Sports Page | Last second shot swipes tournament title from Spartans


BLOOMINGTON - The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team suffered their second loss of the season after a brilliant third-quarter at the State Farm Holiday Classic on December 30.

Like the team's earlier loss to Beecher, the sweet taste of victory was yanked from their grasp in the last seconds of the game. With 1.8 second left to play and down by two on the clock, El-Paso Gridley made an inbound pass and got the ball to an open Chanceaye Maxon, Jr, who tossed the ball from 20 feet or so to the basket for a three, giving the Titans a 49-48 advantage at the buzzer to take the Small School Division title.

The Small School Division champions in 2022, the team went 3-1 in the tournament and were this year's runner up. Tanner Jacob was named to the All-Tournment team.

Senior Luke Landrus led SJO's scoring effort with 19 points. Coy Taylor finished with 11 points, and Jacob sank nine for the top three scorers. Jacob and junior Tanner Siems were the team's leading rebounders, collecting four boards each. Landrus hauled in three, and Collin Thomey snagged two in the title game.

The Spartans (12-2) include Ryker Lockhart, Tanner Jacob, Kodey Mckinney, Coy Taylor, Logan Smith, Luke Landrus, Tanner Siems, Logan Lackey, Will Haley, Kendrick Johnson, Asher Pruemer, Parker Fitch, and Collin Thomey.


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Going up strong, SJO wins tournament quarterfinal game over Rock Falls

BLOOMINGTON - Surrounded by Rock Falls players, St. Joseph-Ogden's Collin Thomey goes up for second half shot at the Shirk Center. The junior scored four points and grabbed two rebounds during his 15 minutes against the Rockets. St. Joseph-Ogden won the game 66-40, advancing to Friday's semifinal game against Pecatonica at the State Farm Holiday Classic.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Prep Sports Notebook | Area schools produce a bouquet of basketball victories


Thomas piles on points at Williamsville Holiday tournament
Williamsville - Henry Thomas led Unity in their 62-57 win over Peoria Christian on Thursday with 21 points. Dalton O'Neill and Dane Eisenmenger added 10 points each to propel the Rockets into the semifinals against Illini Prairie Conference foe Prairie Central.

Another team win, Unity enjoyed scoring from seven other players, including Tre Haggard with two points, Colton Langendorf 5, Brayden Henry 5, Aiden Porter 2, Jay Saunders 3, Eric Miebech 1, and Andrew Thomas rounding out the scoring effort with five points.


St. Joseph-Ogden boys advance to semis at State Farm tourney
Bloomington - Tanner Jacob scored 16 points, and Coy Taylor piled on another 14 in the Spartans' quarterfinal game against Rock Falls. In complete control from start to finish, St. Joseph-Ogden kept the game out of reach, defeating the Rockets, 66-40.

Unlike their opener against East Dubuque, SJO took an early lead and didn't look back with seniors Luke Landrus, who snagged nine rebounds, and Logan Smith with seven assists, contributing nine points each.

St. Joseph-Ogden looks to lock up one of the title game spots tomorrow after tonight's 8:30 pm game against Pecatonica. The Indians, in their first State Farm Holiday Classic appearance, shocked Normal U-High yesterday, 62-55.


Unity girls roll past Armstrong-Potomac
Bismarck - Addison Ray scored a game-high 19 points for the Rockets in the team's 61-41 win over Armstrong-Potomac. Ray amassed her total take in three quarters and was 3-for-8 from three-point range.

Raegen Stringer finished with 12 points, and Reagen Little had ten points. Unity's bench contributed 20 points in win number ten. Emily Decker scored six points, Claire Meharry delivered for points in the second half, Jocelyn LeFaivre four points, Elle Cheely 2 points, and Lauren Haas added four more to the cause.

Unity will face Benton Central (14-2) in the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament championship game.


Rockets blast Comets in tournament quarterfinal
Bismarck - Unity's Addison Ray started her day at the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament with 16 points to lead Unity to a 51-25 win over Oakwood yesterday. Raegen Stringer, who was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line, scored 11 points, and Reagan Little book ten points to advance in the Rockets in the championship bracket.

Jaydah Arrowsmith and Nikita Taylor paced the Comets with six points each.


Spartan girls rebound
Bloomington - Katie Ericksen drained a season-best 20 points in SJO's 45-42 win over Rockford Lutheran in the State Farm Holiday Classic Small School consolation bracket quarterfinal. Addisyn Martinie chipped in 11 points, and Addison Frick, a perfect 2-for-2 from the charity stripe, finished with seven points.

The Lady Spartans advanced to a semifinal game against Port Byron Riverdale.


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"You got to be ready" - SJO bench steps up when called in SFHC opener

SJO's Tanner Siems takes control of the opening tipoff at the State Farm Holiday Classic on Wednesday.

NORMAL - From the opening tip through the first quarter, the St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team's efforts were dismal against East Dubuque in the second game of the Small School Division at the State Farm Holiday Classic. Up 27-25 at the start of the second half, the Spartans extended their fragile lead by as much as 11 in the third quarter over the tenacious Warriors on the way to a 56-47 win Wednesday afternoon at Normal Community West High School.

The East Dubuque punched SJO in the mouth early, going up 6-0 and led on the scoreboard the entire quarter. Spartans' Ryker Lockhart tied the game up with 3:37 left to play in the half, followed by two more SJO buckets to up 24-20.

"It didn't seem like we were ready to play," Spartan head coach Kiel Duval confessed. He gave credit to the way the Warriors came out to play. "They had a lot more energy from the start. They were more aggressive on both ends and that took us out of what we wanted to do."

The slow rev up to aggressive play was not ideal.

"In this tournament, you can't approach games like that," he explained. "One through 16 is really, really good. If you don't come ready to play, you saw what happened in the first quarter. You have to be ready to play when you walk off the bus."


Tanner Jacob takes a shot
Tanner Jacob goes up for a contested shot with East Dubuque's Carter Widmeier. Jacob scored 11 points for the Spartans in Wednesday's game.
PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

On the next possession, Warriors' Aaron Culbertson hit a jumper, closing the scoring gap. Tanner Jacob answered back with a trey of his own for SJO to make the score 27-23. East Dubuque would sink one more basket before the intermission and head in the locker room down by two.

It took just under a minute and a half at the start of the third quarter for Jacob to bag another trey and sink a field goal, giving SJO a 32-25 lead. Coupled with aggressive defensive play, the Spartans let the Warriors get close twice in the third quarter before taking full-control of the contest.

"It wasn't really a great start. We weren't ready to go," said Luke Landrus, who finished with eight points and four rebounds. "We picked it up after the second quarter. In the third quarter we really started playing defense and getting rebounds. That helped us offensively."

Landrus credited the bench for helping St. Joseph-Ogden get the win.

"Our bench helped us a a lot. We didn't start off fast, but we had good people come off the bench, played hard, and did their job."

Combined, Lockhart, Parker Fitch, Tim Blackburn-Kelley, Logan Lackey and Collin Thomey saw 32 minutes.

Ryker Lockhart, hopped of the bench, playing five minutes for SJO. He hit the second quarter, game-tying shot the Spartans needed against East Dubuque.

Photo: PhotoNews Media


"We got a lot of guys with the ability to play. We told them 'you got to be ready, whatever your roll is'," Duval said. "You got to play just like the other guys. There shouldn't be any drop-off. I thought the did today."

Three SJO players finished with double figures. Shooting 75% from the field, junior Tanner Siems finished with 15 points. Logan Smith accumulated 13 points during his 26 minutes on the floor. Both Siems and Smith had three rebounds and three assists. Jacob contributed 11 points and credited with two steals.

One-for-two from the free-throw line, Thomey led the Spartans' rebounding effort with five.

Tonight, the Spartans face Rock Falls in the tournament's nightcap at 8:30-ish at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center.


Spartans dive in to win first game at the State Farm Holiday Classic

NORMAL - St. Joseph-Ogden's Logan Smith dives in to catch a loose ball over East Dubuque senior Wyat Kruser and teammate Tanner Siems in the second half of their State Farm Holiday Classic first-round game on Wednesday. The Spartans (10-1) defeated the Warriors thanks to second-half reboot, 56-47. Siems led the SJO contingent with 15 points, while Smith delivered 13 in the first three quarters. St. Joseph-Ogden advances in the winner's bracket to face the Rockets of Rock Falls (10-3) in a quarterfinal contest at approximately 8:30 pm on Thursday.

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks



Photo Gallery | SJO wins prelude to the State Farm title

Ty Pence and Logan Smith go after a loose ball

St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Pence and Logan Smith go after a loose ball with Rockford Lutheran's Vontesz Dent during first quarter action at the 2022 State Farm Holiday Classic. The Spartans went on to defeat the Crusaders 72-69 to advance the tournament's small school bracket title game. Pence and Smith each scored 25 points to secure SJO's victory.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Maddux Carter dribbles the ball

Maddux Carter dribbles the ball away from a Crusader Marquise Haynes during first quarter action. Carter was held scoreless but was an essential part of the SJO's defensive effort.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Logan Smith starts to accelerate

Spartan Logan Smith starts to accelerate past Crusaders' Marquise Haynes on a slash to the paint. The junior guard hit 11 shots from the field and knocked down three of his four free throw attempts to rack up 25 points.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Coy Taylor goes up for a shot

SJO's Coy Taylor goes up for a shot on a fastbreak play in the second quarter. The sophomore quietly contributed 10 points in the Spartans' victory.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Logan Smith prepares to shoot

Guarded by two Rockford Lutheran players, Logan Smith hesitate before putting the ball up under the St. Joseph-Ogden basket.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Tanner Jacob takes a shot

Tanner Jacob puts the ball up as Crusaders' Keaton Peifer defends on the shot. Jacob missed the shot but would later make amends with a three-pointer in the second half of the contest.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Ty Pence finds an open teammate under the basket

Ty Pence finds an open teammate under the basket during the second half. The Spartans led by six points at the break, 41-35.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Logan Smith attacks the paint

Logan Smith attacks the paint. His relentless forays inside caused repeated headaches for the Crusaders, who were unable to match the 5-foot-9 guard's tenacity.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Ty Pence scores 25

After being fouled on a shot, Ty Pence takes a moment recollect himself before heading the free throw line. Pence finished the game 5-for-7 from the line to share team-high scoring honors with teammate Logan Smith. Both players dropped 25 points for SJO.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Logan Smith jets past Rockford Lutheran's Marquise Haynes

Logan Smith jets past Rockford Lutheran's Marquise Haynes in the fourth quarter.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Ty Pence leaps for a shot over a Rockford Lutheran player in the fourth quarter.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Ty Pence guarded by Marquise Haynes

SJO's Ty Pence lines up a run to the rim while being guarded by Crusaders' Marquise Haynes.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Another photo of Logan Smith

Logan Smith looks for an open teammate after his approach to the basket was blocked.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Kyle Duval takes a moment to pass along instructions to Logan Smith

Head coach Kyle Duval takes a moment to pass along instructions to Logan Smith during a lull between free throw attempts. A day later, Duval would become the first SJO basketball coach to win a State Farm Holiday Classic title. A staple in the field of competition, the Spartans have played in the tournament for the past 17 years.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


McGwire Atwood lets out an emotional burst celebrating

McGwire Atwood lets out an emotional burst celebrating SJO's semifinal win. The senior, who scored six points for the team, wrapped a loose ball after a steal attempt by the Spartans to seal the win.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Illinois State basketball commit Ty Pence celebrates the Spartans semifinal win as the team heads back to the bench. After the team's four games at the holiday tournament, Pence earned his second SFHC All-Tournament Team award.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks


Photo of the Day | January 5, 2023

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Pence slams Annawan with 36
NORMAL - St. Joseph-Ogden's Ty Pence slams a first-quarter dunk during the SJO's first-round game at the State Farm Holiday Classic. Using the senior's explosive 36-point performance, SJO cruised to a 78-28 victory over the Braves. Two days later, Pence and the Spartans went on to win this year's small school title. The Illinois State University commit also earned his second-consecutive All-Tournament Team nomination in the small school division.

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Photo of the Day | December 30, 2022

McGwire Atwood celebrates SJO win
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

SJO holds on the win semifinal at SFHC
BLOOMINGTON - St. Joseph-Ogden's McGwire Atwood celebrates his team's 72-69 win over Rockford Lutheran at the State Farm Holiday Classic on Thursday. With less than four seconds on the clock and Crusaders with possession, Atwood managed to snag the ball on the last play of the game to keep it from going into overtime. The Spartans, who started the tourney as the #1 seed, advance to the title game on Friday against Normal University High at 5:15pm. The game will be played at the Shirk Center on the Illinois Wesleyan University Campus.

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Photos this week


The St. Joseph-Ogden soccer team hosted Oakwood-Salt Fork in their home season opener on Monday. After a strong start, the Spartans fell after a strong second-half rally by the Comets, falling 5-1. Here are 33 photos from the game.