Three on 3
ST. JOSEPH - SJO's Ty Pence, Tanner Siems, and Coy Taylor (left to right) form a defensive wall on Unity junior Andrew Thomas during first-half action on Friday. Down by two with 2:28 left in the second quarter, St. Joseph-Ogden rallied with a 13-point unanswered run to go up 35-24 on the Rockets. The Spartans improved to 24-4 with a week to play in the regular season after taking down the Rockets 67-50. The two conference foes are looking at a possible rematch, this time on a neutral court with a regional title on the line, at the Bismarck-Henning Regional on February 24.
Spartans dive in to pull off hardcourt upset
ST. JOSEPH - Spartans' Ellie Ward goes after a loose ball with Mattoon's Xylia Greeson during their non-conference game Monday. St. Joseph-Ogden rallied back from a 19-point second-quarter deficit to beat the Green Wave 52-49. With five more contests left in the season, the win extends the team's current win streak to three games.
Cheering for Jones
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden wrestlers Karleigh Spain and Camden Getty cheer for teammate Quincy Jones after his second-period pin over Hoopeston Area's Nick Brown. Up 7-2 in their 285-pound match, Jones stuck Brown at 2:34 to give the Spartans a 30-6 margin heading into the lighter weight class matches at Saturday's multi-quad meet. SJO went 3-0 on the day to finished their regular season with 18 wins against 16 losses.
Pinned him to win it
ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden's Jordan Hartman sticks Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley's Jeremy Smolek in their 220-pound match on November 27, 2012. Except for the three forfeits, every match between the two schools ended in a pin. Hartman, who also played football, was a two-sport athlete for the Spartans. He took the SJO senior just 40 seconds to produce the win in his weight class.
Rockets jinx unlucky Panthers
TOLONO - Members of the Unity student cheering section react to a moment on the court during fourth-quarter action of their basketball team's home game against Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Fans from both teams watched the Rockets decimate the visiting Panthers, who mustered just six points in the first half, en route to a 58-22 victory on Friday, January 13. With the Illini Prairie Conference win, Unity boasts a 10-7 record and moves to third place in the league behind Pontiac and Prairie Central.
