Panther basketball ends with 15-6 record
By Fred Kroner
The St. Joseph Middle School eighth-grade boys’ basketball team advanced to the IESA Class 3A regional finals before suffering a season-ending loss.
In the quarterfinals, the Panthers topped Oakwood, 38-16, with Trevor Ames notching a team-high 10 points.
Ames led third-seeded St. Joseph past second-seeded Monticello in the semifinals, 38-32, with his team-high 15 points.
In the title game, Tolono Unity dealt the Panthers a 46-25 setback. Ames tallied a team-best eight points.
St. Joseph finishes the season with a 15-6 record.
Ames led – or shared – the team lead in scoring in 13 games. Ryker Lockhart was the leader in six games.
Five other Panthers led in one game: Tim Blackburn-Kelley, Will Haley, Zach Harper, Asher Pruemer and Lucas Smith.
Ames had the top individual scoring performance with a 21-point outing against Danville. Lockhart’s season’s high was 17 points against Mahomet-Seymour.