The Spartans extended their winning streak to five games on Saturday with a 79-44 conquest at Westville.

SJ-O led 25-19 after one quarter, but scored the first 10 points of the second period in a 4-minute, 14-second span and took a commanding lead.

Ty Pence led the Spartans in scoring (19 points) and rebounding (eight).

Two teammates had their highest-scoring games of the season. Payton Grimsley tossed in 16 points and Jordan Kelly netted 14 points.

Payton Cain also scored 14 points.

Pence collected five steals and Grimsley grabbed four rebounds. Kelly chipped in with four steals and three assists. Chance Izard led with a team-high six assists.

On Friday, the Spartans posted a come-from-behind 56-49 verdict over visiting Prairie Central in an Illini Prairie Conference game.

Cain tallied a team-high 14 points and also contributed seven rebounds, four assists and three steals to the SJ-O cause.

Izard scored 13 points and Pence added 10 points. Izard collected four assists and Pence grabbed four rebounds.

The Spartans’ top rebounder, with eight, was Drew Coursey. Kelly finished with three assists.

SJ-O (15-6) returns to action on Tuesday at home against Monticello. The Spartans are 5-0 in IPC action.

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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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Being able to play basketball has been a means to something bigger for St. Joseph-Ogden‘s Payton Cain: building connections.

Cain started playing sports as a young boy with his dad and brother.

“(My dad) passed that love for all sports down to me and my brother,” Cain said. “(Basketball) just grew to be one of my favorite sports. I just stuck with it since I was a kid.”

Growing up with the same group of guys who thoroughly enjoy being around each other helped feed that love.

“It’s been fun,” he said. “Just growing the connections between each friend and the connections that we’ve built through basketball, going to tournaments every weekend with each other, it’s been awesome.

“It seems like we are always hanging out with each other. High school made us a little busy, but whenever we have a chance, we all try to hang out with each other. We do the most random stuff. We are all very close.”

That closeness has helped the Spartans come together for one common goal this season: taking everything day-by-day.

“This year we determined that we are not going to focus on long-term goals yet, we’re going to build day-by-day,” he said.

“We are going to set a goal individually each day, and a team goal each day, and when we complete each team goal every day, it will help us build towards the higher, bigger goals.”

Cain has been doing his part.

As the Spartans enter Friday’s home matchup against Prairie Central with a 13-6 overall record, Cain is hitting his stride.

The senior led the Spartans in scoring with 15 points as they collected their 13th win on Tuesday over Tolono Unity. Cain also matched Ty Pence’s 23-points in a recent 66-45 win over St. Thomas More.

While Cain has added to the total score throughout the 2019-20 season, his efforts on the boards have also been noted. Cain has led the Spartans in rebounds in six games.

But for the 6-foot senior, what he can do in the Spartans’ last 10 games leading up to postseason play is most important.

After all, seasons are built day-by-day.

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Three players scored in double figures on Thursday as the St.  Joseph-Ogden girls’ basketball team denied Prairie Central its 20th victory of the season with a 51-44 conquest at home.

Payton Jacob hit a team-high 14 points. Teammates totaling 12 points apiece were Taylor Barnes and Katie Cramer.

Cramer drained three three-pointers and Barnes hit two three-point shots.

The Spartans carried a 35-34 lead into the fourth quarter. Barnes scored five points and Cramer four in the last stanza to help SJ-O pull away.

SJ-O is 16-6 overall. Prairie Central is 19-4.

The Spartans return to action tonight at home against Monticello. SJ-O is 3-2 in Illini Prairie Conference contests.

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The Spartans went 4-4 in the Illini Prairie Conference dual-meet series, which ended on Saturday at Pontiac, and placed fifth in the nine-team event.

Individually, two SJ-O athletes compiled 7-1 records during the two-day competition.

A.J. Wagner (113 pounds) won all but one of his bouts, including four by pin. His fastest fall was 37 seconds.

Isaiah Moore (126 pounds) was also 7-1 at the league meet. He posted three pins, including one in 23 seconds.

Overall, 12 SJ-O athletes competed at the IPC meet and all 12 won at least one match. Eight squad members had pins.

Brodie Sullivan (182 pounds) was 5-2 with two pins. His quickest pin was 56 seconds. Trevon Carr (170 pounds) was 5-3 with three pins. His fastest fall was in 1:03. Max Shonkwiler (195 pounds) was 5-3 with three pins, including one in 55 seconds.

Owen Birt (220 pounds) was 4-3 and Isaiah Immke (138 pounds) was 4-4. Immke had two pins, including a fast fall of 1:53.

Chase Chapman (132 pounds) was 3-3 with a pin in 4:37. Conrad Miller (145 pounds) was 3-5 with two pins, including one in 35 seconds.

Other Spartan competitors were Austin Kofoot (120 pounds), who was 2-4; A.J. Wells (285 pounds), who was 1-2; and Austin Cotter (285 pounds), who was 1-4.

The Spartans’ conference team wins were 46-4 over St.  Thomas More, 54-18 over Olympia, 47-21 over Rantoul and 42-39 over Chillicothe IVC.

The team’s losses were to eventual champion Unity 65-5, eventual runner-up Prairie Central 62-18, eventual third-place finisher Pontiac 48-32 and eventual fourth-place finisher Monticello, 50-24.

The lone SJ-O winner against Unity was Immke, who collected a 19-3 technical fall triumph. Wagner, Moore and Chapman were the winners against Prairie Central.

SJ-O returns to action on Thursday at El Paso in a meet that also includes Clinton.

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St. Joseph-Ogden was held to one third-quarter field goal on Monday and suffered a 49-40 Illini Prairie Conference girls’ basketball loss at Unity.

Alyssa Hamilton hit the lone Spartan basket in the third quarter. Teammate Ashlyn Lannert’s two free throws accounted for the other SJ-O points in the stanza.

Unity expanded a 26-23 halftime lead into a 38-27 cushion after three quarters.

Four Spartans ended with six points apiece: Taylor Barnes, Katie Cramer, Atleigh Hamilton and Lannert.

SJ-O is 15-6 overall and will try to break a two-game losing skid tonight at home against Prairie Central. The Spartans are 2-2 in IPC games.

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