St. Joseph-Ogden won the first half, but Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin captured the second half and the victory in Friday’s Class 2A boys’ basketball regional championship game at the Spartans’ sold-out gymnasium.

B-H/R-A improved to 32-0 with a 38-28 triumph. The game attracted an estimated 1,500 spectators.

Ty Pence scored 14 points and Chance Izard had 11 to lead the Spartans. The team’s other three points were scored by Payton Grimsley.

The Spartans held a 19-14 halftime lead, but managed just eight points thereafter.

Drew Coursey cleared six rebounds in the season-finale. Jordan Kelly handled five rebounds. Payton Cain had three assists.

SJ-O ends the season with a 23-9 record.

The deep and balanced Spartans had seven squad members lead – or share the team-lead – in rebounding this season.

Cain led the way in 10 games, followed by Coursey (nine games) and Conner Hodge (eight games). Pence led in seven games.

Kelly led in rebounding twice and teammates Andrew Beyers and Grimsley each led once.

Pence had the top single-game performance, with 12 rebounds.

Izard was the scoring leader in 17 games, followed by Pence (10), Cain (seven) and Hodge (one).

Izard registered a 36-point game, followed by Pence with a 28-point performance.

Izard ended the year with 83 three-pointers. Pence totaled 57 and Kelly had 14.

Izard posted the highest scoring average for the team this season (16.2 points per game), followed by Pence (12.8) and Cain (9.0).

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St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball took a double-digit lead in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Class 2A regional semifinal game in their gym and then had to hang on in the final period to collect a victory.

SJ-O opened up a 17-4 first-quarter lead and never lost the lead again despite Villa Grove/Heritage pulling within a 42-36 margin in the game’s last seven minutes.

The Spartans ended the game on a 14-4 run to capture a 56-40 triumph.

SJ-O (23-8) will take on state-ranked Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin (31-0) in Friday’s 7 p.m. regional championship game.

Freshman Ty Pence led the Spartans to the postseason win with 19 points and seven rebounds.

Jordan Kelly chipped in with 12 points. Payton Cain and Payton Grimsley each ended with eight points.

Other top rebounders for SJ-O were Grimsley with six and Kelly with five. Izard contributed four assists and two steals.

On Tuesday, the Spartans scored 20 of the 22 first-quarter points – after opening the game on a 9-0 run – and overpowered Westville 70-22 in a Class 2A regional tournament quarterfinal game in St. Joseph.

Chance Izard tallied a game-high 17 points for SJ-O and for the season has made a team-best 80 three-pointers.

Lukas Hutcherson hit a season-high 10 points and became the seventh squad member to post a double-digit scoring performance this season.

Three other Spartans finished with nine points apiece:  Dade Allinger, Cain and Pence.

Senior Brayden Weaver, who was injured in football and only returned to action in basketball on Senior Night, scored his first two points of the season.

Conner Hodge cleared a team-high seven rebounds. Cain and Drew Coursey handled six boards apiece.

Coursey added two assists as did Kelly.

Friday’s winner will earn a berth in the Pontiac Sectional and will face either Pontiac or Coal City at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

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With wins on back-to-back nights, the Spartans extended their winning streak to eight games.

On Friday, SJ-O improved to 7-0 in Illini Prairie Conference games with a 63-52 win at Pontiac.

On Saturday, the Spartans opened up a 44-16 halftime lead against Auburn and went on to a 71-47 triumph in the Sangamo Conference/Illini Prairie Conference Shootout at Unity’s Rocket Center.

Against Pontiac, Chance Izard drained six three-point shots and tossed in a game-high 26 points. Jordan Kelly scored 10 points. Conner Hodge ended with nine points.

Izard and Kelly each tallied six points in the third quarter as SJ-O used a 15-10 spurt to extend its lead.

Drew Coursey and Ty Pence both cleared five rebounds.

The Spartans made 12 of 17 free throws.

Against Auburn, Izard led the way with 18 points and was followed by Pence (15 points), Payton Cain (10 points) and Payton Grimsley (seven points).

Coursey captured seven rebounds. Pence hauled down five rebounds to go with three assists. Izard contributed five assists and four steals. Cain had three assists.

SJ-O (18-6) returns to action on Tuesday at Rantoul.

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The Spartans stayed unbeaten in Illini Prairie Conference play with Tuesday’s 54-46 win at Tolono Unity.

Payton Cain led SJ-O with 15 points and also grabbed six rebounds to go with four steals.

Chance Izard hit four three-pointers in a game for the sixth time as a senior and ended with 14 points. Ty Pence scored seven points and Payton Grimsley netted six points.

Conner Hodge pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Drew Coursey collected six rebounds.

The Spartans led at halftime, 26-20.

SJ-O (13-6) will seek its fourth win in a row on Friday when it plays host to Prairie Central. SJ-O is 4-0 in IPC contests.

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys’ basketball team capped a perfect first week by winning all five games by double-digit margins and capturing the team title in the 31st Toyota of Danville Classic.

On Friday, the Spartans handed Cissna Park its lone loss of the week, 65-49 before winning twice on Saturday, 74-39 over Schlarman Academy and 59-49 against Watseka.

Tournament most valuable player Chance Izard led the way.

The SJ-O senior tallied 93 points for the week, 49 of those coming on Saturday.

He lit up the scoreboard with 25 points against Schlarman and notched 24 against Watseka in the evening game.

In the Friday win over Cissna Park, Izard tossed in 18 points. He hit at least one three-point shot in each of the team’s five games last week.

Ty Pence posted his first varsity double-double against the Timberwolves. The freshman had 14 points and cleared a team-high 12 rebounds.

SJ-O led CP 13-11 after one quarter, but pulled into a 31-26 cushion at halftime.

Drew Coursey downed 10 points and Lukas Hutcherson hit nine against CP. Payton Cain and Conner Hodge each cleared five rebounds.

Cain, who was SJ-O’s second all-tournament pick, contributed 12 points against Schlarman.

In less than a 2 ½-minute span, which stretched into the early stages of the third period, the Spartans used an 18-0 run to move into an insurmountable 45-22 lead against the Hilltoppers.

Coursey claimed a team-high five rebounds. Braydon Rupert was next with four rebounds.

Pence and Izard made sure to keep distance from Watseka in the final game. They combined for 17 of the team’s 19 fourth-period points, nine by Pence who ended with a career-high 17 points.

For the week, Pence was 9-for-9 from the free throw line.

The team’s balance was shown by the statistical distributions. In five games, five different players led the team in rebounding.

“I like the way our guys competed throughout the tournament,” SJ-O coach Kiel Duval said. “We played hard. We are starting to become more together each game.

“The biggest thing is they are carrying over good habits from practice that are necessary to be successful in varsity games. There are areas that need to be cleaned up, but that is what this week of practice is for.

“We will breakdown film and rep those deficiencies. The players know how good our schedule is and how every night is going to be a battle. The little things really matter in games like that.”

SJ-O (5-0) returns to action with back-to-back home games to end the week, Friday against Rantoul and Saturday against Tri-Valley.

2019 All-Tournament Team:
Emmanuel Garcia Camilo, Notre Dame de La Salette
Jamal Taylor, Schlarman Academy
Conner Curry, Watseka
Cale Steinbaugh, Georgetown, Ridge Farm
Ian Rogers, Cissna Park
Payton Cain, St. Joseph-Ogden

All-Tournament Team MVP:
Chance Izard, St. Joseph-Ogden

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St. Joseph-Ogden’s boys’ basketball team opened its season with a win on Tuesday, despite missing 9 of 17 free throws in the opening round of the 31st Spartan Classic.

SJ-O upended Georgetown-Ridge Farm, 65-37.

Chance Izard scored 19 points and Jordan Kelly added 12 points for the Spartans, who turned a 7-4 lead after one quarter into a 21-11 advantage at halftime.

Izard and Kelly were two of five SJ-O players who connected on a three-pointer.

Coach Keil Duval started four seniors – Payton Cain, Drew Coursey, Conner Hodge and Izard – along with freshman Ty Pence.

Cain scored eight points, Pence had seven and Luke Renfrew chipped in with six points.

SJ-O continued its winning ways on Wednesday, knocking off Notre Dame de La Salette, 48-37.

Cain registered a double-double with 10 points and 10 steals.

Pence ended with eight points, including 4-of-4 from the free throw line in a game where the Spartans were 6-of-12 overall from the line.

Izard and Andrew Beyers each scored seven points.

Cain collected a team-high seven rebounds. Pence and Hodge each gathered four rebounds.

The Spartans scored nine of the game’s first 10 points and held a 41-20 fourth-quarter lead.

The Spartans (2-0) return to action at 8 p.m. on Friday against Cissna Park.

All six teams will play twice in the round-robin event on Saturday. The final-day SJ-O games will be at 11:30 a.m. against Schlarman Academy and at 7 p.m. against Watseka.

St. Joseph-Ogden Girls’ basketball

The Spartans trailed after each of the first two quarters on Monday against Tuscola, but rallied to register a 50-46 overtime win.

Katie Cramer scored 14 points to lead SJ-O. Both Cramer and Payton Jacob nailed three-pointers in OT to help the Spartans pull away.

Taylor Barnes scored nine points and Abby Behrens added eight for SJ-O.

SJ-O (5-1) returns to action tonight at Danville. The Spartans received votes in the first Class 2A state poll, which was released on Wednesday.

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Dade Allinger 6’2″ 2020
Andrew Beyers 5’11” 2022
Payton Cain 6’0″ 2020
Drew Coursey 6’0″ 2020
Payton Grimsley 5’9″ 2020
Conner Hodge 6’3″ 2020
Lukas Hutcherson 5’9″ 2021
Evan Ingram 5’10” 2022
Chance Izard 5’10” 2020
Jordan Kelly 5’9″ 2020
Ty Pence 6’4″ 2023
Luke Renfrew 6’0″ 2020
Braydon Rupert 6’8″ 2020
Jackson Rydell 6’3″ 2021
Brayden Weaver 5’8″ 2020

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