By FRED KRONER
Sophomore Ty Pence put up a monster double-double on Friday (Feb. 12) as St. Joseph-Ogden opened its season with a 73-54 Illini Prairie Conference boys’ basketball victory at Rantoul.
Pence produced game-high totals of 24 points and 20 rebounds. His off-season training regime is paying dividends.
“Last year, he averaged about four rebounds a game,” SJ-O coach Kiel Duval said. “With Eric Rydell out, we knew he would have to help in the rebounding department.
“Ty watched some film on Rantoul and said, ‘I think I can get 20 rebounds.’ It’s unreal.
“In the last year, he has changed his body. He doesn’t get knocked around now.”
Evan Ingram and Cameron Costa each netted 15 points for SJ-O. Costa nailed five three-point shots. Hayden Brazelton also hit a three-pointer for the Spartans.
SJ-O zipped into a 22-10 lead after one quarter.
The strong start didn’t surprise Duval. Neither did what followed.
“We expected to have Adrenalin early and get tired,” Duval said. “At the end of the first quarter, we got stagnant and kind of wore out and gave them some easy shots.
“The nice part is we got back in a groove.”
The tiredness eventually returned.
“We had some fatigue into the fourth quarter,” Duval said, “but our fatigue matched their fatigue. Guys have been quarantined and not able to run up and down the court. We’re trying to get guys in basketball shape.”
Pence is one of the few Spartans who had extensive playing time a year ago. Starting the season with a win on the road is a nice prescription to help an inexperienced team grow up.
“This game should give them confidence to know that they can do it at this level,” Duval said. “A lot of guys had never had any varsity experience. There were other guys who had to not just play, but play and perform.”
SJ-O will play its home opener on Tuesday (Feb. 16) against Bloomington Central Catholic.
