Boys Swimming and Diving State Tournament (Evanston High School)
Byron Co-Op: Caleb Carlson (Sr.) 3rd Place 100 yard Backstroke (:49.15)
4th Place 50 yard Freestyle (:20.94)
Boys High School Basketball
Ottawa 70 LaSalle-Peru 39
Girls High School Basketball
Girls Class 1A State Basketball Tournament (Redbird Arena in Normal)
Championship Game: Danville Schlaman 53 (33-1) Stockton 31 (32-3)
3rd Place Game: Lebanon 46 (32-2) Okaw Valley 31 (29-7)
Girls Class 2A State Basketball Tournament (Redbird Arena in Normal)
Championship Game: Chicago Marshall 45 (22-7) Chicago Harlan 44 (26-7)
3rd Place Game: Teutopolis 45 (29-7) Eureka 32 (28-5)
NIU Basketball
YPSILANTI, Mich. – Eastern Michigan led by eight at halftime and shot 64.5 percent (20-of-31) in the second half as the Eagles downed the Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team, 82-53, on Saturday afternoon at the EMU Convocation Center.
Sophomore Eugene German scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds while sophomore Noah McCarty added a career-best 11 points.
Eastern Michigan shot 55 percent (33-of-60) in the contest, while holding NIU to just 37.3 percent (19-of-51).
“I hought we set the tone with a 6-0 run to start the game,” said NIU head coach Mark Montgomery. “The balls was moving, we were making the zone shift, but it was the opposite in the second half. Turnovers and missed shots that led to runouts helped Eastern Michigan get going and got them in offensive rhythm. We couldn’t get our defense set and Eastern Michigan is very good in transition.
“It is a game of runs, (Eastern Michigan) made a run (early) in the second half and we didn’t answer.”
NIU (12-17, 5-11 MAC) started fast, scoring the opening six points of the contest on a basket by junior Dante Thorpe and a pair of buckets from junior Levi Bradley (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI).
Bradley finished with eight points and four rebounds.
With the Huskies in front by five, Eastern Michigan used a 15-0 run to take an 18-8 lead midway through the opening half.
Freshman Owen Hamilton ended the Eagle run with a layup, junior Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) added a layup and Bradley made a pair of free throws as the Huskies climbed back within four, 18-14, with 8:34 left until the intermission.
After a triple from German brought the Huskies within three, 20-17, Eastern Michigan answered with the next 10 as the Eagles lead grew to 13.
Baskets from McCarty and Bradley, along with a free throw from freshman Gairges Daow , trimmed the Eastern Michigan lead back to eight with 85 seconds to play in the half. The two teams traded free throws in the final minute as Eastern Michigan took a 31-23 lead into the intermission.
Eastern Michigan (18-11, 9-3 MAC) scored the first eight to open the second half. A triple by German slowed the Eagles run but Eastern Michigan scored the next six as the Eagles led 45-26 with 15:31 to play.
The Eagles led by 16 when a 14-2 run helped push the Eastern Michigan lead to 62-34 with just over 11 minutes remaining as Eastern Michigan went on to a Senior Day victory.
Elijah Minnie scored a game-high 26 points to lead Eastern Michigan. James Thompson IV added 14 points, Paul Jackson scored 13 points and Tim Bond chipped in 11 points for the Eagles.
NIU will return home next week as the Huskies close the regular season with a pair of home games. NIU will host Toledo on Tuesday, Feb. 27, before welcoming Ball State to DeKalb for the regular season finale on Friday, March 2.
YPSILANTI, Mich. – The Northern Illinois University women’s basketball team led wire-to-wire as the Huskies defeated Eastern Michigan, 84-75, on Saturday afternoon at the EMU Convocation Center.
“We knew today was a huge game,” said NIU head coach Lisa Carlsen. “Obviously, we were looking up at Eastern in the standings and you’re looking at a situation where if you want a realistic chance to play at home [for the MAC Tournament], you’ve got to be able to get this win on the road. Our kids took that the heart and understood the magnitude of the game and stepped up.”
Three Huskies (14-13, 6-10) finished in double digits with Mikayla Voigt leading the way, tying her career-high with 26 points. The junior guard was 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-7 from three-point territory and 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Courtney Woods and Kelly Smith followed with 23 and 13 points, respectively. Woods just missed a triple-double dishing out a career-high nine assists and grabbing eight rebounds.
The Huskies came out on fire, opening the game with a 9-2 run and shooting 62.5 percent from the field in the first half. NIU pushed its lead to 10 points with under two minutes left in the first quarter, hitting three three-pointers in the period. The Huskies continued their hot shooting in the second quarter, building a 16-point lead with 1:46 left in the half before heading into the break with a 44-30 lead.
“We talked a lot about making sure we came out of the lockerroom ready to go,” Carlsen said. “I think that’s important all the time, but especially on the road and against a team that is as streaky and as explosive as Eastern Michigan.
“They’re so athletic and they’re going to make a run at some time. There’s going to be times you play decent defense and they’re still going to score the basketball because of their skillset and athleticism. So, that quick start for us allowed us to provide a little bit of a cushion when that run came was key.”
NIU opened the third on a 6-2 run to lead by 18, 50-32 with 8:22 left in the third. With the Huskies still up by 18 with 7:55 left in the third, Eastern Michigan (10-17, 6-10) made several little runs the rest of the way to make the game interesting for the Huskies. A 7-2 run cut the NIU lead to 13 with 5:56 left in the third and Eagles eventually whittled the NIU lead down to 10 midway through the period.
In the fourth quarter, the Eagles put together several scoring spurts to cut the Huskie lead to four with 2:08 left to play. However, Voigt cut through the left side of the lane and threw up a layup to give NIU a six-point advantage with 1:39 left in the game.
The Huskies were able to salt the game away at the free throw line from there. Woods hit three of four from the line, while Voigt scored NIU final four points of the game all from the charity stripe. As a team, NIU went an impressive 22-of-26 from the free throw line on the game.
While NIU received the production it has become accustomed to from Voigt, Woods and Smith, Abby Woollacott and Ally May provided productive minutes coming off the bench. May hauled in nine boards and scored four points, while Woollacott tallied eight points and four rebounds.
NIU returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when the Huskies play host to Toledo at the Convocation Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
