not changed.
“We understand who we are,” Turley stated. “We’re Goreville, and every team gives us their best.”
Through it all, the end goal remains the same team-round.
“We go to win,” Tripp said. “But more than anything, we want to get better every game.”
With a 14–1 record and a battle-tested core, Goreville enters the final days of January confident in its identity, knowing the upcoming stretch will demand its best on both ends of the floor.