Rockets' basketball season abruptly ended after sectional semifinal
SHELBYVILLE - Seven members of the Unity basketball roster delivered some sort of scoring in their semifinal game against Teutopolis in the Shelbyville sectional semifinal game. While beating the Wooden Shoes by 12 in early December last year, the Rockets were unable to repeat the feat, losing 48-39 on Wednesday.
Henry Thomas led Unity's scoring effort with eight points. Sophomore Coleton Langendorf came off the bench to match senior Dalton O'Neill's output of seven points. Another sophomore, Dane Eisenmenger and Andrew Thomas' matched at five points apiece in the season finale.
Unity fell behind early and tied the score four times, the last at 17-all in the second quarter. The Rockets trailed within striking distance to overtake Teutopolis until the last two minutes of play. It was T-town's free-throw shooting down the stretch that propelled the program into the title game.
The Wooden Shoes made fourteen trips to the line in the final quarter and only missed converting on three attempts, despite the Rockets limiting them to only two field goals in the fourth quarter.
Austin Bloemer and Joey Niebrugge paced the Shoes with ten points each. Tyler Pruemer had eight points, while Garrett Gaddis and Alex Kremer finished with eight points apiece.
Teutopolis advanced to Friday's sectional title game in a rematch against St. Joseph-Ogden (27-6), who is enjoying a nine-game win streak. The Wooden Shoes prevailed in the January 9 game, 53-40.
The Rockets finished an impressive 2023-24 campaign with 26 wins against five losses.
Spartan basketball team takes on Teutopolis for sectional title tomorrow
ST. JOSEPH - The bracket is set. St. Joseph-Ogden (27-6) will face Teutopolis (21-10) for the Shelbyville sectional championship game tomorrow at 7 p.m.
The boys' basketball team needs all the support they can get in their second meeting of the two teams this season. The Wooden Shoes prevailed at home in early January with a 13-point victory, 53-40, over the SJO.
"We want to try to get as many people as we can to this game to support our team," St. Joseph-Ogden athletic director Justin Franzen told The Sentinel earlier this week.
The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball team hopes to have, as they enjoyed at Unity on February 9, hundreds of supportive fans on March 1 for their sectional title game against T-town. The Wooden Shoes will be well-represented for the game just 35 miles from their home. (Photo: PhotoNews Media)
Ticket info: Tickets for the game are available online now for just $7. Fans attending the game can order them at https://gofan.co/event/1410359?schoolId=IL15331. Spartan fans can also buy tickets at the door for $8 at Shelbyville High School. Teutoplis advanced to the title game after defeating Unity last night in a close game, 48-39. The Rockets, who beat the Wooden Shoes back on December 2 by 12, closed their season with a 26-5 record.
Postseason basketball: Landrus propels SJO to Friday's sectional title game
SHELBYVILLE - The St. Joseph-Ogden boys' basketball team took a step closer to becoming a Final Four team, defeating Flora in their sectional semifinal game last night, 50-40.
Senior Luke Landrus was on fire, converting 71% on his shot attempts, leading the Spartan scoring effort with 22 points.
Up 21-17 at the half, SJO scored another 29 to advance to Friday's title game against the winner of tonight's contest between Unity and Teutopolis.
Logan Smith, also a senior, finished the night with 16 points and had a pair of steals. Meanwhile, Coy Taylor led the team in rebounds with five and distributed six assists. He and Tanner Jacobs finished with four points each.
Tanner Siems and Collin Thomey rounded the Spartans' offensive effort with two points each in win number 27 of the season.
Celebration of Black voices tonight at Champaign's Douglass Annex
Bourema Ouedraogo performs with Jason Finkelman at the 2022 CU Folk & Roots Festival in Urbana.
from YouTube
No sweat;
Moline's Maryam Ndiaye dominates all opposition to win state title
BLOOMINGTON - Moline wrestler Maryam Ndiaye celebrates her championship win at 155-pounds on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena. Last year's runner-up at the state tournament, she defeated Richwoods' Jaida Johnson by major decision, 14-5, to become the first female high school wrestler to win a state champion title in the Quad City area. The senior, who finished undefeated this season at 31-0, ended her prep career of two years with an impressive 47-4 record.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
BLOOMINGTON - Maryam Ndiaye effortlessly pinned her way into the 155-pound title bout on Saturday. Once there, she was also in complete control of the outcome, defeating Jaida Johnson 14-5. Here is a recap of the Moline High School senior's title run at the 2024 IHSA Girls' Individual Wrestling State Finals. First Round:
Ndiaye opened her state tournament run with a quick pin, sticking New Trier's Nina Aceves (28-8) in 48 seconds for her 28th victory of the season. Quarterfinal:
Up 5-0 in the second period, Ndiaye tied up Alton's Elanna Hickman (29-5) for the fall at 3:09. Semifinal:
Facing Clifton Central's Payton Temple (8-4), Ndiaye ran the score up with two takedowns and near fall, going up 8-1 in the second period. At 2:54, the Maroon's star recorded her third state tournament pin, and secured her a spot in the 155 championship match. Championship Match:
In her only six-minute match as she marched through the 155-pound bracket, Ndiaye, scoring with a pair of takedowns and nearfalls, racked up an 8-2 lead in the first period against Richwood's Jaida Johnson (25-4). With 30 seconds into the second period, the Moline grappler earned points on another takedown. With 19 seconds left in the frame, Johnson was on her back again, giving up another takedown and nearfall to Ndiaye, who stretched her lead by 10. There was a lot of action in the third and final period of the match but almost no scoring except for an escape from Johnson on a restart. At the final buzzer, Ndiaye took the bout by major decision 14-5 and became the first Quad City area female wrestler to win an individual state title on Saturday.
Championship Match Gallery
Maryam Ndiaye vs Jaida Johnson
155-pound ~ Championship Match
Sweet revenge; Rockets bump Sages from postseason
Guest Commentary |
What Nikki Haley and Joe Manchin Should Do
by Glenn Mollette, Guest Commentator
Nikki Haley is overall respected for her political service. She did a good job as Governor of South Carolina for two terms and as an Ambassador for our country. Personally, I can see her as doing a fine job as President of the United States, but it won’t be this time around.
Haley has already lost Iowa, New Hampshire and even her home state of South Carolina. She wasn’t even in the contest when it came to the voting. Outcomes don’t look any more promising for her in the state of Michigan and the following Super Tuesday states.
There are reports that Haley might be a possible contender to run in the Presidential election as an Independent candidate in November.
Senator Joe Manchin is overall appreciated by many Democrats. and even by some Republicans. There is rumored speculation that Manchin might also run as an Independent.
Manchin has done a respectable job in the Senate and most likely would be fine as President. The only problem with Manchin is the same problem with Haley. Neither one has a snow ball’s chance in July of winning the election for President of the United States. Some Republicans would be accepting of Haley and many would be accepting of Manchin but the majority of Republicans aren’t going to vote for either one. Some Democrats would be okay with Manchin but again, he doesn’t have a chance of winning.
The greatest disaster for the Republican party would be for Haley to run in November and siphon off ten percent of the Republican voters for her. This would be enough votes to insure a loss for Trump. Or, if she doesn’t run and Manchin runs, he would surely glean about ten percent of Biden’s votes and insure Biden’s loss.
Manchin and Haley running in November as Independents or or representing some other party is not a good long-term plan for either of them. Both parties will view their runs as selfish acts and probably never elect either one of them to anything again.
Haley has every right to keep slugging in Michigan and even on Super Tuesday if she wishes. However, there comes a time to fold and support her party’s chosen candidate, who will be former President Donald Trump.
Manchin needs to run now and go for his party’s support. There’s nothing heroic about bring a spoiler of Biden’s reelection. The same is true for Haley.
Trump would be smart to make Haley his running mate. A solidified ticket would serve the Republicans better.
Regardless if Biden or Trump is elected President, chances are we could be swearing in the Vice President as President before the next four years are over. Americans surely will be looking closely at the Vice-Presidential contender this November.
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He is the author of 13 books including Uncommon Sense, the Spiritual Chocolate series, Grandpa's Store, Minister's Guidebook insights from a fellow minister. His column is published weekly in over 600 publications in all 50 states. The views expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily representative of any other group or organization. We welcome comments and views from our readers. Submit your letters to the editor or commentary on a current event 24/7 to editor@oursentinel.com.
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