Saturday (Boys High School Basketball)
Polo 83 (16-7) AFC 65 (14-11)
**Justin Young (Polo): 30 pts
**Reid Taylor (Polo): 25 pts
**Adam Hart (AFC): 15 pts
Dixon 48 Stillman Valley 38
Princeton 81 Byron 71
Mendota 81 Oregon 61
Yorkville 42 DeKalb 34
Sycamore 41 Morris 38
Forreston 74 Amboy 66
**Brandon Schneiderman (Forreston): 26 pts
Rockford Christian 68 North Boone 42
Rockford Lutheran 74 Rock Falls 50
Eastland 56 West Carroll 44
Warren 61 Galena 53
Pearl City 52 Lena-Winslow 46
Christian Life 65 Pecatonica 64
South Beloit 46 IMSA 27
Girls Basketball
Lena-Winslow MLK Tournament: Stillman Valley 51 Dakota 35
**Grace Timm (SV): 18 pts
Galena 47 (25-1) Stillman Valley 46
**Macy Weaver (SV): 18 pts
Wrestling
Winnebago Class 1A Regional
1) Lena-Winslow: 210 pts
2) Dakota: 158 pts
3) Byron: 137 pts
4) Stillman Valley: 111 pts
5) Oregon: 83 pts
7) Winnebago: 56 pts
9) Polo: 27 pts
Qualifiers for the Byron Class 1A Sectional
**Byron: 1st Place Evan Baker (145), Brandon Elsbury (182)
2nd Place: Tyler Elsbury (285)
3rd Place: Evan Walters (138), Matt Wombacher (220)
**Stillman Valley: 1st Place: Jared Van Vleet (126), Drake Jennings (195)
2nd Place: Sam Durfey (145)
3rd Place: Dayne Thomas (113)
**Oregon: 2nd Place: Anthony Marchetti (195)
3rd Place: Noah Paul (120), Chase Clark (132), Caleb Mennen (170)
**Winnebago: 2nd Place: Tristan Faworski
3rd Place: Bryce Faworski (126)
**Polo: 1st Place: Connor Eubanks (106)
Rock Falls Class 1A Regional
1) Rock Falls: 240 pts
2) Sterling Newman: 142 pts
6) AFC: 76 pots
9) Amboy: 6 pts
Qualifiers for Byron Class 1A Sectional
**AFC: 2nd Place: Sam Hahn (138)
Brendyn Williams (152)
Colin Kaecker (182)
3rd Place: Marcus Cater (145)
College Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. – Senior Aaric Armstead scored a game-high 21 points while senior Marin Maric and sophomore Levi Bradley each added 14 as the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team eased past Eastern Michigan, 81-69, on Saturday afternoon at the NIU Convocation Center.
NIU (14-9, 6-4 MAC) shot 45.5 percent (25-of-55) in the contest, including 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from three, and also went 24-of-29 from the free-throw line (82.8 percent). The Huskie bench outscored the Eagle reserves, 33-19.
“It was probably the closest we have come to playing 40 minutes this season,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “I thought we valued the basketball, at halftime we only had five turnovers. Our defense played well, we shared the ball, it was a big bounce-back win. Our guys could have been down after losing a game like Akron, but our guys were focused and it was fun to see them play two complete halves.”
Eastern Michigan (13-10, 5-5 MAC) jumped out to a seven-point lead early in the contest as back-to-back baskets by Ty Toney pushed the Eagles in front 14-7 just over five minutes into the game.
Still trailing by seven, NIU used an 8-0 burst to takes its first lead of the day, 17-16, just before the midway point of the opening half. Sophomore Laytwan Porter opened the burst with a triple, freshman Eugene German added an old-fashioned three-point play and Bradley canned as jumper as the Huskies moved in front by one.
Porter scored seven points and dished out a team-high four assists.
The Eagles answered right back to take a five-point lead, 26-21, just NIU responded with the next 13.
Armstead started the NIU spurt with a layup, senior Dontel Highsmith added a pair of free throws and Armstead buried a triple to move NIU in front. Three-straight baskets from Maric followed as the Huskies took a 34-26 lead with less than three minutes to play before the intermission.
Maric finished with 11 rebounds to go along with his 14 points for his 20th career double-double.
A pair of free throws from freshman Noah McCarty helped the Huskie lead reach nine, but the Eagles made two free throws of their own to close the first half as NIU took a 40-33 lead into the locker room.
Eastern Michigan scored the first four point of the second stanza to trim the Huskie lead to three, but NIU had an answer, scoring the next half-dozen.
A dunk from Bradley, followed by two jumpers from Armstead, helped the NIU lead grow back to nine, 46-37, with 15:15 to play.
The Huskies led by seven before a 14-4 run expanded the NIU advantage to 17 with just over five minutes left. A triple from sophomore Austin Pauga ignited the Huskie run and, following a basket by the Eagles, Armstead added a trifecta of his own as the lead hit 11. Another two-pointer from Eastern Michigan trimmed the lead back under double-digits but then Bradley and Maric each added four more points as NIU took a 70-53 lead.
Another triple from Bradley helped the NIU lead grow to 19, its largest of the night, and though Eastern Michigan used a late run to cut the Huskie advantage to a dozen, the result was never in doubt.
Willie Magnum IV led the Eagles with 17 points, James Thompson IV and Ty Toney each added 12 points for Eastern Michigan.
NIU will play its final game against a MAC East foe on Tuesday night (Feb. 7) when the Huskies travel to Buffalo. Game time against the Bulls is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.
