St. Joseph-Ogden wins Toyota of Danville Classic title

Host St. Joseph-Ogden improved to 5-0 on the season after defeating Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond in the Toyota of Danville Classic championship game last night, 76-43. The Spartans ranked #10 in last week's Associated Press Class 2A poll, ran the tournament table with wins over Cissna Park, Oakwood, and Schlarman.

Evan Ingram goes up for a shot during SJO's tournament opener against Cissna Park on Tuesday. Ingram was named to the Toyota of Danville Classic All-Tournament Team after Saturday evening's final game. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Ty Pence, Evan Ingram and Logan Smith each contributed double-digit finishes in the title game on Saturday.

Leading the Spartans' offense, Pence scored a modest 14 points. He also had nine rebounds and was 4-for-7 from the free throw line. Moving the ball around, he doled out a team-high five assists.

Evan Ingram continued his supporting role capping the night with 13 points for SJO. The senior who saw 20 minutes of playing time on Saturday also had two steals.

After three quick lead exchanges, ALAH tied the ballgame up at seven-all with 3:52 left in the first quarter. SJO then capitalized on a 13-point run to pull away from the Knights and never had to look back.

Smith, a sophomore, led St. Joseph-Ogden's defense with four steals and put 11 points on the scoreboard. He and Pence made five of their 12 shots inside the arc count.

ALAH, in their first appearance in the Toyota of Danville Classic, finished in second place.

With a game-high 15 points, the Knights Quentin Day's 70% overall shooting was a potential threat to the Spartans throughout the game in the paint.

Jayce Parson led ALAH's rebounding effort with eight boards, and he led his team with five assists.

In addition to Day's output and despite six turnovers, Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond Reggie Edmonds had 12 points. Wyatt Hilligoss rounded out the top three scorers from the Knights with six points from a pair of treys.

The Spartans go on a three-game road campaign starting at Hoopeston Area this Tuesday and then turn south to Casey-Westfield on Saturday, December 11, for another non-conference contest. Before their next home game against Bismarck-Henning on December 21, the squad finishes their away schedule at Danville on December 14.