•February 20, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Sullivan boys’ basketball team lost to Maroa-Forsyth on senior night, Tuscola Friday and ended its season with a loss to Marshall in the Shelbyville Regional Monday.
Against Maroa-Forsyth last Tuesday, Sullivan jumped out to a 15-13 lead in the first quarter.
The Trojans outscored Sullivan 12-7 in the second quarter to take a 25-22 lead into half.
Sullivan bounced back in the third quarter to tie the game at 34. Read More
R.R. Best photo
Redskin Ian Plank drives toward the basket against St. Teresa in Sullivan Friday night.
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Sullivan boys’ basketball team dropped three games this past week.
The Redskins lost to St. Elmo/Brownstown Saturday, St. Teresa Friday and Central A&M last Tuesday.
In the CIC/NTC Shootout against St. Elmo/Brownstown, the game was back-and-forth until the last quarter when St. Elmo/Brownstown fought off a late Sullivan run for the 59-57 win.
Caden Ellis scored a game-high 31 points, and Colin Chappel followed with 12 points.
Ian Plank scored nine, and Kanin Elder and Drew Rogers scored three and two points, respectively.
Against the Bulldogs in a Central Illinois Conference game, St. Teresa came out strong with a 16-6 first-quarter lead.
The Bulldogs tacked on three more points for a 28-17 halftime lead.
Sullivan outscored St. Teresa in the second half, but it was not enough in the 45-34 loss.
Plank and Ellis each scored 11 points, and Dom Kimberlin had five.
Dalton Rogers and Chappel recorded four and three points, respectively.
Last Tuesday, state-ranked Central A&M overpowered Sullivan 70-36.
The Raiders scored 47 first-half points and did not look back. Read More
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team picked up its first Little Okaw Valley Conference Northwest division win against Cerro Gordo/Bement last Tuesday, then lost to Arcola 72-51 Friday and Sangamon Valley 49-46 Monday.
No stats were available for the Arcola and Sangamon Valley game.
Against Cerro Gordo/Bement last Tuesday, the Knights took advantage of an 18-8 second-quarter run and a 21-15 fourth-quarter run for the 51-48 victory. Read More
Photo by Jason Brown
The ALAH bench erupts after the Knights score a basket in the regional championship game.
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team upset Tuscola in the IHSA Class 2A Pana Regional last Wednesday but could not take down the top-seeded host Panthers in the championship game the following night.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team this year,” said ALAH coach Mac Condill. “You nailed it on the head when you said this team improved day by day, quarter by quarter (for the most part). It was a great group of seniors, and those student athletes over achieved in most people’s eyes. They worked hard, played hard and had fun along the way. They truly left an impact on the future of this program.”
In the title match, a back-and-forth first quarter ended in a flurry.
Knight Marissa Herschberger hit a three pointer with 24 seconds left, only to have Panther Shania Schoonover answer with a basket to end the quarter at 19-13.
Pana extended the lead to 22-13 with 5:42 left in the second quarter, but that was where ALAH began its run.
Herschberger hit another 3-pointer with 5:25 left in the period, and Marcy Petersheim followed with her own 3-pointer with 4:45 on the clock. Read More
Photo by R.R. Best
Kate Jeffers fights for the ball during the semifinal regional game against Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg last Wednesday.
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team ended its season with a 52-36 loss to Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg in the semifinals of the Class 1A Bethany Regional last Wednesday.
This season the team was led by seniors Madison Vogel, who averaged 11.8 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per game, and Bella Benning, who made 52 3-pointers and averaged 7.7 points per game.
Kate Jeffers led the team with 9.4 rebounds per game to go with 9.2 points per game.
The Timberwolves season ended with a 10-20 overall record and a Little Okaw Valley Northwest Division record of 5-1 for second place.[/s2If]
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
After losing in a heartbreaker in overtime to Decatur LSA Friday, the Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team defeated Cerro Gordo 47-37 Friday and Ramsey 61-45 Saturday.
Against LSA, the Timberwolves took a 11-9 first quarter lead but fell behind 26-24 by halftime.
The teams played the second half to a tie, and in overtime Decatur eked out a 55-52 win. Read More
Photo by Jason Brown
Avery Still works through traffic.
•February 13, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
During the IHSA Class 2A girls’ basketball tournament, so far, the Sullivan girls’ team has been a team of two halves.
In the semifinal of the regional, the No. 1 seeded Sullivan team trailed No. 7 seeded Warrensburg-Latham by one at halftime.
In the regional championship game, Sullivan and No. 4 seeded Villa Grove were tied.
In the semifinal of the sectional, the Redskins committed 15 turnovers and trailed Edwards County by five points at halftime.
But Sullivan coach Sheri McCain’s motto all along has been, “It isn’t how you start; it’s how you finish.”
And in the second half of each of these tournament games, Sullivan outscored its opponents by a combined total of 52 points to win all three games and advance to its second-straight sectional championship. Read More
•February 6, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond dropped a Little Okaw Valley Conference Northwest division game 57-27 against Decatur Lutheran Friday night.
The Lions outscored ALAH in each quarter, extending the lead from four points in the first to 11 at halftime.
Decatur Lutheran put the game away with a 17-7 third-quarter run. Read More
•February 6, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team picked up another Little Okaw Valley Conference Northwest Division win with a 73-34 win over Sangamon Valley Friday.
After a 12-8 lead in the first quarter, OV outscored Sangamon Valley 21-11 in the second quarter and 23-12 in the third quarter to blow the game open.
Two Timberwolves hit double-digit scoring. Read More
Photo by R.R. Best
Josie Orris shoots underneath the basket.
•February 6, 2019•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
After a hiccup in the Central Illinois Conference Tournament in Decatur last week, the Sullivan girls’ basketball team clinched the regular CIC championship by defeating Tuscola on senior night Friday.
To avenge the upset loss in the semifinals of the CIC tournament to the Warriors, who eventually won the tournament, Sullivan had to wait an extra day because inclement weather Thursday postponed the game until Friday.
“We had such a fun and exciting night for, not only our seniors, but our entire team,” said Sullivan coach Sheri McCain. “We had such an amazing crowd and student section tonight. These girls played with such intensity. They were on a mission and that was to avenge the loss from the tournament and win the conference outright. I am so very proud of these young ladies.”
Sullivan took advantage of a 12-1 second-quarter run to squash any ideas of another upset.
After the 22-9 halftime lead, Sullivan tacked on four more points to its lead in the third.
In the fourth quarter the Redskins blew open the game with a 21-6 run and the 56-24 win.
“It was a great way to end our regular season on senior night,” McCain said. Read More