Category Archives: Sports Section

Okaw Valley Takes Tri-County at LOVC Tourney

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Photo by RR Best
Taylor Coleman passes the ball against Decatur LSA.

•February 1, 2017•

by Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team defeated Tri-County 53-41 to take third place in the 46th annual Little Okaw Valley Conference boys’ basketball tournament in Nancy Stiff Gymnasium in Arcola Saturday.

The Timberwolves took an early lead, jumping out to an 11-0 run to start the game with Garret Fritz’s two baskets and a free throw, along with some free throws made by Austin Hill.

Okaw Valley advanced to gain an 18-point lead the first half but let the Titans back within six in the third quarter.

In the next six minutes though, Okaw Valley went on a 14-2 run to put the game away.

Okaw Valley held Tri-County to 34 percent shooting from the field (15-of-44) and out-rebounded Tri-County 38-24.

Fritz was the top scorer for Okaw Valley with 11 points.
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CIC Tourney Third Place for Sullivan Girls’ Team

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•February 1, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Sullivan girls’ basketball team placed third in the Central Illinois Conference tournament by defeating No. 2 ranked Central A&M 52-49 in Clinton Jan. 26.

Down 20-17 in the first half, the Redskins outscored the Raiders 18-8 in the third quarter and held on for the 52-49 win.

“A great team win tonight,” said Sullivan coach Sheri McCain. “We did not play extremely well in the first half, but they stepped it up in the second half.”

Esther Miller led the Redskins with 20 points. She was 6-of-6 from the free throw line, with five rebounds and five steals.

“Esther Miller played a phenomenal all around game for us,” said McCain. “She was everywhere on the floor.” Read More

ALAH Girls’ Basketball Team Breaks into Top Ten

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•February 1, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team’s winning streak came to an end at 11 games this week.

The Knights battled back to win two more games and broke into the top 10 ranking of teams in Class 2A at No. 9.

They defeated Argenta-Oreana Jan 23 and Decatur LSA Jan 26.

Against Argenta-Oreana Monday night, the first half was back-and-forth, and the Bombers went into half with a 1-point lead, 22-21.

The Knights blew open the game in third quarter, outscoring A-O 23-4.

ALAH held on in the fourth for the 54-36 win

The win was the Knights’ 20th on the season. Read More

Knights Get Two Tournament Wins

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•January 25, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team finished the week 2-2 with wins against Tri-County and Cerro Gordo-Bement and losses to Argenta-Oreana and Okaw Valley in the Little Okaw Valley Conference Tournament in Bethany.

The Knights had to battle back from a 12-point first-quarter deficit to defeat CGB Jan. 16.

ALAH double CGB’s score in the second quarter 16-8 and outscored the Broncos in the third 10-7 to cut the lead to 31-30.

The Knights kept up the pressure and outscored the CGB in the fourth quarter by five for the 44-40 win.

Will Cohan scored a team-high 14 points and had two assists and three rebounds.

Kobe Wells followed with 10 points and had a team-high eight rebounds. Read More

ALAH Team Balance and Consistency Earn Success

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Photo by Jason Brown
The Knights’ five starters and coach Craig Moffett break a huddle in the Little Okaw Valley Conference NW Tournament against Okaw Valley Thursday night.

•January 25, 2017•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

To earn a No. 1 ranking, win two tournaments, lead the conference and reach an 11-game winning streak a team must have consistency and balance.

The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team has become one of those teams.

Before this week’s play, each of the starting five Knights averaged more than eight points per game, but none of them average more than 10 points per game, which makes ALAH a difficult team to scout and guard.

ALAH’s rebounding is also balanced, with every Knight rebounding between 2-to-5.4 rebounds per game.

“Our balance is a luxury that we’re fortunate to have,” said ALAH coach Craig Moffett. “The players’ unselfishness is the most important aspect of the balanced offense. We do have multiple girls that can score off the dribble, in the post or shooting from the perimeter.” Read More

Sullivan Girls Pick up Conference Win

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•January 25, 2017•

by Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Sullivan girls’ basketball team picked up a Central Illinois Conference victory against Shelbyville, Jan 19 before defeating host Clinton in the first round of the CIC Tournament, Jan 21.

The Redskins, seeded fourth, used a 17-8 run in the first quarter and a 12-6 run in the third quarter to pull away from Clinton for the 47-36 victory.

Esther Miller led Sullivan with 14 points, and Chloe Riley followed with 13 points.

Lizzie Green and Tatum Ellis each scored eight points, and Green added a team-high with four steals and four assists.

Ellis collected a team-high eight rebounds.  Read More

Tough Week for Redskins

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•January 25, 2017•

The Sullivan boys’ basketball team suffered two Central Illinois Conference losses this past week.

The Redskins lost the two road games to Decatur St. Teresa Friday and Meridian last Tuesday.

Against St. Teresa, the Bulldogs used a 19-6 third quarter to pull away from the Redskins for a 34-23 and kept the lead around 10 points for the eventual 54-33 win.

Quentin Britton led Sullivan with 13 points. Read More

Timberwolves Open Little Okaw Tourney with a Win

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Photo by Martin Call
Connor Cloyd goes up for two of his game high 27 points during LOVC tournament play against the ALAH Knights over the weekend.

•January 25, 2017•

by Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team won the Little Okaw Valley Conference NW Tournament opener in Bethany Jan. 25.

The Timberwolves, the No. 3 seed, defeated the Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team 56-36 to advance to the second round.

Okaw Valley took a four-point lead into the half, but it was a 17-7 Timberwolves run in the third quarter that proved to be the difference.

Okaw Valley doubled the Knights score 12-6 in the fourth period for the final score.

The Timberwolves out-rebounded ALAH 41-28, including 20 offensive boards.

For the Timberwolves, Connor Cloyd scored a game-high 27 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks.

Austin Hill and Taylor Coleman followed with seven points each, and Hill added two steals and two rebounds.

Jared Bunfill tallied four points, two steals and two assists, and Trey Yarnell and Cole Nichols each contributed three points.
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Final Shot Captures Third for Timberwolves in Arthur

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Photo by Jason Brown
Paige Robinson drives to the basket in the Little Okaw Valley Conference NW Tournament against ALAH Knights.

•January 25, 2017•

 

by Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

Timberwolves junior guard Natalie Jeffers drained a corner 3-pointer with three seconds left in the game to defeat Villa Grove/Heritage 50-49 to capture third place in the Little Okaw Valley NW Conference Tournament in Arthur, Saturday.

The winning shot started with Jeffers taking the ball out of bounds with 9.1 seconds left in the game.

Jeffers passed to junior guard Paige Robinson, who dribbled the ball down court and found Jeffers in the corner with five seconds left.

“Good decision, good feet, good shot,” said Okaw Valley coach Brad Ackers. Read More