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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Photo Gallery | Spartans win quarterfinal over the Rock Falls Rockets

BLOOMINGTON - St. Joseph-Ogden's Coy Taylor attacks the basket from the paint during his team quarterfinal game against Rock Falls. The Spartans (11-1) prevailed 66-40 to advance to today's game against Pecatonica, which they won in a dominant fashion, 91-61. Taylor, a junior, led his team's scoring effort with 31 points. Facing El Paso-Gridley at 5:15 pm tomorrow, SJO will attempt to win back-to-back titles in the Small School Division. Below are 11 more photos from the team's win at Illinois Wesleyan's Shirk Center on December 28.

Photos: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

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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

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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Area high school coaches

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