Sesser-Valier's boys basketball team got off to the perfect start against Black Diamond Conference rival Carterville Friday night.

The way the Red Devils closed the game, however, allowed the Lions a chance to steal a victory on the road.

Justin Mayti proved to be the deciding factor and scored his team's final five points to lead Sesser-Valier past Carterville, 47-43, in their BDC West Division clash.

Mayti finished with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds, scoring 11 of those points in the first quarter when the Red Devils jumped out to a 16-4 lead.

"We had a plan where we wanted to do a little triangle and take a couple of their heavey hitters away. Obviously to do that, you have to control the paint, and they did early," Carterville head coach Scott Burzynski said. "Mayti got the ball inside and turned and scored. He's a good player. He's going to be a tough matchup for a lot of people. We need to do a better job on him next time."

Carterville began pulling itself back into the game during the second quarter as Anthony Lenzini scored four straight points to make it 18-10. Brad Drust later drilled a 3-pointer to pull the Lions within 20-13.

Drust hit another basket and Clint Dolce added a stickback to continue the comeback. Ryan Bonifield swished a 3-pointer to get the Lions as close as 24-20, but T.J. Eubanks answered with a three at the other end that held up for a 27-20 halftime advantage.

Sesser-Valier maintained its lead in the third quarter as Carterville got within five points on four separate occasions before the Red Devils took a 38-30 lead into the final eight minutes.

"I thought we came out maybe a little shaky. We were prepared, but they took it to us early," Burzynski said. "Getting down 16-4, our kids could have just rolled over and just taken it, but we stepped up and competed and had an opportunity to win."

After Dolce hit a jumper to start the fourth quarter, Sesser-Valier rattled off the next six points capped by Mayti's runner in the lane that pushed its lead back to double digits, 44-32, with 5:54 remaining.

Dolce connected on two more baskets with Drust and Lenzini dishing out assists while Lenzini executed a pick and roll with Drust for another bucket that drew the Lions within 44-38 with 1:52 left.

When Mayti and Drust exchanged hoops to make it 46-40 with less than a minute to play, Carterville began putting Sesser-Valier at that foul line.

Myles Tinsley missed the first front end of a one-and-one situation, and Connor Rossi made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end with 30.5 seconds to go.

Tinsley misfired on another bonus situation, but Carterville turned the ball over. Another missed opportunity at the foul line, this time by Eubanks, kept the Lions in it. Carterville failed to cash in when a 3-pointer was partially blocked and rebounded by Mayti, who was fouled.

Mayti missed the first free throw, but rattled in the second one to increase the lead to 47-41. Lenzini drove the lane and made a layup with 4.8 seconds left before Sesser-Valier ran the clock and escaped with the four-point win.

"They gave us an opportunity by missing free throws," Burzynski said. "Any time you're down by four or six with a minute left, you don't need a three. We're looking to take it to the hole and then maybe kick it, shoot it, get a bucket and call a timeout to set up our defense."

Dolce highlighted Carterville's offense with 14 points. Drust added nine points while Lenzini contributed eight points and eight rebounds. Bonifield chipped in seven points and Rossi had five.

Outside of Mayti's big night, Eubanks contributed 10 points and Tinsley finished with six.

"I'm pretty happy with our kids because I think we're eliminating some of the inexperienced mistakes that we made early in the season. I think we're getting away from that and turning the corner," Burzynski said. "I know we're 1-5, but I'll put our schedule up against anybody right now. It's making us better. We have some inexperienced kids that are getting varsity minutes, and it's going to pay off."

Carterville returns home to play Goreville at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.

CARTERVILLE (43) — Rossi 2 1-2 5, Drust 4 0-0 9, Bonifield 3 0-0 7, Dolce 7 0-0 14, Lenzini 4 0-0 8. Totals 20 1-2 43.
SESSER-VALIER (47) — D. Eubanks 0 0-0 0, Tinsley 3 0-2 6, Gibson 2 0-0 4, Mayti 9 5-6 23, T.J. Eubanks 3 2-3 10, Vandekerkhove 2 0-0 4. Totals 19 7-11 47.
Carterville    6    14    10    13    —    43
Sesser-Valier    16    11    11    9    —    47
3-Pointers — Carterville 2 (Drust, Bonifield), Sesser-Valier 2 (T.J. Eubanks). Team Fouls — Carterville 14, Sesser-Valier . Fouled Out — None. Records — Carterville is 1-5, 1-1 in the BDC West. Sesser-Valier is 4-1, 1-0 in the BDC West.