Collin Thomey leads Spartans in win over ALAH at Toyota of Danville Classic

St. Joseph-Ogden's Ryker Lockhart and Tim Blackburn-Kelley try to grab a loose ball during their team's season opener at the Toyota of Danville Classic on Monday.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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ST. JOSEPH - St. Joseph-Ogden opened their season in commanding fashion Monday, defeating Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 77-33 in the Toyota of Danville Classic. Led by senior Collin Thomey’s 20-point performance, SJO utilized decisive scoring runs to overpower the Knights and showcase their explosive offensive сapabilities.

With ALAH's Kendall Schrock guarding him, Spartan Collin Thomey slashes to the basket. The senior led all scorers with 20 points.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

The Spartans (1-0) jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Will Hilligoss put ALAH on the board, setting the tone for the game. A six-point run midway through the first quarter, highlighted by strong interior play from Tanner Siems, pushed the score to 22-11. Another six-point burst in the second quarter stretched the lead from 22-14 to 31-14, creating a cushion that the Knights could not overcome.

SJO’s dominance peaked in the third quarter with an 11-point scoring run out of the halftime break. Siems fueled the charge with back-to-back buckets before Thomey scored three consecutive baskets to put the game out of reach at 53-21.

SJO’s offensive firepower was evident, with four players finishing in double figures. Thomey led all scorers with 20 points, converting six of seven free throws. Siems contributed 13 points, including pivotal moments during the Spartans' runs. Lane McKinney provided a spark off the bench with 11 points in the fourth quarter, while Tim Blackburn-Kelley added 10 points in limited action.

SJO's Tanner Siems swats a shot attempt by ALAH's Will Hilligoss during the second half. The senior finished with 13 points in the team's first game of the season.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

The Spartans’ defense stifled ALAH (0-2), holding the Knights to just five points in the third quarter and forcing numerous turnovers. Nate Hale led ALAH with 11 points, followed by Hilligoss with eight, while Brennon Hutson and Kendall Schrock chipped in four apiece.

SJO faces Watseka tonight at 6:30 PM in the Main Gym after ALAH's 5 PM matchup against Charleston, who also seeks redemption after a 59-44 loss to Triad last week.

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McNamara Overpowers Oakwood in Toyota of Danville Classic opener

Oakwood's Brandt Hobick tries dribble into the paint past McNamara's Teddy Fogel during their first game in Toyota of Danville Classic at St. Joseph-Ogden High School. Hobick delivered a game-high 11 points for the Comets.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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ST. JOSEPH — In a battle of unbeaten teams, Bishop McNamara stormed past the Oakwood, 74-31, in the opening round of the Toyota of Danville Classic on Monday. McNamara's dominant performance highlighted their offensive depth and resilience on defense, while Oakwood’s struggles tarnished their previously unbeaten record.

The Fightin’ Irish (4-0) set the tone early, racing to a 20-point first quarter and maintaining pressure with 23 and 21 points in the second and third quarters, respectively.

Willie Felton led the charge with 17 points, delivering all his scoring by the end of the third quarter. Trey Provost added 12 points, while Coen Demack and Callaghan O’Connor contributed eight apiece. McNamara’s 34 baskets, all but two from inside the arc, showcased efficient ball movement and consistent finishes at the rim.

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Bishop McNamara's Teddy Fogel tries to block a fourth-quarter shot by Oakwood's Jaethan Perez.

Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks

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Oakwood (5-1) struggled to match McNamara’s pace, scoring just seven points in the first quarter and eight in the second. Brandt Hobick paced the Comets with 11 points, while Carsen Dudley scored nine and Alex Wallace added six. Despite hitting five three-pointers, Oakwood was unable to find its range at the free-throw line, going 4-for-13 and managing just two points in the final quarter.

The win solidifies McNamara’s place as an early favorite in the tournament. Next, they face Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Wednesday, a team coming off a solid 60-37 win over Cissna Park.

Oakwood looks to regroup quickly for their nightcap matchup against PBL in the round-robin tournament tonight at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

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Vermilion County basketball tournament schedule released

OAKWOOD - The game schedule for the upcoming seven-team boys and girls tournament was announced this week. Pool play is set to begin on Friday, January 13, at 5pm, opens with Georgetown against Westville.

Following the opener, Oakwood will face Hoopeston Area in Game 2 at 6:30pm, and the nightcap will be Armstrong-Potomac tipping off against Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin at 8pm.

The boys side of the tournament starts Saturday afternoon at 3:45pm on January 14, with the Hoopeston Area's Cornjerkers taking on the Buffaloes from Georgetown. Game 2, scheduled for 5:15pm, will be between Oakwood and Westville.

The last game of the boys' opening day will be between Salt Fork and Armstrong-Potomac at 6:45pm.

The girls' trophy games will be on Friday, January 20. The boys championship games will be played the following day starting 5pm.

All games will take place at Danville Area Community College.

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Vermilion County Basketball Tournament Schedule

(Click on schedule for larger view)

Zamora leads Hoopeston Area in 8-point win over Westville

HOOPESTON -- Anthony Zamora stepped up with a 15 point finish to lead Hoopeston Area to a 54-46 conference win over Westville on Tuesday.

Zamora, averaging 12.3 points per game, made six of his eight shots from the field and drained half of his attempts from the line. The senior collected a team-high five steals.

Junior Owen Root and sophomore Trenton Montez also finished with double-digit scores against the Tigers. Root logged two boards and two assist to give the Vermilion Valley team their first conference win of the season with his 13 points performance. Montez came off the bench to score 10 points, four from the charity stripe.

The Cornjerkers improve to 4-5 on the season. The team travels to Milford (5-2) on Thursday to face the Bearcats in another conference test and follows up with another game on Friday evening at St. Anne (2-9), who are 1-3 at home against opponents this season.

Box Score

Hoopeston   13     7   16   18   - 54
Westville      13     5     5    23 - 46

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Hoopeston
Root 4(1)-3-2--13, Montez 3(0)-6-4--10, VanDerVeer 1(0)-1-3--5, Rush 0(2)-0-1--7, Zamora 6(0)-6-3--15, Sigerill 1(0)-2-1--3.

Westville
Not reported

VVC all-conference girls basketball team named this week

Seven Vermilion County athletes were named to the Vermilion Vally Conferece All-Conference team this week. The following players earned first-team recognition for their performance during the 2021-22 season:

Kyla Bullington, Junior
Armstrong-Potomac

Sophia Rome, Senior
Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin

Mikayla Knake, Junior
Cissna Park

Tori Birge, Senior
Hoopeston Area

Anna Hagan, Senior
Milford

Addie Wright, Junior
Oakwood

Alexa Jamison, Freshman
Salt Fork

Macie Russell, Sophomore
Salt Fork

Sydney McTaggart, Senior
Watseka

Allie Hoy, Senior
Watseka

SPECIAL MENTION: Mattie Kennel, Jr. (Armstrong); Addison Spesard, Fr. (GRF); Bre Crose, Jr. (HA); Ashlynn Pinnick, Sr. (Oakwood); Hadley Cox, Sr. (Westville); Shea Small, Jr. (IW); Ilyana Nambo, So. (IW); Hunter Mowrey, So. (Milford)

HONORABLE MENTION: Maddie Hudson, Sr. (Armstrong); Natalie Clapp, Jr. (BHRA); Kendl Lemmon, Sr. (Chrisman); Emma Morrical, Sr. (Cissna Park); Kendall Roberts, So. (GRF); Lacie Breymeyer, Jr. (HA); Destiny Thomas, Sr. (IW); Brynlee Wright, Jr. (Milford); Karsen Rupp, Sr. (Oakwood); Karlie Cain, Jr. (Salt Fork); Madison Watson, Jr. (SA); Claire Curry, Sr. (Watseka); Lydia Gondzur, Jr. (Westville)

St. Joseph-Ogden keeps undefeated conference streak alive

CHAMPAIGN -- Eight players delivered points in St. Joseph-Ogden's 43-28 road victory at St. Thomas More on Monday.

The Spartans (14-6 overall, 4-0 IPC) piled on points in the first two quarters against the senior-less Sabers. Up 28-10, St. Joseph-Ogden never needed to glance over their shoulders at the scoreboard.

SJO's starting five were responsible for putting 36 of those points on the scoreboard. Peyton Jones, who finished the night 3-for-3 from the free-throw line, drained a team-high 13 points to lead SJO in the team's fourth conference win of the season.

The rest of the starting five, including Ashlyn Lannert and Taylor Wells with six points apiece, Payton Jacob had seven, and Ella Armstrong added another 4 for 36 of the team's 43 points.

The Spartans received bench points from Alyssa Hamilton, Addie Martinie, and Taylor Hug.

Sophomore Ruari Quarnstrom led all scorers with 19 points, 16 of those delivered to the STM side of the scoreboard in the second half.

Box Score

Final: St. Joseph-Ogden 43 - St. Thomas More 28

	1	2	3	4	F
St. Joseph-Ogden	16	12	11	4	43
St. Thomas More	3	7	6	12	28

St. Joseph-Ogden --
Lannert 2 (0) 2-6 -- 6, Hug 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Williams 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Frick 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Jacob 2 (1) 0-0 -- 7, Wells 3 (0) 0-0 -- 6, Baker 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Baltzell 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Behrens 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Jones 2 (2) 3-3 -- 13, Martinie 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Hamilton 0 (1) 0-0 -- 3, Kearney 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Armstrong 1 (0) 2-2 -- 4.

St. Thomas More --
Wells 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Stark 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Herges 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Dickerson 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Devocelle 1 (1) 0-0 -- 5, Swisher 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Maloney 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Dimoke 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Quarnstrom 2 (4) 3-4 -- 19.