The Sentinel: Hoopeston Area

Cornjerkers rally past Comets, Trenton Montez scores 23 in VVC win

HOOPESTON - Trenton Montez scored 23 points to lead Hoopeston Area past visiting Oakwood in Vermilion Valley Conference action Tuesday. The Cornjerkers outscored the Comets 21-18 in the final quarter to secure a 59-57 victory.

Junior Brayden Walder and sophomore Nick Cardenas also reached double figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Montez anchored the defensive effort with five rebounds and five steals.

The Comets (9-9) held a 30-24 lead at halftime and maintained their advantage through the third quarter, entering the fourth up 39-38.

After defeating Milford on Friday, Hoopeston Area improved to 11-4 overall and 3-0 in the VVC. The Cornjerkers will face Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley in a nonconference road game Saturday.

Aiden Bell picks up win for Hoopeston at multi-quad wrestling meet

ST. JOSEPH - Hoopeston Area's Aiden Bell wrestles St. Joseph-Ogden's Brandon Goodwin during their 126-pound match on Saturday at the six-team SJO Multi-Quad Meet. Bell won his bout by major decision, 13-0. In addition to Bell's win, Hoopeston Area also got wins from Angel Zamora, Aiden Larkew, David Bell, and Talen Nelson. It was not enough as the Cornjerkers, over-powered by the Sartans, fell 53-26 to SJO. In addition to SJO and Hoopeston, teams from St. Thomas More, Decatur Lutheran, MacArthur, and Cumberland competed at the half-day event.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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Shooting Stars | Area basketball athletes shined brightly last month

• Clifton Central 46 - Hoopeston Area 41

Preston VanDeVeer and Anthony Zamora finished with nine points each in Hoopeston Area's loss at home to the Comets. Kenddrick Sigerill led the Cornjerkers (2-3) on the boards with a season-high 11 rebounds finished with eight points. Hoopeston Area's Owen Root went 3-for-6 from the field putting eight points in the book.

Oakwood's Brody Taflinger shakes hands with St. Joseph-Ogden Athletic Director Justin Franzen after recieving his recognition plaque for the Toyota of Danville All-Tournament team on December 3. Taflinger's efforts lead the Comets to a runner-up finish after falling to the hosts Spartans 66-31 in the championship game on Saturday. Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

• St. Joseph-Ogden 66 - Oakwood 31

Ty Pence drained 33 points in SJO's title game against Oakwood at the Toyota of Danville Classic on December 3. The senior D1 recruit scored 15 points in the first quarter to put the host Spartans on cruise control to this year's tournament title.

Junior Brody Taflinger led the Comets, who entered the fray with an impressive 8-0 record, with a 13-point effort in the team's first loss of the season.

• Teutopolis 56 - Unity 40

Before boasting a four-game win streak, the Rockets suffered their second consecutive loss at the hands of the Wooden Shoes on December 3. Despite nine players contributing with two or more points, Unity fell 56-40.

The Rockets led at the halfway point by five and trailed by one, 38-37, at the end of the third quarter. Jay Saunders, who led the team in the loss with nine points, hit the team's only field goal during a fourth-quarter offensive collapse. Dalton O'Neill sank one of two free throw attempts to round out the scoring in the frame to just three points. O'Neill, Unity's second-leading scorer, finished with seven points. Henry Thomas tallied five points in the third quarter.

Joey Niebrugge, a junior, led all scorers with in the contest with 18 points.

• St. Joseph-Ogden 68 - Watseka 28

Junior Logan Smith and senior Ty Pence combined effort produced 48 of SJO's 68 points in the team's romp over the Warriors at the Toyota of Danville Classic.

Pence, an 2023 Illinois State basketball recruit, drained 28 points while Smith rained down 20 more. Six other Spartans including Maddux Carter and Brock Trimble contributed to the victory.

• Rochester 56 - Unity 46

Andrew and Henry Thomas sank 11 points apiece in the Rockets' second game of the season. Without home court advantage, Unity (1-1) came out of the locker room cold after the halftime break, scoring just six points to Rochester's 17.

• St. Joseph-Ogden 44 - Danville 14

Addisyn Martinie dropped a game-high 16 point in the Spartans' first game during the month of December that snapped a three-game early season slide. Addison Seggebruch supplied 13 points in the non-conference victory.

SJO's improves to 2-4 heading into their next contest against Maroa-Forsyth at home.

• URBANA 39 - Charleston 34

Senior Gabrielle Mboyo-Meta led the Tigers girls' basketball effort with 16 points in the team's first win of the season. Junior Jasmine McCullough also delivered a double-digit finish with 13 points. Urbana (1-3) enjoyed a team effort with six points from McKenzie Sprague and two points apiece from Savannah Blanden and Elizabeth Lange.

Trojans' Ally Logsdon all scorers with 19 points, 15 of those delivered in the fourth quarter of the non-conference game on December 1.

Prep Sports Notebook | Area basketball teams post losses

Urbana 20, Normal Community 57: The Tigers didn't hit a shot from the field in the second quarter of their road game against the Lady Ironmen on Saturday. Junior Aziyaha Davis led all Urbana scorers with six points. Jasmine McCullough and Destiny Barber rounded out the top three scorers with five and four points, respectively.

Hoopeston Area 69, Horizon Science Academy Southwest 48: Trenton Montez and Anthony Zamora led the Cornjerkers with 16 points apiece in pool play against the Huskies. Montez snagged four steals, while Zamora collected four of his own out of the team's total of 11. Preston VandeVeer added another eight points while Owen Root provided seven at the Watseka Christmas Tournament.

Kendrick Sigerill, who finished with six points, led the team on the boards with six rebounds. Root and fellow junior Wyatt Eisenmann hauled in four rebounds apiece. The Hoopeston boys will face VVC foe Westville in the 5th-place game at the tournament on Tuesday.

St. Joseph-Ogden 26, Pleasant Plains 55: Addisyn Martinie scored a team-high 10 points in the Spartans' road loss against the Cardinals in non-conference girls action on Saturday. Addie Brooks came off the bench to post two third-quarter treys for six points. Senior Taylor Hug was held to just five points for SJO. The St. Joseph-Ogden (4-7) varsity squad hosts the one-loss Cissna Park Timberwolves (10-1) tomorrow at 6pm.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

6-foot-3 senior Austin Langendorf gets a hand slap from a young Unity basketball fan after his team's tough 45-43 overtime loss to Pleasant Plains on Saturday.

Unity 43, Pleasant Plains 45: Unity snagged 21 rebounds and tallied eight assists in the 2-point overtime loss to Pleasant Plains. Head coach Matt Reed said his 5-3 team will learn from the loss and improve, especially with a tough conference schedule in front of them. "The effort [and] the desire, that was definitely there. It was just a great high school basketball game. A really good basketball game."

The Rockets will attempt to shake the loss off and prep for an upcoming non-conference game against Paris at the Rocket Center on Tuesday.

Unity 36, Mt. Zion 51: Addison Ray led the Rockets with a team-high 14 points and had five boards in the program's third loss this season. Senior Abbie Piecaynski knocked down six fourth-quarter points, but it wasn't enough to close the gap with the generous Lady Braves' lead. Frosh Claire Meharry also produced her offense contribution in the final quarter with four points and grabbed eight rebounds for the now 9-4 Rockets. Lauren Miller contributed three points, three rebounds and four steals during the home stand.

Prep Sports Notebook | Hoopeston drops close game at Watseka tourney, SJO picks up win

Cornjerkers suffer heartbreaking loss

WATSEKA - The Hoopeston Area basketball team dropped their first conference game of the season to Milford at the Watseka Christmas Tournament on Thursday. Despite seven players contributing to the final outcome, the Cornjerkers (4-6, 1-1) came up short, 70-67.

Anthony Zamora led Hoopeston's scoring effort with 19 points. Preston VanDeVeer finished the night with a 13-point effort. Kendrick Sigrill, who hauled down 12 rebounds, and Wyatt Eisenman chipped in 12 points apiece. Owen Root added another 8 points, Mason Rush finished with 2 points, and Ethan Steiner added one more in the conference loss.

Cornjerkers continue their quest at the Watseka tournament facing St. Anne tomorrow.

Hug drains 5 treys

BISMARCK - St. Joseph-Ogden Taylor Hug led all scorers with a game-high 19 points in her team's 50-31 win over Bismarck-Henning. The senior was also a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. She swished a three-pointer in every quarter except for the third, where she drained an extra.

Teammate Addison Frick hit three shots from behind the arc on her way to a 12-point finish for the Spartans. Addie Martinie contributed 12 points, and Addie Seggebruch rounded out the team's scoring effort with nine points.

The road win improves SJO's season record to 4-6. The Spartans travel to Pleasant Plains on Saturday for another non-conference contest.

Uni-High falls to Salt Fork at home

URBANA - The Illineks scored 10 points in all four quarters but came up short in their non-conference home game against the visiting Storm from Salt Fork 74-40 on Wednesday. U-High is 1-11 on the season after the loss.

** This page will be updated as results are reported oursentinel.com **

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.