Eagles split Apollo games
By TERRY LIDY
It was a week in contrast, an exciting Tuesday night thriller and a disappointing Friday performance resulting in a 44-42 victory over Olney and a 50-38 defeat against Salem at the NCHS gym.
Tuesday, the Eagles led all the way, but not with some anxious moments. Led by Jake Pilman and Japheth Bear, the Eagles took a 10-1 first quarter lead holding Olney without a basket. Pilman meanwhile scored six points in the period. His 15 footer and Bear's layup gave the Eagles a quick 10-1 edge.
The Tigers finally found the range and clawed their way back in at 10-8 on a Michael Fehrenbacher three-point play and a basket and a pair of three throws by Brandon Berry. The Eagles responded with a 6-0 run before Olney scored to make it 16-10.
Another Japheth Bear hoop made it 18-10 before Olney closed the deficit to 4 at 18-14. Then in the closing seconds of the half, Brian Emmerich put in a rebound basket to give the Eagles a 23-16 halftime edge thanks mainly to the slow start by Olney and the aggressive Eagle defense. "They out-toughed us," said Olney coach Rob Flanagan later. "They were stronger, quicker to the ball and tougher around the basket," he added.
The Eagles pushed their advantage quickly to 12 points in the third quarter as Japheth Bear canned a three and added a pair of foul shots to make it 28-16. Olney answered with a free throw and a trifecta by Mitch Schonert to pull the deficit down to 8 at 28-20. After an Eagle free throw, Scott Jansen nailed a corner shot and Taylor Kerner added a free throw to push the Eagle cushion back to 12 at 32-20 as the quarter wound down. The Tigers answered the bell with a 6-0 run to close the quarter with the Eagles still hanging on at 32-26. When Brandon Berry scored in the lane to start the fourth period with 7:45 remaining, the Eagles lead had shrunk to 32-28. However, Japheth Bear stopped the Tiger momentum with another long three bomb. Later behind 38-32, Olney closed to within one as Brook Pampe nailed a long three and Brandon Berry made a pair of foul shots. However, the Eagles received a big shot in the arm on their next possession as Scott Jansen fired in a trey with 1:07 left to pull Newton up 41-37. "Scott Jansen's shot was huge for us. We haven't hit a lot of big shots this season and tonight we were able to hit," said Eagle Coach Doug Mammoser. "Japheth Bear stepped up big for us as well." Jansen entered the lineup when leading scorer sophomore guard Peyton Wyatt had to leave the game after colliding with an official in the second quarter. On the play, Wyatt scored on a driving layup and was fouled. Unable to continue, Jansen converted the foul shot, but his three pointer proved larger two quarters later.
In the final minute, Japheth Bear converted three charity tosses to pad the precarious lead after Olney scored on a Blake Pampe free throw with 47 seconds left. First, Bear made one of two to make it a two-possession game at 42-38 after grabbing a rebound. Then Michael Fehrenbacher scored an Olney layup to make it 42-40. However, Bear calmly sank his final two charity tosses with 18 seconds left to help seal the victory. Olney scored the final basket with two ticks left as Berry scored, but the Eagles prevailed 44-42 in a hard fought Apollo match.
"We told our kids at halftime that Olney wasn't going away. Olney is a very well coached team and they've been playing at a high level. It's a fight every night in the Apollo and hopefully this win will be a confidence booster for us," said Mammoser.
The Eagles limited the Tigers to 15 baskets including three from behind the arc. Meanwhile the Eagles also connected on 15 baskets, but had five from three-point land. Both teams converted 9 free throws. Olney had 16 turnovers, while the Eagles had 15.
Japheth Bear led all scorers with 18. Jake Pilman scored 7. Scott Jansen added 6. Brian Emmerich had 5. Peyton Wyatt scored 4 before leaving the game with an injury. Jerry Howze and Taylor Kerner each tallied 2 as the bench scored 10 points to help out.
Brandon Berry led Olney with 13. Mitch Schonert scored 9. Brook Pampe 8, Michael Fehrenbacher 4, Christian Kabbes 4, Blake Pampe 2, Derek Van Gundy 2 as Olney fell to 10-5 overall and 3-3 in the Apollo. The Eagles improved to 9-5 for the season and 2-4 in the conference.
The junior varsity Eagles made their record 4-3 winning over Olney 55-36.
After the big win over Olney, the Eagles hosted Salem last Friday in search of another Apollo win. However, the Eagles picked a night in which nothing went right as 25% shooting usually spells defeat.
In the first meeting between the two schools, the Eagles led throughout as Salem prevailed with a late rally 65-55. In the rematch, Salem jumped ahead 4-0 with 6:19 left. A three pointer by Japheth Bear and a basket by Jake Pilman with a foul shot gave the Eagles their first lead at 6-4 with 5:19 left.
The lead eventually reached 3 at 8-5 with 3:42 left when Taylor Kerner connected inside. However, the Eagles were whistled for eight first quarter fouls to put the slim lead in jeopardy. Still, the Eagles had a 10-9 edge after one quarter despite two fouls each on Brian Emmerich and Jake Pilman.
Salem moved ahead at the 6:00 mark when Matt Heminover scored on a steal.
The Cats lead reached four at 14-10 on a three-point play by Jeffrey Tolliver. The Eagles spent the rest of the quarter trying to catch up after falling behind by as much as six at 18-12 with 4:54 remaining. With Salem scoring only a free throw by Tolliver over the final minutes, the Eagles failed to get the kill as they registered only six points themselves in the time span. Japheth Bear drilled a three and Alex Frohning converted a pair of foul shots along with a free throw for Peyton Wyatt, but the Eagles still trailed 19-18 at the half.
In the third period, the Eagles came to life and regained the lead thanks to a Japheth Bear basket and one by Alex Frohning to produce a 22-19 edge. Salem dented the scoring column when Bryce Harris scored. However, Peyton Wyatt answered with a hoop and Jeffrey Tolliver returned the favor as the Eagles led by one at 24-23 as the four-minute mark approached. A Peyton Wyatt free throw and one by Taylor Kerner made it 26-23 with 3:01 left. Dan Conklin then scored inside to make the score 26-25. The Eagles answered the challenge with baskets by Japheth Bear and Alex Frohning to produce the largest Eagle advantage of the night at 30-25. Another Conklin shot on the baseline finished the quarter as the Eagles enjoyed a 30-27 edge.
The lead reached five again as Japheth Bear sank two free throws with 7:44 left and a 32-27 difference. That five-point cushion remained after Alex Frohning scored twice after Salem baskets and a 36-31 advantage. When Conklin, the 6'5" Salem center scored twice, before a third Alex Frohning basket of the quarter, the Eagles led 38-35. Seconds later Matt Heminover made it 38-37 forcing an Eagle timeout with 3:47 left.
It was to be the beginning of a 15-0 run by Salem over the final three minutes. Zeke Light tied it at 38 with 2:54 left with a foul shot. A Heminover shot and two more Light free throws suddenly gave the Cats a 42-38 edge with 2:10 left as Doug Mammoser searched for answers with a timeout. However, the Eagles kept firing blanks and Salem mustered enough offense to pull away. Four free throws in the final minute sealed the fate of the Eagles. Scoring the last 15 points of the contest, Salem prevailed 50-38 to reach the 500 mark for the season at 8-8 and remain in the Apollo race at 4-2. The Eagles dropped to 9-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference.
"We just didn't play very smart. We didn't attack Salem who didn't play that well either. We just had no one to go to or pick up the slack. Salem took advantage at the end after we had them on the ropes several times. It was a disappointing effort and performance," said an unhappy Doug Mammoser after the contest. "It's too bad we couldn't reward such a great Friday night crowd with a win."
The Eagles were held to 14 baskets including two from behind the arc. They converted only 8 of 15 foul shots and had 17 turnovers. Salem made 18 baskets and converted 14 of 20 foul shots with 16 turnovers. The Eagles shot 27%, while Salem shot 42%.
Japheth Bear led the Eagles with 12. Alex Frohning had 11. Jake Pilman scored 7, while Peyton Wyatt had 5. Taylor Kerner scored a basket and a free throw for 3 points. Jeffrey Tolliver led Salem with 14.
The Eagles next move out of the conference with road games at St. Anthony and Casey-Westfield this week. In other Apollo games last Friday, Olney drilled Mt. Zion 52-36. Paris belted Charleston 59-41 and Effingham edged Robinson 54-51.
Robinson and Effingham are tied at 6-1 in first place. Salem is 4-2, Olney 4-3, Charleston and Paris 2-4, Newton 2-5, Mt. Zion 0-6.
In junior varsity action last Friday Salem belted the Eagles, who are now 4-4, 75-34.
Lady Eagles fall to Salem
By TERRY LIDY
After Mallory Kocher scored the games' first basket, the Salem Lady Wildcats built an early lead last Thursday and defeated a pesky Lady Eagles team 61-40 in Apollo action at the NCHS gym.
With Salem ahead 4-2, Morgan Swingler tied it at 4 with a basket. A three pointer by Salem's Steph Carpenter pushed the Lady Cats ahead for the rest of the night at 7-4. The lead reached 11 at 19-8 as the quarter ended. Carly Niebrugge who led the Eagles with 14, scored the quarter's first hoop, but Salem scored the next 5 points to produce a 24-10 lead with 3:50 left forcing a Newton timeout. The Lady Eagles responded with a run of their own as Tara Wirth made a three point play and Mallory Kocher and Carly Niebrugge nailed consecutive threes to whittle the deficit to 24-19 after the 9-0 run. Salem using a blistering fast break ended the half with three transition baskets to up their advantage to 11 at 30-19. However, the Lady Eagles proved that they could come back against the fast moving Lady Cats.
When Salem scored a three pointer to open the third period, the Lady Cats had their own 9-0 run continuing from the last part of the second quarter and a 33-19 cushion. Carly Niebrugge finally broke the spell with a basket. "This game was a break out game for Carly," said Katie Lurkins later.
After Salem scored, Sydney May helped out with a 15 footer on the left side to make it 35-23. From there, Salem had another 9-0 run to produce a 44-23 edge.
Tara Wirth, who also had a breakout game according to Lurkins, converted two free throws to make it 44-25 after three quarters.
"Carly and Tara took some of the pressure off Amy Koebele and did a good job of communicating on the floor," added Katie Lurkins. "Despite the loss, we are being more confident and making fewer mistakes as a young team," commented Lurkins.
Down 44-25, the fourth period proved fairly even as the Lady Eagles matched Salem basket for basket with a 15-point output. Amy Koebele and Carly Niebrugge led the Newton attack in the quarter with 5 points each. Megan Jansen and Amy Bierman each connected for a basket, while Tara Wirth converted a foul shot in the period.
Carly Niebrugge led the Lady Eagles with 14 points as the 5'10" freshman had a season high output. Amy Koebele added 7, while Tara Wirth also had a season high 6 points. Mallory Kocher scored 5, while Megan Jansen, Sydney May, Morgan Swingler and Amy Bierman each scored a basket.
The Lady Eagles made 16 field goals including three from behind the arc. They converted 5 of 10 from the line.
Salem canned 26 baskets including 5 from 3-point land. They added 4 of 7 free throws as Steph Carpenter led with 18 for the 13-4 Lady Cats who are 8-1 in the Apollo. Newton fell to 4-15 overall and 0-10 in the Apollo.
After non-conference games with Marshall and Lawrenceville, the Lady Eagles return to Apollo action on January 25 at Mt. Zion. The Lawrenceville game will be at home on Thursday.
In the junior varsity game against Salem, Newton lost 46-36 as Morgan Swingler was high scorer with 16. Amy Koebele had 10, Carly Niebrugge added 6. Megan Jansen and Sydney May each scored 2. Tara Wirth, Morgan Bergbower, Brianna Nail, Amy Bierman and Mallory Kocher also saw action.
In other Apollo action last Thursday Olney edged Mt. Zion 49-45. Charleston belted Paris 59-39 and Effingham nipped Robinson 41-38.
Saints second in Little Wabash
By TERRY LIDY
The St. Thomas Saints came up one basket short as they fell in the championship game of the Little Wabash Conference Tournament at Sigel against the St. Michael Sharpshooters 44-42.
The second quarter put the Sharpshooters ahead by ten after an 8 all first quarter tie. However, down 22-12 at the half, the Saints erased the ten-point deficit with a 16-6 third quarter to enter the final quarter with a 28-28 tie. St. Michael outscored the Saints 16-14 to prevail for the title.
Luke Stone led the Saints with 21 points. Brock Mammoser scored 8. Luke Huston added 7, while Nick Reis had 6 for the Saints.
Newton, Ill. —
