Local Graduates Guide College Teams

The Lincoln Land Men's Basketball team finally got a chance to play at home after nearly a month with only one home game. The Illinois Wesleyan Titans JV came into Cass Gymnasium and gave the Loggers a stiff challenge. The Loggers raced out to an early 23-12 lead but went cold down the stretch of the first half and the Titans came storming back to make it a one-point game with the Loggers in front at half 34-33.
 
The second half is when the Loggers pulled away. After three straight buckets, one by Bryan Bridges and two by Effingham St. Anthony High School graduate Reed Willenborg, the Loggers pushed the lead out to 11 and the Titans never got back into the game. Free throws down the stretch helped the Loggers seal the 69-58 victory.
 
The Loggers used a mixture of out-shooting and out-rebounding the Titans to ensure victory. The Loggers also committed 6 less turnovers coupled with 3 more assists.
 
"It was nice to be back home and it was nice to get a win. We did something very well tonight, but we have a lot to improve on still. The good news is we play right away tomorrow." stated Coach Jones after the game.
 
The Loggers had four players in double figures. Bryan Bridges led all scorers with 18, Marcus Graham pitched in 17, Jeremy Wohltman had 14, and Reed Willenborg finished with 13 and also pitched in a team high 8 rebounds.

Lincoln Land and St. Louis Community College Archers played in the finale of the Lincoln Land Classic at Cass Gymnaisum. The Loggers held the lead for majority of the first half until St. Louis rattled off four straight baskets to take a 24-21 lead with 1:30 to go in the half. Both teams traded baskets to make the score at 27-24 Archers at half.
 
The first 10 minutes of the second half featured back and forth buckets by both teams. With 7:11 on the clock Garrett Williams knocked down a three pointer to put the Loggers up 43-41. Unfortunately, the wheels fell of at that point and the scoring stopped for the Loggers. The Loggers turned the ball over two consecutive times and gave up two baskets in a row to start a 26-4 run for the Archers to close the game. The final horn sounded with St. Louis Community College in front 67-47.
 
Jeremy Wohltman led the Loggers in scoring with 18 and Bryan Bridges pulled down 12 rebounds. The Loggers shot a season low 34% from the field and committed 13 turnovers during the loss.
 
"This is the second game this season where we have been right where we wanted late in the game and had all of it fall apart. We had a chance to win, but could not put together 40 full minutes of basketball tonight." said Coach Chad Jones after the game.
 
St. Louis improved to 12-1 and the Loggers fell to 8-4.

Jeremy Woltman

Indiana Women 72, SIUE 56

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana hit 10 three-pointers Sunday and went on to a 72-56 victory over SIUE in women's college basketball action at Assembly Hall.
 
SIUE freshmen CoCo Moore and Jessie Wendt (Teutopolis graduate) led the Cougars off the bench. The duo scored 14 and 11 points, respectively, for the Cougars which fell to 6-5.
 
SIUE Head Coach Paula Buscher said she was pleased with her freshmen duo.
 
"It was nice to see them do that and have that kind of success against a Big Ten team," Buscher said. "Both CoCo and Jessie did a nice job of attacking the basket."
 
The Cougars are idle until Friday when they play their final non-conference matchup of the season. SIUE entertains SIU Carbondale at the Vadalabene Center in a 7 p.m. contest.

EIU Women Win Streak Snapped

MADISON, Wis. – The Panther women’s basketball team had its three-game win streak snapped at Big Ten member Wisconsin, 76-47, Saturday afternoon at the UW Field House. EIU falls to 5-4 on the year.

The Panthers led the Badgers 5-4 early in the first half before Wisconsin used a 17-1 run to take a 21-6 lead with 9:34 on the clock. EIU managed to pull within 10 points on two occasions before the half, but could not overcome cold shooting that saw the Panthers hit 21.9 percent of their shots (7-for-31) in the first half.

Seniors Ta’Kenya Nixon and Sydney Mitchell paced the Panther offense with eight points each. Sabina Oroszova added a team-high six rebounds while Jordyne Crunk had a game-high three steals.