News Progress

January 21, 2015

Suffocating defense key in win

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

A deliberate looking Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ squad overwhelmed the Tri-County Titans Friday night by a 25-point margin. Tyler Schuring shredded the nylon early knocking four 3-pointers in the first half. Tanner Brewer added 15 points to go with four rebounds in one of the big man’s best games so far this season.
Tri-County entered the contest 15-3 on the season and promptly jumped out to a 6-0 lead on back to back threes. But Jeremy Plank responded for the Knights with a deep trey, and Brewer added a layup to take back the lead 7-6 with three minutes remaining in the first. Tyler Schuring caught fire, and it was contagious as the Knights outscored Tri-County 27-5 to close out the half. ALAH was also spectacular defensively showcasing a suffocating man defense that held Tri-County to one point in the second quarter. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
Sullivan’s Nick Frerichs (left) and Kaleb Shumard (right) grab onto Tommy Watson in desperation during the final minute of Friday’s matchup in Tuscola. Watson’s four free throws in the fourth quarter were part of Tuscola’s 7-of-7 from the line.

January 14, 2015

Warriors close out with free-throws

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

It was no secret to Chester Reeder or his Sullivan squad that coming into Friday’s conference opener, Tuscola’s Nick Bates was a scoring threat.

“Our game plan was not to not let him score,” said the Sullivan head coach. “He’s going to score. Our game plan was to contest everything, and we didn’t contest shots to start the fourth quarter, and that’s what killed us. That’s what ended it for us.”

That knowledge didn’t help Sullivan slow down the junior guard, who finished with 27 points and managed to keep his team in the running all night long, before then helping them to a lead they would not relinquish and that would end with a 51-44 Warrior victory. Read More

Photo by RR Best
Natalie Jeffers (left) and Paige Harlin (right) double team a Decatur Christian player Monday evening. The Timberwolves’ defense locked down the stretch to ensure the 63-32 win.

January 7, 2015

OV closes out with defensive prowess

By Matt Kracht
NP Sports Reporter

In the Lady Timberwolves first game of the New Year Amanda McClain scored 14 points and added seven rebounds to lead her team to a 63-32 victory over the Lady Warriors from Decatur Christian.

Coming off a big holiday tournament championship the Lady Timberwolves jumped out to a 6-0 lead on 3-pointers by Paige Harlin and Amy Orrris. It looked as though the rout was on, but Decatur Christian decided they had come to play. Behind a strong performance from their center Danielle Popis no. 22, the Lady Warriors closed out the first period with a 10-3 run leaving Okaw Valley’s lead at 11-10. After the game head coach Don Gardener talked about the difficulty in handling Decatur Christian’s best player.

“We have not played in two weeks so we were a little rusty,” he admitted. “We did struggle with no. 22. She is a good ballplayer, and we realized pretty quickly we were going to have our hands full with her. We tried to just go man to man, then we tried the 1-2-2, and then a box-and-1 towards the end seemed to slow her down a little bit.” Popis would lead all scorers for the game with 23 of Decatur Christians 32 points. Read More

Photo by Keith Stewart
The Knights' Jeremy Plank fires from beyond the arc Tuesday. Plank, who was later chosen as the Tri-County holiday tournament MVP, knocked down five 3-pointers in his team's 47-44 loss to Paris.

December 31, 2014

Knights fall to Paris in championship

by Keith Stewart
keith@newsprogress.com

Paris fans may have thought it absurd, but Knight fans perhaps knew all too well.
With 3.5 seconds remaining on the clock in the fourth quarter and with Paris up 47-44, the Knights had the ball at the opposite end of the court, ready for the in-bounds pass. Much like a few years ago against Central A&M in the Arcola regional championship, the inbounds pass was hurled down court, this time by Avery Schrock to Jeremy Plank who caught the ball mid-air. While the pass was taking flight, Tyler Schuring sprinted down court and to the left of Plank, who then dished the ball to the open senior. Schuring immediately popped up, getting a decent look at the basket and fired.
But unlike the fateful 3-pointer two years ago that Clayton Honn made to win the title, Tuesday night’s attempt banged off the rim in depressingly deciding fashion as Paris held on to defeat Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond 47-44 for the Tri-County tournament crown.
“We executed perfectly and got the shot we were hoping to get, the shot we had to have, the 3-pointer,” said head coach Dale Schuring. “Tyler struggled in the second half, but matchup wise, we thought he had the best chance at hitting that on the move, so that’s what we went with.”
The Knights made it to the championship after three wins, the first of which, a 75-29 route of Windsor Saturday morning followed by a 62-47 victory over eventual fourth place finishing Hutsonville-Palestine that evening. The Knights then stamped their ticket to Tuesday’s championship with a 45-32 win over Westville Monday. Read More