Photo by Keith Stewart
Brothers Stote (left) and Chester Reeder (right) shake hands at the end of Saturday’s game that pit each of their high school basketball teams against one another. Older brother Stote, a 1993 Sullivan alum, won the first encounter by two, 49-47.

December 10, 2014

Sullivan falls by two in near upset

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Big brother, big school vs. little brother, little school.
Saturday night was not just Sullivan’s boys’ basketball competing against Jerseyville but also a matchup of brothers Stote and Chester Reeder, both Sullivan alums who now coach high school teams. And try as he might, little brother Chester fell short of upending big brother Stote by two points as the Redskins fell 49-47 to the Panthers.
“The game itself was just another game,” said Stote. “But before the game it was emotional. The hardest part of this whole night was shaking his hand at the end. I never want to see him lose, then again, I don’t want to lose a whole lot worse than not seeing him lose.”
Stote Reeder, a 1993 SHS graduate and seven years older than the Redskins’ coach, is in his 10th season at Jerseyville, which boasts an enrollment of 942 compared to Sullivan’s 337. Read More

December 10, 2014

Plank’s 13 helps solidify win

By Matthew Kracht
NP Sport Reporter

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Knights improved to 4-0 on Tuesday night with an impressive win over the Tuscola Warriors who fell to 0-1 on the season. Leading the way for the Knights was Tyler Schuring who scored a game high 17 including three deep 3-pointers in the first quarter.
Tuscola came out ready to play and surging to an early 8-4 lead behind hot shooting guards nailing back-to-back 3-pointers. But Schuring responded with his own deep threes including a circus shot with less than 10 seconds left in the first period putting Arthur back on top 18-14. The Knights disguised various defenses throughout the contest frustrating Tuscola’s ability to move the ball with an offense heavily reliant on motion best suited for facing man-to-man. In a back and forth contest the Knights took a 29-23 advantage into the half. Read More

Photo by RR Best
Peyton Hagerman drives between two Shelbyville defenders Friday night. The senior tallied 22 points to help lead his team to a 68-58 win.

December 6, 2014

Endure 11-0 run by Rams in fourth quarter

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Friday night’s season opener at Shelbyville might not have resulted in the 68-58 victory for Okaw Valley had it taken place last year.

“Not to look back, but last year we lost 10 games that we led or tied in the fourth quarter, so it’s encouraging to start off this year with the result being the opposite,” said OV head coach Tony Sparks. “But again, that’s the difference between playing sophomores and juniors and then juniors and seniors.”

After managing to keep a double-digit lead over the Rams for all of the third quarter and halfway through the fourth, OV succumbed to an 11-0 run by Shelbyville on the back of three 3-pointers and all within a minute-and-a-half, prompting a Timberwolf timeout.

“We went to a 2-3 zone there just to give them a different look for about three possessions, and it burned us,” said Sparks. “They hit three 3’s in a row, but we responded. And that’s what I expect a senior led team to do. We called a timeout, regrouped, and talked about it. Then got back to what was working before for us– man-to-man. Then we made some plays, got the rebounds, hit some free throws, and broke their press. We got some easy layups. That’s what we expect a senior led team to do.” Read More

December 3, 2014

Despite a third quarter surge, the Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team fell to Oakwood at home Monday night.

The Lady Knights, trailing 24-14 after the first half, doubled up Oakwood in the third, outscoring them 13-6 to pull within three.

But both teams sat at a scoring stalemate in the final period with nine points each, allowing Oakwood to hold on for a 39-36 win.

ALAH was led by Mycaela Miller with 14 points, while Hannah Wallen scored nine. Read More

Photo by Darian Hays
ALAH's Kim Davis dribbles downcourt.

November 26, 2014

Go on 22-5 run to complete comeback

by Matt Kracht
NP Sport Reporter

Four quarters were simply not enough time to decide the winner of Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond versus the Casey Westfield Warriors last Thursday night. Trailing 27-15 at the half, the Lady Knights stormed back with a 22-5 run in the fourth quarter and overtime to defend their home court, ultimately prevailing 64-61.
After the game, ALAH head coach Craig Moffett talked about what was said to the team during half time.
“I challenged them. I thought the first half we played soft, did a lot of silly things, getting in foul trouble. We talked fundamentals, and I told them to raise our physicality and intensity mostly.”
The Lady Knights were dominated for most of the first half but looked like a completely different team in the second. Moffett insisted that the defense keyed the turn around.
“We handled the ball better, and we turned up our defense without fouling. That is what got us in trouble in the first quarter was a lot of reaching and fouling. We played as a team. It looked like some individuals in the first half, but we came together as a team in the second half.”
The Lady Knights were led to victory from the play of their guards. Logan Kauffman, Mycaela Miller and Kimberly Davis took control in the second half leading their team back from what looked to be an insurmountable deficit.
In the first half the Lady Knights seemed content to settle for jump shots, and Moffett blamed himself for the lack of scoring in the lane. Read More