Okaw Valley Boys Pick Up Win Over Sullivan

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•December 12, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team picked up its first win of the season against rival Sullivan last Tuesday but dropped a close Little Okaw Valley Conference game Friday.
Against Sullivan at Bethany, both teams struggled to put points on the board.
OV led 9-5 after the first quarter, and the second finished similarly at 8-5 for the 7-point halftime lead.
After each team scored eight points in the third quarter, the Timberwolves tacked on to the lead in the fourth for the 40-30 win.
For OV, Cole Nichols scored a game high 19 points and collected a team-high seven rebounds.
Eli Hagerman finished with seven points, and Tyson Montgomery had five. Read More

Sullivan Girls’ Basketball Cracks Class 2A State Top Ten

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Sullivan Coach Sheri McCain directs traffic from the sideline.

•December 12, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Sullivan girls’ basketball team toppled two Central Illinois Conference foes this past week and cracked the Associated Press’ top ten as the No. 10 Class 2A ranked team in the state.
The Redskins easily took care of Meridian Monday night and Warrensburg-Latham Thursday (Dec. 6).
In Macon Monday, Sullivan wasted no time with its early pressure and outscored Meridian 22-8 in the first quarter.
The Redskins did not look back in the 70-32 rout.
Lilly Null had team-highs in three categories with 16 points (including two 3-pointers) eight steals and seven assists.
Emily White followed with 14 points, and Avery Still also broke double digits 11 points and collected six rebounds.
Jerra Goad recorded six points and six rebounds, and Josie Orris dropped seven points. Read More

Four Area Inductees In IBCA Hall of Fame

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•December 12, 2018•

The Illinois Basketball Coaches Association announced its 2019 Hall of Fame class.
Four area candidates are included as inductees.
Included among the 48 players to be inducted are Sheri (Adams) McCain and Allyson (Glazebrook) Kunz.
McCain, a 1992 Sullivan graduate, is the current Redskins girls’ basketball coach.
While McCain has been head coach her teams have appeared in five regional title games and won three regional titles (2013, 2014 and 2018).
After high school, McCain continued her basketball career at Lake Land and Western Illinois.
Another girls’ basketball player, Kunz, graduated in 1995. Read More

ALAH Girls’ Basketball Team Faced Four Tough Matches

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•December 12, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond girls’ basketball team lost four games this past week.
The Knights lost to Monticello Monday night, Mattoon Saturday, Villa Grove/Heritage Thursday (Dec. 6) and Tri-County last Tuesday.
Monday night against Monticello, ALAH took a an 8-7 lead after one period and a 20-18 halftime lead.
The Sages went on a 14-4 run in the third quarter to take the lead 32-24.
The Knights outscored Monticello 16-14 in the final period but could not come back in the 46-40 loss.
Marissa Herschberger led the Knights with 12 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and five steals.
Alexa Miller contributed six points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists, and  Emma Harris collected seven points and five rebounds, and Mackenzi Bowles added six points, four rebounds and two steals. Read More

Tough Week for Timberwolves

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•December 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Okaw Valley boys’ basketball team dropped back-to-back games to Central Illinois Conference teams last week.
OV lost to Tuscola Saturday and Shelbyville Friday.
Against Tuscola, the Timberwolves fell behind 17-8 in the first quarter.
Though OV tied in scoring the rest of the game, the Timberwolves could not make up the early deficit and lost 58-49.
OV made six 3-pointers in the game, including three by Sam Hagerman.
Hagerman and Camden Coleman each scored 13 points. Read More

Meridian and Oakwood Beat ALAH Knights

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•December 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond boys’ basketball team dropped two nonconference games this past week.
The Knights lost to Meridian Saturday and Oakwood Friday.
Saturday in Arthur, Meridian jumped out to an early 23-7 lead in the first quarter.
In the second period, the Hawks outscored the Knights 22-12, and ALAH could not recover in the second half for the eventual 74-42 loss. Read More

ALAH Takes Cumberland, Falls to Sullivan

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Photo by Jason Brown
Freshman Knight Mallory Nichols (#5) bears down on defense against freshman Redskin Lilly Null.

•December 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond defeated Cumberland Thursday (Nov. 9) but lost to Sullivan Monday night.
Against Cumberland at Toledo, the Knights fell behind in the first quarter 10-8 but rallied in the second quarter 16-7 to take a 24-17 halftime lead.
ALAH added to that lead by one by the end of the third quarter and then held on in the fourth quarter for the 40-35 win.
Freshman Alexa Miller scored a game-high 13 points to go with six rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Marissa Herschberger followed with six points, five rebounds and four steals.
Sophomore Mackenzi Bowles, senior Emma Harris and freshman Mallory Nichols each scored five points.
Harris also added a team-high eight rebounds, and Bowles collected six rebounds and two steals. Read More

Runners Make All Area Boys’ Teams

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•December 5, 2018•

The Champaign News Gazette announced its 2018 All-Area boys’ cross-country teams last week.
Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond had two runners earn honors, and Sullivan had one.
For the Knights, sophomore Layton Hall was named to the all-area second team, and senior Austin Romine earned all-area honorable mention honors.
For Sullivan, sophomore Chase McClure earned all-area honorable mention honors.

Darush Tees Off at JALC

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Photo by Mike Brothers
Darush Tees Off at JALC
Sullivan High School golfer Addison Darush signed a National Letter of Intent to play on the John A. Logan College (Carterville) Volunteer golf team at the SHS gymnasium Monday, Dec. 3. Front row sitting: Larry Wagner (grandpa); Aimee Darush (mom); Addison Darush; Dave Brandt (dad); Kaye Wagner (grandma); Presley Wagner (cousin, not pictured). Back row: Shane Dyel, JALC Golf Coach and Andy Wagner, SHS Golf Coach.

Sullivan Girls Basketball Team Picks Up Pressure for Two Wins

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Photo by Jason Brown
Sullivan coach Sheri McCain shouts words of encouragement to her players.

•December 5, 2018•

By Jason Brown
NP Sports Editor

The Sullivan girls’ basketball team picked up more wins this past week by defeating Shelbyville on the road last Thursday (Nov. 29) and Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond Monday night in Arthur.
Against ALAH, the Redskins fell behind early in the first quarter when the Knights jumped out to a 7-2 and 12-6 leads.
Sullivan made a late first-quarter push with its consistent full–court press and scored the last 13 points to push ahead 19-12.
The Redskins kept the pressure on in the second quarter to outscore the Knights 21-8 for a 40-20 halftime lead.
“It wasn’t a real good shooting night for us as we shot 13-for-53 from the field (2-point field goals),” said Sullivan coach Sheri McCain. “The good news is we crashed the boards and had 54 total rebounds. We played a good first half and became a little complacent in the second half.” Read More