Prep Sports Notebook | SJO, Unity set sights on holiday tournament titles

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Taylor leads SJO into title game at State Farm tournament

Normal - Coy Taylor drained a career-best 31 points in the St. Joseph-Ogden's semifinal game against Pecatonica on Friday. The Spartans advanced to Saturday's Small School Division title game at the Shirk Center, scheduled to start at 5:15 pm.

Tanner Jacob knocked down 20 points, and Tanner Siems finished with 13 points to help SJO roll over the Indians, 91-61.

Logan Smith just missed a double-double, scoring nine points, but he made it up in the paint, hauling in seven rebounds and dishing out 11 assists.

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Unity advances to title game at Williamsville tournament

Williamsville - Andrew Thomas led the Rockets in an explosive first half, scoring 14 of his 16 points to send Illini Prairie rival Prairie Central into the third-place game at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament. The Rockets advanced to the championship game to face the host Bullets after winning the semifinal, 51-35.

It was another all-team outing with nine Unity players putting numbers in the scorebook. Andrew's brother, Henry, was perfect from the free-throw line, going six-for-six, and finished with 14 points. Dalton O'Neill helped round out the top three scorers with six first-half points.

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Spartan girls win third-place consolation game at State Farm tourney

NORMAL - The St. Joseph-Ogden basketball program finished their run at this year's State Farm Holiday Classic with a 2-2 record after defeating El Paso-Gridley 48-30 Friday afternoon.

Addison Frick finished the consolation bracket third-place game with 12 points. Addisyn Martinie had 11 points, and Addison Seggebruch finished with seven.

Six other Spartans contributed three points or more in the victory, giving SJO a 7-8 record at the end of 2023.

Myli Ehrhardt paced the Titans (9-4) with 13 points.

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Consolation bracket title dashed

Normal - After defeating Rockford Lutheran on Thursday, the St. Joseph-Ogden girls' basketball program was butted out of consolation title contention by the eventual winners, the Rams of Port Byron Riverdale on Friday.

Addison Frick nailed three treys on her way to a team-high 15 points for the Spartans. Sophomore Timera Blackburn-Kelley was the second-leading scorer with seven points. Addison Seggebruch, who connected on both free-throw shots, added six points, with Katie Ericksen matching her total with a pair of treys.

Riverdale's Alexis Duke led nine other players from her team with 12 points in the 59-42 win at Normal Community High School.

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Unity takes second at holiday tourney

Bismarck - The Unity girls basketball team came up short in their bid for the Heritage/Bismarck Holiday Tournament title. The Rockets fell 59-27 to Benton Central in Friday's championship game. Seniors Raegen Stringer and Addison Ray were named to the All-Tournament team.

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Out Loud .::. "It was a tough game"

BLOOMINGTON - The Sentinel caught up with St. Joseph-Ogden junior Coy Taylor after the Spartans' 66-40 win over a very good Rock Falls basketball squad at the State Farm Holiday Classic on Thursday. Taylor was up and down the floor for 25 minutes, finishing the game with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Almost 24 hours later, he was back on the hardwood, energized enough to drop a career-high 31 points on Pecatonica. Taylor put on a three-point shooting clinic, hitting six of his seven attempts outside the arch. Seeing a minute less playing time, he also dished out six assists and hauled in six boards in SJO's 91-61 semifinal win.

Taylor and the Spartans advanced to the championship game on Saturday against El Paso-Gridley.

Here's what he told The Sentinel after his game against the Rockets of Rock Falls:

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