Prep Hoops | Porter delivers 15 points in Unity's third loss

Brady Porter and Dillon Rutledge drilled three treys apiece in Unity's home game against Illinois Valley Central (2-1) this past Tuesday. Their combine effort was not enough in the Rockets' eventual 59-43 loss.

A three-pointer from both players and another from Will Cowan left UHS with mere six-point deficit after a competitive 17-11 first quarter. Once again, the Rockets' were crippled by second quarter shooting woes, delivering just two field goals and a free throw to fall behind at the half, 32-18.

The period might have been more manageable if it wasn't for the plethora of foul calls against the Rockets. IVC took advantage of all six trips to the foul line, missing just two of the nine attempts offered. It more of the same in the second half. After the final buzzer, the Grey Ghost capitalized on 22 of their 32 shots from line.

Meanwhile, on the side of the scorer's table, the Rockets drew just six foul calls from the guys in stripes. Austin Langendorf made one of his four attempts while William Jokish finished the game 2-for-2.

Unity's effort was led by Porter who finished the night with 15 points. Rutledge chipped in three first half long range shots for nine points and Damian Knoll added eight points to the cause, all tacked on in the second half to round out the Rockets' top three shooters.

Mac Parmelee spearheaded the Illinois Valley Central offensive. The 6-foot-3 senior buried seven field goals and was 6-for-8 from the line good for 20 points in IVC's second win of the season. Stepping back to a supporting role, Holt Geltmaker was 7-for-8 from the free throw line and finished with 15 points.

Still in search of their first victory of the season, the 0-3 Rockets are on the road at Olympia on Tuesday.

Box Score

Unity	11	7	15	10	- 43
Illinois Valley Central	17	15	18	9	- 59

Unity

Kimball () - -- , Cowan 0 (2) 0-0 -- 6, Hensch 1 (0) 0-0 -- 2, Rawdin 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rutledge 0 (3) 0-0 -- 9, Knoll 1 (2) 0-0 -- 8, Porter 3 (3) 0-0 -- 15, Drennan () - -- , Page 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Langendorf 0 (0) 1-4 -- 1, Alt 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Jokisch 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2.

Illinois Valley Central

Hulson 0 (1) 2-2 -- 5, Parmelee 7 (0) 6-8 -- 20, Brooks 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Hulett 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Harms 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Rainey 1 (0) 1-4 -- 3, Mercer 2 (0) 4-8 -- 8, Sawyer 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Wollard 3 (0) 0-0 -- 6, Geltmaker 4 (0) 7-8 -- 15, McNaught 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, McCoy 0 (0) 0-0 -- 0, Edlman 0 (0) 2-2 -- 2.

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Photos Today: Spartans fall in state basketball semifinal

Hannah Dukeman comes out to the floor during team introductions before the start of St. Joseph-Ogden's Class 2A state semifinal game against Teutopolis on Friday. The Spartans, in their first-ever final four appearance advanced to the third-place contest on Saturday after falling 50-31 to the Wooden Shoes. Dukeman, who finished the game with 5 points and 5 rebounds in loss, and her teammates kept Teutopolis on the heals most of the first half before too many missed shots from the field put the game out of reach. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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Maclayne Taylor takes a shot during first half action against the Wooden Shoes. In her 28 minutes on the floor the senior scored just 3 points and picked up 3 rebounds. See more photos from this game here: St. Joseph-Ogden vs Teutopolis state semifinal basketball game. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Payton Vallee tries to establish position under the basket for a rebound with Teutopolis' Claire Bushur. Vallee hauled in one offensive rebound and three on the defensive side of the court. She contributed 3 points to the final score and had one steal in the semifinal loss on Friday. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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Hoping to motivate his team to victory, senior Cole Zaccarelli cheers loudly for his SJO basketball team. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Peyton Crowe dribbles down the baseline past Teutopolis' Olivia Niemerg. Crowe, who was named to IBCA's All-State Second Team and will play for the Parkland Cobras in the upcoming season, led the Spartans in scoring with 10 points and nine rebounds. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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St. Joseph-Ogden's Payton Jacob goes up for a shot, her only attempt in her four minutes on the floor, during second half action against Teutopolis. The ball failed to find the hoop in game were SJO made just 17% of their shots in the second half from the field. See more photos from this game here: St. Joseph-Ogden vs Teutopolis state semifinal basketball game. (Photo: PhotoNews/Clark Brooks)

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Orcutt scores 21 in win over Villa Grove-Heritage

Midway into the third quarter of their home game against Villa Grove-Heritage on Tuesday, St. Joseph-Ogden's Keanen Swanson made a shot from the paint to help St. Joseph-Ogden build their largest lead of the non-conference contest.

When the dust settled after a mad flourish of turnovers and desperate scoring attempts by both teams in the final quarter of the game, the Spartans escaped with a 58-52 win over the Hawks.

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While Villa Grove-Heritage's Blake Smith plays defense, St. Joseph-Ogden's Keanen Swanson dribbles the ball in the second half during in their home game on Tuesday. Swanson finished the game with 5 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds. See more photos from the game here: Spartans vs Hawks varsity basketball gallery. (Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks)

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The 10-point surplus mentioned above was subsequently erased when Hawks' Jake Eversole hit a field goal tying the score at 37-all with 45 seconds left on the clock in the third quarter.

One second, maybe two, before the buzzer sounded ending it, Joel Orcutt launched a ten-footer to give SJO a two-point lead.

And, Orcutt wasn't done.

He would go on to score four more times in the final quarter on his way to a game-high 21 points. Without fellow senior Jack Cook,the team's leading scorer, on the floor it was up to Orcutt to make buckets.

Cook was unable to play due to an unexpected illness that kept him out of school.

"I found more opportunities to score the ball. We had to get the points. We had to get balls in the hoop," said Orcutt, who also led both teams with 8 rebounds and took up the slack for the missing Cook. "I've got height. It was just easier to get the ball inside to me and score it from five feet instead of (shooting) three-pointers."

Villa Grove-Heritage would tie it up two more times in the last quarter. However, St. Joseph-Ogden never allowed the opportunity to relinquish the lead thanks to a strong defensive effort.

"We struggled tonight. Things got a little frantic out there," said Chance Izard, the Spartans' second leading scorer for the night. "We struggled to keep our composure, but we got the job done."

Izard was 4-for-5 from three point range and finished the night with 16 points. He did not miss either of the two free throws attempts he earned.

"I thought this game was important to bounce back from Saturday's loss to Pleasant Plains on our home court," Izard said. "Our biggest emphasis on this game was to bounce back and play with positive energy."

The Hawks were led with 15-point performances by Will Wilson and Jared Stevens. Evan Wilson, who was 6-for-6 from the free throw line, scored 10 points.

SJO (10-7) was to play Teutopolis at home on Friday evening and follow with a road game at Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Saturday. Both games were canceled due to the weather.

Both the JV and varsity squads are scheduled to play their next Illini Prairie Conference contest this week starting with St. Thomas More on Tuesday, January 15. After a few days of rest and practice, SJO will host the Olympia Spartans on Friday at the high school.