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Monday, Nov. 25

LC men’s basketball vs. Southeastern Illinois

[NOV. 25, 2002]  OTTUMWA, Iowa — The Southeastern Illinois Spartans handed the Lincoln College Lynx a 77-68 setback in men’s college basketball here Saturday night. 

Lincoln College played the Division I school tough, and the difference in the game was at the 3-point line, as Southeastern Illinois made nine of 18 shots while the Lynx were three-of-five. Lincoln shot the ball well, making 23 of 45 shots for 51 percent, while the winners were 28-of-61 for 46 percent. Lincoln also had an edge at the foul line, making 19 of 23, while the winners were making just 12 of 24. Southeastern out-rebounded the Lynx 34-31.

Terrance Chapman was the leader for the Lynx, with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Derik Hollyfield added 16 points. Rueben Trotter was also in double figures for coach B.J. McCullum, with 11. Teddy Davis, with 19 points, led four players in double figures for Southeastern.

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Lincoln College (68) — Josh Clark 2-3-1-2-6, Jeff Carlson 1-1-0-0-2, Michael Fowler 1-2-0-0-3, Rueben Trotter 5-7-1-2-11, Loyd Bowen 0-0-0-0-0, Amir Major 1-3-0-0-2, Terrance Chapman 9-14-8-9-26, Derik Hollyfield 3-13-9-10-16, Rian Lazzerini 1-2-0-0-2.  Totals: 23-45-19-23-68. Three-point goals: Clark, Fowler, Hollyfield.

Southeastern (77) — LaMara Owen 4-9-2-2-10, Mike Baker 0-1-0-0-0, Marcus Ford 0-0-1-2-1, Dontae Smith 6-9-0-2-12, Teddy Davis 7-14-1-4-19, Jermain Burks 4-12-2-4-12, Eric Young 2-4-0-1-4, Darren Dickerson 4-6-5-5-16, Damion Staple 1-6-1-4-3.  Totals: 28-61-12-24-77.  Three-point goals: Davis 4, Burks 2, Dickerson 3.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

LC swimming at Illinois Wesleyan

[NOV. 25, 2002]  BLOOMINGTON — The Lincoln College men won the Illinois Wesleyan swimming meet for the fifth straight year, edging Millikin University 139-137 for the top spot. Augustana finished third in the six-team field, followed by Wesleyan, Eureka and North Central.

Wesleyan won the women’s division with 117 points. Augustana finished second with 79 points, followed by Millikin with 78 and Lincoln with 72. North Central, Webster College and Eureka rounded out the field.

Lincoln College had two first-place winners among the women. Leslie Seago won the 500-yard free in the time of 5:33.62. The other Lynx winner was Rachel Willenborg in the 100-yard back with a time of 1:03.83.

Willenborg had the best day among the women, with a first, second and third place, while Seago had a first, third and fifth. Angela Couch, a Lincoln High School grad, finished in the top 10 three times. She was third in the 200-yard free, seventh in the 100-yard free and ninth in the 50-yard free.

The men had no individual swimming winners; however, T.J. Rietveld won the diving in both the three- and one-meter divisions, with Chase Lhamon placing second in both divisions.

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Scott Sampson, Ryan Poss, Jared Sexton and Jason Hierman all had three finishes in the top five for the Lynx. Sampson was second in the 200-yard free and 500-yard free, with a third in the 50-yard free. Poss was third in the 100-yard free and fourth in the 200-yard free and 100-yard back.  

Sexton earned a second-place finish in the 100-yard breast and third in both the 200-yard IM and 100-yard fly.  Hierman earned a third in the 100-yard back, fourth in the 200-yard IM and a fifth in the 50-yard free.

In addition the Lynx men placed second in the 200-yard medley relay and fourth in the 200-yard free. The Lincoln women placed fourth in the 200-yard free relay.

[Bill Martinie, Lincoln College
sports information director]

Illinois State falls 68-53 to Utah State in season opener

[NOV. 25, 2002]  NORMAL — Trey Guidry led Illinois State with 20 points, including six 3-pointers, but it wasn’t enough, as the Utah State Aggies spoiled the Redbirds’ season opener 68-53 Saturday night at Redbird Arena.

Vince Greene, with 10, was the only other Illinois State player to score in double figures, while freshman Marcus Arnold turned in nine points. The ’Birds shot only 39 percent from the field and made only one of their eight (.125) free-throw attempts.

Desmond Penigar led Utah State with 22 points, going four-for-four from 3-point range. Point guard Mark Brown scored 19 points for the Aggies. Utah State shot 50 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc on six-for-12 shooting.

Illinois State (0-1) got off to a slow start offensively, scoring only four points in the game’s first nine minutes, and dug itself into an 11-4 deficit. However, a 3-pointer Guidry hit with 10:35 left in the first half sparked a 13-5 Redbird run that gave Illinois State its only lead of the first half, at 17-16. Guidry scored 11 of the ’Birds’ 13 points during the run, including three shots from beyond the arc.

Utah State (1-0) went on a 16-5 run over the final six minutes of the half, including holding the Redbirds scoreless for nearly three minutes, to take a 10-point lead into the locker room, 32-22. Brown ignited the Utah State run with nine points, including three layups.

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The Redbirds came out firing in the second half, scoring 15 of their first 17 second-half points from beyond the arc. Guidry helped lead the charge with three 3-pointers, while Gregg Alexander contributed two. Illinois State used the offensive surge to shred the Aggies’ halftime lead and close to within two points, 43-41, with just over 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Illinois State went into a scoring draught, however, over the game’s next six minutes, which allowed the Aggies to build a 10-point lead at 51-41. Penigar led Utah State with seven points during the 8-0 run. Greene scored the Redbirds’ next seven points, but Utah State was able to keep Illinois State from getting any closer than eight in the game’s closing minutes.

The Redbirds face their first road opponent on Tuesday, when they travel to Mount Pleasant, Mich., to face Central Michigan. The game is slated for a 6:30 tipoff. (See pre-game notes.)

[Todd Kober, director of media relations,
Illinois State University]

Men’s basketball pre-game notes

Illinois State vs. Central Michigan

[NOV. 25, 2002]   The Illinois State Redbirds play the Central Michigan Chippewas at Rose Arena in Mount Pleasant, Mich., at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Click here to view background information (in Adobe Acrobat). [Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader.]

[Provided by Todd Kober,
director of media relations,
Illinois State University]

Western Michigan holds off the
Redbirds 100-79 in season opener

[NOV. 25, 2002]  KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Taren O’Brien scored a career-high 21 points and Zora Skrabalova recorded her first double-double as a Redbird, but it wasn’t enough for a win as the Illinois State women’s basketball team fell to Western Michigan 100-79 in the season opener Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich.

O’Brien led all Redbirds with her point total, while Michelle Harakas chipped in 10 points and Skrabalova had 14 while pulling down 10 boards. On the day, Illinois State shot .451 from the field, while Western Michigan shot .524 and had three players in double figures, led by a game-high 24 points from Curleta Harris. With five players in double-digit scoring, Casey Rost added 21 points for the Broncos, while Kristin Koetsier added 19.

The Redbirds started the game with a quick layup by Skrabalova and were up 4-2 before a foul sent Lori Crisman to the line for the Broncos. With two made free throws, Western Michigan tied up the game before going on a six-point run and eventually taking a 14-point lead, 23-9, with 11 minutes to play in the first half.

A layup and 3-pointer from O’Brien, followed by another trey, this time off the hands of Stacey White, kept the ’Birds in the game offensively as Illinois State pulled to within 10 with seven minutes left in the first. But the shooting of Maria Jilian and Crisman for Western Michigan kept the ’Birds at bay as they took a 14-point deficit into halftime, 34-48.

Skrabalova picked up two fouls within two minutes of play to start the second half as Crisman scored a layup to extend the Bronco lead to 18, 52-34, after Harris hit a 3-pointer. Erin Keeney stepped up for the ’Birds, however, with three jumpers and a free throw as ISU crept back into the game, 58-46, with 14 minutes to play.

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Still not backing down, Illinois State’s O’Brien, fouled on a 3-point shot that was good, slimmed the Western Michigan lead to seven with nine to play after making her free throw, but that was as close as ISU got. Three minutes later, a spurt for the Broncos boosted their lead back to double digits, 77-60, before Koetsier scored her 19th point of the day to keep WMU ahead 79-60.  As time dwindled, Harris kept lighting up the scoreboard behind the arc as she hit three treys, which held off Illinois State in the final two minutes.

This was the first time since the season opener in 1986 that a Redbird team has had at least 79 points in a season opener, and the ’Birds got buckets from eight players as 12 of the team’s 14 traveling squad saw playing time against Western Michigan.

Illinois State returns to action on Monday against Butler at Redbird Arena. Tipoff is slated for 7:05 p.m.

[Erica Fricke, assistant director of media relations, Illinois State University]

Redbird women’s basketball looks to
rebound against Butler in home opener

[NOV. 25, 2002]  NORMAL — With season-opening jitters out of their systems and a high-scoring road match under their belts, the Illinois State women’s basketball team will look to home-court advantage as they prepare to rebound from a 100-79 loss at Western Michigan Saturday and take on Butler at Redbird Arena on Monday night.

With tipoff slated for 7:05 p.m., Illinois State enters Monday’s home opener with a record of 0-1, while Butler comes to town with the same mark after a loss to Bradley Friday night. The ’Birds are 2-1 under head coach Jenny Yopp in home openers at Redbird Arena.

In the season opener, the Redbirds were led by junior Taren O’Brien, who scored a career-high 21 points and dished out five assists. Yopp hopes the team will continue to post high point totals in the future and knows that with a solid defensive effort her team will have great opportunities this year.

"Butler is a rebuilding team, a little smaller and feistier than Western Michigan," Yopp said. "We will need to put together a complete game against them. Butler is a very different team than what we have seen in the past and this year, and we haven’t seen much this year. It is still early in the season."

Yopp also said that being back at home, playing in familiar surroundings, will be a comfort for the squad.

"The comfort and familiarity of playing at home, in Redbird Arena, will play a big part in our game on Monday," Yopp continued. "I know what we didn’t do against Western Michigan is manageable, and against Butler we will come out ready to play again. Being at home is good for us, and our challenges we faced in that first game are fixable."

[Erica Fricke, assistant director of media relations, Illinois State University]

Monday ‘Fandamonium’ special guest Brian Cook

By Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 23, 2002]  The LDN sports staff is excited to announce the broadcast of an interview with former Lincoln Railer great, and now an Illini senior, Brian Cook. Cook will appear perhaps on the same show and maybe even the same segment as a follow-up or as a trailer to the interview Greg Taylor and Jeff Mayfield had with Brian’s coach, Bill Self.

Cook was happy to share his story with his family and friends back home. Some of the things you will see in his interview are the state of his health, his feelings on his senior year, some info about his classes, his major and thoughts about how he keeps his focus when everyone bugs him about going to the pros. Brian will also comment about his former Railer teammates and give Logan County residents his scouting report of his latest crop of newcomers.

This edition of "Fandamonium" promises to be one of the best ones yet! At post time a decision had still not been reached as to whether these interviews will be run during the regular "Fandamonium" time slot or if they will appear leading in or trailing out of this Monday’s show.  Stay tuned...

The sports guys hope to do some of these same types of things with ISU and other schools in the future...

"Fandamonium" is broadcast at 6 p.m. on Mondays via LDN, FIX 96.3 FM and CITV Channel 5.

[Jeff Mayfield] 

Bill Self scheduled to appear on ‘Fandamonium’

By Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 22, 2002]  We are excited to report that University of Illinois men’s basketball coach Bill Self has agreed to appear on the next edition of "Fandamonium." As you can imagine, Greg and I are jacked and pretty jazzed up over this development!

This will be a taped interview that Greg and I were able to conduct on the U of I campus, so we obviously will NOT be taking ANY calls during the segment. It is a huge development for Lincoln Daily News, FIX 96.3 FM radio and for CITV 5! We don’t know yet whether Self’s interview will run during the confines of our hour-long sports showcase or IF we will run it just before or just after the "Fandamonium" presentation. We then hope to run it several times via the replay feature.

[LDN/FIX/CITV sportswriter Jeff Mayfield (right) interviews U of I basketball coach Bill Self.]

Coach Self plans to give his assessment of Lincoln’s Brian Cook and tell Lincoln and Logan County viewers, listeners and cyber users what Cook means to him and to the program. He will also give his analysis of Lincoln Railer basketball, including some comments about coach Neil Alexander that you won’t want to miss.

Self, who is highly regarded as one of the best young coaches in America, will also tell local and area viewers about the style of play he prefers, his evaluation of the new players, and he will break down the schedule for central Illinois fans!

Having him on our show is a monumental accomplishment for what we’ve been trying to do through sports at our three outstanding venues. Make sure that you’re not the only person on your block to miss this exciting interview!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Articles from the past week

By Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 25, 2002]  Not very often can you go to a professional sports contest of any kind and see someone from your small town playing in said game. However, the Detroit Lions were in Champaign Sunday to play the Chicago Bears. It’s also pretty unlikely that one of those guys down on the field was a kid that you used to coach. Again, Sunday was one of those times, as Lincoln’s Tony Semple made his first-ever game appearance on the field at Memorial Stadium.

Semple told the LDN after the crushing overtime loss that he played at the stadium as a member of the Railers during the old passing camp days… The stakes were a little higher yesterday, and Semple did all he could to make sure that his Lions would come away with the win.

In fact, Semple, who is Detroit’s starting left guard, and his interior line-mates did about as good of a job protecting rookie QB Joey Harrington as you could ever expect. On numerous occasions Semple was knocking down Bears lineman and rolling over on them. Sometimes after the passes were released he would cruise downfield and make multiple blocks before the whistle would blow.

The LDN also noticed something that always sticks out with us. Semple was constantly encouraging his young quarterback and his fellow teammates. It’s easy to do that when you’re on a team headed for the Super Bowl… Try doing that for a young team that is trying to make its way!

When the LDN crew caught up with Tony in the Lions’ locker room, which is perched in the northwest corner of the stadium, he was visibly upset. He told us that he was very frustrated and disappointed. While I pointed out to him that I thought that he and his young squad are making great strides, he said, "But we should have won today!" He went on to tell us that he can’t shed this disappointing feeling and that they have to get things done and take care of business.

I felt that he did just that. I was also impressed with his fiery, competitive spirit. I don’t remember him having that totally refined during his days with the Railers, but either coach Flowers at Memphis or somebody now has instilled it wholeheartedly within him. Maybe he’s even grown into it himself, but it is a very becoming characteristic.

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I did FINALLY get him to smile. I told him that nothing I could say would take away the sting of the defeat… but, that win or lose, there is a community not too far from here that is so proud of you no matter what you do!

A huge throng of Lincoln and Logan County supporters rushed Semple as he descended out of the locker room tunnel. Using a rough crowd count, it appeared that more than 100 local residents were on hand to wish Tony well.

As always, Tony signed for every autograph seeker and posed for every picture request… You try doing that after you’ve just been dealt a crushing defeat in overtime… I can tell you that’s not an easy thing to do.

But Tony Semple does not travel the easy road. The strides he made from high school to college are staggering. And then to get in the pros may be even more incredible. And then to stay as a multiyear veteran… Come on? You’ve got to be kiddin’? Nope. Tony is a small-town kid who has made good. He continues to work hard and shows us all what can be accomplished with a strong work ethic coupled with some great opportunities.

The LDN salutes you, Tony... and we hope you stick around long enough to taste the fruit of turning your team’s fortunes around!

[Jeff Mayfield]

By Jeff Mayfield

[NOV. 25, 2002]  The University of Illinois opened their season this weekend without three of their most experienced veterans. Scratched from the lineup card were Luther Head, Jerrance Howard and Brian Cook — the last two because of some NCAA rule prohibiting players from playing in non-sanctioned games or tournaments. (I’m biting my tongue here. Please don’t ask me how I feel about the NCAA, I mean Big Brother… I mean — I’m NOT gonna go there.) And then when the Lehigh Mountain Hawks started the game on fire, you wondered if they might be in for an interesting night.

Enter the "Fantastic Five." That’s how I’m referring to this newest crop of Illini recruits. Some of our staffers who have already seen these guys in practice or during one of the two exhibition games say that these kids are "the REAL DEAL!" Those of you holding onto tickets might have a gold mine in your wallets. These guys don’t seem to care if Cook, Howard or Head ever make it back to the lineup. Forget about taking it slow and being worked into the system. When their warm-ups come off, they put it in overdrive! They were flying down the floor and peskily picking the Hawk’s collective pockets repeatedly!

Now the Illini’s upperclassman did have strong performances, and they weren’t totally upstaged by their younger counterparts. Illinois was led by Roger Powell, who had 15 points and nine rebounds, and another returning player, Nick Smith, chipped in 10 points and three boards.

But it was the FANTASTIC FIVE who made their opening statement before a court-room crowd listed at 11,758… and an inspiring statement it was. All they did was score 52 of Illinois’ 90 points on the evening, while three of the quintet scored in double figures.

Also, you would expect a lot of sloppy play from freshmen just learning a new system… maybe guessing 20-30 turnovers? How about 14? And the majority of those were during the first five minutes, due to jitters.

Matt Logie and Zlatko Savovic led Lehigh with 18 points each, and don’t be surprised IF these guys take the Patriot League by storm under first-year coach Billy Taylor. I like their perimeter game, and if their interior post players can come up big, they could really turn that program around.

This was a well-scheduled game for both teams.

Illinois will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday night in the Assembly Hall. Plenty of tickets are still available.

•  Illinois now owns an all-time record of 85-13 in season-opening contests, including a 33-7 record in the Hall.

•  Three freshmen finished in double figures: Dee Brown (14), Deron Williams (12) and Kyle Wilson (14). The last time three rookies scored in double figures in a season opener was in 1990, when Deon Thomas (21), Scott Pierce (14) and Rennie Clemons (14) pulled off the feat vs. American University on Nov. 23, 1990.

•  I personally don’t know when the Illini ever opened the season on a Sunday night either, do you?

•  Illinois’ 90-point outburst was the most ever in a season opener.

•  The 34-point margin of victory was the most in an opener since the Illini humbled Utah 99-65 in 1983 at the Horizon in Rosemont.

•  Roger Powell’s 15-point, nine-rebound performance were both career highs. However, the LDN wants you to know that more of that may be in store. Powell played outstanding ball this summer and led the Big Ten All-Stars on their romp through Europe!

ISU played a very tough opponent in Utah State as the Aggies upended the Redbirds, spoiling their season opener 68-53. Utah State took a 32-22 halftime advantage and cruised home from there. The Redbirds did get close a couple of times but could never get over the hump. ISU did have some exciting play from NC State transfer Trey Guidry, who pumped in 20 points, including six 3s! Lincoln’s Gregg Alexander added six points for the Redbirds. Desmond Penigar showed the Redbird faithful why he may be a future NBA prospect by dazzling the crowd with 22 exciting points. He was a reason that the Aggies shot over 50 percent for the contest. ISU shot only 39 percent for the game and was a disappointing one-for-eight from the free-throw line. (See game report from ISU.)

ISU plays next on Tuesday at Central Michigan. (See pre-game notes.)

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Support your local Railers

The Lincoln Railer boys basketball team will open the season tonight in Roy S. Anderson gymnasium as they host the always pesky Danville Vikings. Lincoln’s game will be preceded by a 5 p.m. game pitting Peoria Manual vs. Rantoul and a 6:30 contest that has East St. Louis going up against Morton. The Railers will be back in action Wednesday night at 8, when they host the Potters of Morton High School. For a look at the complete tournament schedule, stats and other exciting Railer stuff go to www.railerbasketball.org.

We attended "Meet the Railers" the other night, and all of our teams, including the freshmen, sophomores and the varsity, all went through their paces very crisply.

I like that about Railer basketball. We expect hard work and play, we expect proper execution, we expect poise and composure, and we expect to be well-prepared for every opponent. We also expect to have award-winning cheerleaders and pom squads, as well as the best pit band of any ISHA team. Hopefully our crowds will get bigger and want to be known as the most knowledgeable and most sportsmanlike of any in the state!

At press time we had no info regarding the Lady Railers’ schedule.

Did you hear about LCC’s game with the University of Alaska? First, let me tell you that UAA will open the Great Alaskan Shootout this week with a game against one of the best teams in the country, Oklahoma State. But, on Friday night they were just playing little ol’ Lincoln Christian College of Lincoln, Ill.

Not so fast, my friend! The report I got was that LCC’s Joel Searby fired in a long, desperation 3 at the buzzer… and it went in, and the Preachers had taken the Seawolves to overtime! So much for scheduling LCC for an easy win before the Shootout… Do you think they’ll ever invite LCC back?

Oh, yah, LCC did succumb in overtime, but what a thrilling effort by our Lincoln boys! (See game report.)

LCC has its last home game of the first semester Tuesday night at 7 versus Principia. We hope to see a lot of community fans out for that one in the new Laughlin Center behind the chapel.

Excitement is obviously running high for this week’s episode. Greg and I interviewed Illini head coach Bill Self and Illini senior Brian Cook for this week’s show. It has STILL not been decided whether these interviews will run during the show or before or after it. We also hope to have Lincoln Railer football coach John Oaks on the show to wrap up one of the most exciting seasons in years! See you at 6 o’clock.

Have a great week, everybody!!!

[Jeff Mayfield]

• "Mount Pulaski goes all the way to state championship game," posted Nov. 18
• "Strange things happening to Lincoln and area sports teams," posted Nov. 12
• More columns...

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