•January 15, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team finished the week 1-3 with a win against Nokomis and a lost to Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg.
OV fell to Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 62-34 Monday at Bethany. For results, see the ALAH article.
Saturday, the Timberwolves knocked off Nokomis 29-28 when senior Kate Jeffers hit the go-ahead bucket with 28 seconds left in the game. Read More
Photo by R. R. Best
Kirsten O’Neill wrestles for the ball against Mt. Zion at home Saturday.
•January 15, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
After losing to Mt. Zion in the championship game of the Holiday Classic Tournament in Arthur Dec. 28, Sullivan girls’ basketball coach Sheri McCain knew her team would get another shot at the Braves at home Saturday.
The Redskins took advantage and revenged the earlier loss by defeating Mt. Zion 40-31.
“The girls did a nice job defensively tonight and stuck to the game plan,” McCain said.
Unlike the first matchup in which the Redskins fell behind in the second quarter, Sullivan doubled the Braves score 14-7 in the first quarter then took a 21-13 halftime lead.
Sullivan held off Mt. Zion in the second half for the win.
“We were able to hold Wolter to 10 points tonight as opposed to 19 the first time we played them,” McCain said. “We still need to work on handling the ball more and not turning it over down the stretch, but that is something we can work on for the next few weeks. I am proud of these girls for coming back and defeating a very talented team after losing to them in the holiday tournament championship game.”
Avery Still led the team with 18 points and 13 rebounds. She scored 15 of her 18 points in the second half.
Emily White had nine points and three steals.
Taylor Orris scored five points and ripped five key defensive rebounds down in the stretch.
Lilly Null contributed six points, and Kirsten O’Neill added two points and three steals. Read More
•January 8, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports EditorThe Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team defeated Meridian to place third in the 48th annual Vandalia Holiday Tournament last Monday.
OV took third by knocking off the Hawks 57-52.
Timberwolves’ senior Cameron Sharp earned all-tournament team honors and became the 31st player in tournament history to score more than 100 points in the tournament. Read More
•January 8, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Okaw Valley girls’ basketball team wrapped up it fall break with a tough 60-52 overtime road loss to Mt. Pulaski Friday.
OV had the lead most of the game, including a 41-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Hilltoppers outscored the Timberwolves 18-8 in the fourth quarter to tie the game. Read More
•January 8, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Sullivan girls’ basketball team improved its overall record to 11-4 after defeating Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond Monday night.
After an even 10-10 first quarter, the Redskins outscored the Knights 23-12 in the middle two quarters to take a 43-22 lead.
“We started out a little slow in the first quarter, but picked up our defense in the second quarter as we only allowed one field goal,” said Sullivan coach Sheri McCain.
Sullivan added on to that lead in the fourth quarter for the 57-32 win. Read More
•January 8, 2020•
After finishing fourth in the Decatur St. Teresa Christmas Tournament last week, the Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boy’s basketball team lost to LeRoy 76-51.
No other stats were made available.
The Knights (6-5) are scheduled to host Tri-County Friday and then travel to Argenta-Oreana Tuesday.
•January 1, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Sullivan boys’ basketball team placed fourth with a 2-2 record in the Dieterich Holiday Tournament last week.
Saturday, the Redskins fell to Arcola in the third place game 58-32.
The Purple Riders extended a five-point lead into a 29-15 halftime score.
Arcola broke open the game with a 21-8 third-quarter run.
For Sullivan, Colin Chappel led the team with six points to go with two rebounds.
Leyton Ellis and Ryan Batman each scored four points. Ellis also ripped down four rebounds.
Friday against Red Hill, Sullivan completed a fourth-quarter comeback to send the game to overtime. Read More
Photo by Jason Brown
Mackinzie Bowles (#32) protects the ball during the Knights Classic Holiday Tournament in Arthur Friday. Bowles was named to the seven-member all-tournament team.
•January 1, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team placed third in its own Knights Classic Holiday Tournament in Arthur Saturday.
The Knights finished 3-1 with wins over Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg, Chrisman and Shelbyville.
ALAH’s one loss was to eventual tournament champions Mt. Zion.
To earn third place, ALAH ran over the Rams 49-36.
The Knights more than doubled Shelbyville in the first quarter on their way to a 30-16 halftime lead.
Mackinzi Bowles lead the team with a team-high 18 points, four blocks and 11 rebounds. Read More
•January 1, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team finished the Vandalia Holiday Tournament 2-2 this week with the chance to play for third place.
The Timberwolves defeated Cumberland and Patoka but lost to Flora and Pana.
To open tournament action Thursday, OV overwhelmed Cumberland 49-37.
Okaw Valley held a four-to-six point lead in the first half and extended that lead to 38-28 in the third quarter.
Cameron Sharp scored a game-high 21 points, including ten points in the first quarter. Read More
•January 1, 2020•
By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor
The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team placed fourth in the Decatur St. Teresa Christmas Tournament, Saturday.
After defeating Heyworth in the first game of the tournament last week, the Knights lost to Riverton last Monday, knocked off Hartsburg-Emden Friday and lost to Mt. Pulaski Saturday.
Against Hartsburg-Emden Friday, ALAH outscored the Stags 9-4 in overtime to win the back-and-forth game 50-45.
The Knights took a six-point lead in the first, but Hartsburg-Emden took the lead in the second with a 16-6 run for a 25-21 halftime score. Read More