•December 27, 2017•
Six local football players earned all-area honors this past week.
For Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond, senior linebacker Marcus Vanausdoll earned second team defensive honors. Read More
Category Archives: Sports
Rams Put Away the Knights
•December 20, 2017•
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team dropped a nonconference game 69-51 against Shelbyville Friday.
“We started very well getting great shots, and defensively, we were very active and did a great job competing on the boards and for loose balls,” said ALAH coach Dale Schuring.
The Rams took a 30-21 halftime lead, but it was a 25-14 third quarter run that put the game away.
“Our downfall was turnovers,” Schuring said. “The second half they dictated the game at both ends of the floor.” Read More
ALAH Girls Knock Off St. Anthony Saturday
•December 20, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team split a pair of games this past week.
The Knights lost to Central A&M last Thursday but knocked off St. Anthony Saturday.
“Our team was like Jekyll and Hyde between the two games we played last week,” said ALAH coach Mac Condill.
Against St. Anthony, ALAH took advantage of a 14-6 second quarter run to take a 26-17 halftime lead.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to eight heading into the fourth, but the Knights pulled away for the 48-36 win. Read More
Okaw Valley’s Fritz Signs Letter with Rend Lake College
•December 20, 2017•
Photo furnished
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
This summer on July 15 Garrett Fritz made a pledge to continue his baseball career at Rend Lake College next fall.
The senior standout made it official Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in Bethany when he signed his letter of intent.
“It was a good offer so I couldn’t really turn it down,” said Fritz. “And I talked to all my coaches and parents, and it just turned out to be the right fit for me.”
“He is one of the most competitive young men I have been around,” said OV baseball coach Andrew Hagerman, “and I can tell you Rend Lake, as much as they may think they know about him now, landed a gem here. I look forward to his senior year here and following his success at the next level.” Read More
A Night Filled with Bad Shots Haunts Timberwolves
Photo by R.R. Best
Austin Hill passes the ball against Central A&M Friday.
•December 20, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team snapped its 3-game winning streak with a nonconference loss to Central A&M Friday.
A poor shooting night caught up with the Timberwolves as they fell behind 33-12 at the half and could not recover for the eventual 52-25 loss.
“The key stat for us was that we couldn’t make shots,” said Okaw Valley coach Brooks Inman. “We were 1-for-18 from 3-point range, and that will not get the job done.”
Jared Bunfill led OV with eight points, and Austin Hill had six.
Sam Hagerman and Ty Nichols scored five and four points, in that order, and Hutson Dickens added a bucket.
“We held them to 52 points, and they average over 70 points per game on the season,” Inman said. “Our defensive effort was good enough. We just did not execute offensively the way we would like.” Read More
Injured OV Team Scores Three Wins in a Row
•December 13, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
Despite being bitten by the injury bug these past couple weeks, the Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team won its third game in a row with wins over Sullivan and Tri-County.
The Timberwolves were working as a tight pack when pressuring Sullivan last Tuesday night.
OV’s full-court and ¾-court pressure forced several Sullivan turnovers in the first half.
The Timberwolves were able to convert the turnovers into easy points.
OV jumped out to a 7-0 lead to start the game and extended that lead to 12-2 when Trey Yarnell hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes left in the game.
Sullivan cut that lead to 12-9 to start the second quarter, but OV took a 19-11 halftime lead. Read More
ALAH Girls Start Slowly with Win over VG
•December 13, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team ended this past week with a 1-2 record, a win against Villa Grove and losses to Mattoon and Kansas/Shiloh/Oakland.
“We can’t expect to step on the floor and think we will be able to compete,” said ALAH coach Mac Condill. “We need to establish ourselves at tipoff or else we should continue to expect to start slowly.”
Against Villa Grove Thursday, the Knights took a 2-point lead into the second quarter where they outscored Villa Grove 21-12.
The Blue Devils battled back in the third to outscore ALAH 16-9, but the Knights were able to hold off Villa Grove for a 54-51 win. Read More
Okaw Valley Girls Hit Threes to Propel Win
•December 13, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team split a pair of games this past week, defeating Martinsville Monday night and losing to Altamont Thursday night.
Monday night against Martinsville, eight Timberwolves scored at least three points to help propel OV to a 57-26 victory.
OV outscored Martinsville 23-4 in the first quarter and did not allow a point in the entire second quarter. Read More
ALAH Knights Squeeze by Tuscola in Overtime
Photo furnished
ALAH Knight Kobe Wells had a good game with 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
•December 13, 2017•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports
The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team split a pair of games this past week.
The Knights defeated Tuscola last Tuesday but lost to Toledo-Cumberland Friday.
Against Tuscola, ALAH had to outscore the Warriors 12-9 in overtime to win a close 50-47 game.
“We did a fantastic job rebounding on both ends of the floor,” said ALAH coach Dale Schuring. “We competed well and handled adversity when it came our way.”
The Knights out-rebounded Tuscola 53-42.
ALAH shot only 33 percent from the field and 22 percent from behind the arc but was able to finish on top at the end of the back-and-forth game.
“We were able to get good shots but shot very poorly all night,” said Schuring.
Will Cohan led the team with 15 points, four assists and four steals. He also had three rebounds. Read More
Sullivan Redskins Take Villa Grove Heritage
•December 13, 2017•
The Sullivan boys’ basketball team finished 1-2 this past week with a win against Villa Grove/Heritage and losses to Neoga and Okaw Valley.
Against Villa Grove/Heritage, Sullivan extended a 4-point lead in the second quarter by outscoring VGH 11-3.
The Redskins pulled away in the third quarter with an 18-4 run and then held on for the 47-24 win.
Caden Ellis scored a team-high 14 points, and Ian Plank added nine points. Read More