Basketball Recap: J.J. Gwaltney and Jaxton Faulkenberry Secure Win for Herrin

Herrin proved they can win big last Monday (they won by 21) and on Tuesday they proved they can win the close ones too. They had just enough and edged out the Chester Yellowjackets 51-49. That's more bragging rights for the Tigers, who also won the pair's last head-to-head.

J.J. Gwaltney

Points (Career)

12/02/25 vs Chester	16
11/24/25 vs Frankfort	10
12/26/24 vs Carrier Mills-Stonefort	9
01/24/25 @ Meridian	7
02/08/25 vs DuQuoin	5

Leading Herrin to victory were Jaxton Faulkenberry and J.J. Gwaltney. Faulkenberry dropped a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Gwaltney shot 43% from the field en route to 16 points. Those 16 points gave Gwaltney a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Blake Alexander, who posted four points and seven boards.

Herrin's win bumped their record up to 2-0. As for Chester, they are on a four-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-3.

Herrin didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 53-41 victory against DuQuoin on the 3rd. As for Chester, they have also already played their next matchup, a 64-56 win against Carmi-White County on the 4th.