Panthers snap losing streak with four consecutive wins
By Fred Kroner
The St. Joseph eighth-grade boys basketball team has put together four consecutive wins to snap a two-game losing streak.
After the Panthers dropped a narrow 41-40 decision to Rantoul on Monday (Nov. 22), they handled Bismarck-Henning, 41-23, on Monday (Nov. 29), Danville, 47-29, on Thursday (Dec. 2), Hoopeston Area, 48-15, on Saturday (Dec. 4) and Oakwood, 53-21, on Monday (Dec. 6).
Trevor Ames hit a team-high 13 points against Rantoul. Ryker Lockhart added nine points.
Lucas Smith led the way with a 13-point outing against B-H. Asher Pruemer contributed eight points.
Ames tossed in a season-high 21 points against Danville. Lockhart reached a season-high with 13 points.
Ames’ 14 points were tops against Hoopeston. Will Haley led the way against Oakwood, with 11 points.
St. Joseph (8-3) returns to action on Tuesday (Dec. 14) at home against Mahomet-Seymour.
The St. Joseph seventh-grade squad has won 10 of its first 11 games this season, including its last nine in a row.
The Panthers opened with a 20-19 decision over Tuscola on Wednesday (Nov. 3) and then fell to Monticello 30-8, on Friday (Nov. 5) before starting their winning streak.
The streak started with a 37-26 win over Tolono Unity on Tuesday (Nov. 9) and then continued with wins over Villa Grove (36-22) on Thursday (Nov. 11), Westville (45-34) on Monday (Nov. 15), Schlarman Academy (35-27) on Thursday (Nov. 18), Rantoul (36-30) on Monday (Nov. 22), Bismarck-Henning (51-10) on Monday (Nov. 29), Danville North Ridge (34-24) on Thursday (Dec. 2), Hoopeston Area (44-16) on Saturday (Dec. 4) and Oakwood (45-35) on Monday (Nov. 6).
Tyler Hess and Cam Wagner each scored six points in the season-opener. Wagner’s three points led the team in the loss against Monticello.
Nolan Franzen was the leader in back-to-back games, hitting 17 against Unity and 15 against Villa Grove. Wagner netted 11 points against Westville and Hess tallied 11 points against Schlarman.
Franzen and Wagner were co-leaders against Rantoul, making 14 points each. Hess tossed in 13 points against Bismarck-Henning and Wagner recorded 12 points against Danville North Ridge.
Against Hoopeston, Wagner poured in a season-high 22 points before setting the pace against Oakwood with 18 points.
St. Joseph’s seventh-graders (10-1) return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 14) at home against Mahomet-Seymour.
