~ Boys ~Ty Pence St. Joseph-Ogden
Pence open the season with an impressive double-double. The sophomore dropped 24 points and was credited with 20 rebounds in SJO's opener against Rantoul. Five days later, Pence scored 40 in the Spartans 66-52 win over Oakwood and added another 19 rebounds to his 2021 stats.
Honorable Mention: Brady Porter, Unity Evan Ingram, SJO Blake Kimball, Unity |
~ Girls ~Ella Armstrong St. Joseph-Ogden
For a second consecutive week, Ella Armstrong earns the POW honors after scoring a total of 20 points during the second week of the season. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line against Rantoul.
Honorable Mention: Payton Vallee, SJO Chloe Reed, Unity Taylor Henry, Unity |
Tonight's Illini Prairie basketball game between St. Joseph-Ogden and Unity has the making of being epic David and Goliath storyline.
After missing the first week of the COVID shortened season, the Spartans head into tonight's game 2-0 behind their newest marquee player Ty Pence. The sophomore has scored 64 points this season in just two games and SJO has a few other sleepers, namely senior Cameron Costa and 6-foot-2 forward Andrew Beyers.
Meanwhile, the Rockets are finding their stride back at full strength with junior Blake Kimball and senior Brady Porter. In their last appearance at the Rocket Center the pair's combined double-digit effort put 41 points on the scoreboard in the team 74-64 loss to Pontiac a week ago today. With a little help from Damian Knoll and Austin Langendorf, 0-4 Unity could pick up their first win of the season.
The one thing missing tonight is the intense atmosphere of the Rocket Center - filled with gray, maroon and powder blue along with smell of fresh popcorn - packed with fans cheering on their favorite team. Players on the floor will have to feed on the energy from their bench and the limited number of fans allowed to attend.
Here are tonight's schedule and direct links to the live streams:
