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[MARCH 9, 2002]  Contrary to popular belief, the excellent Lincoln Railers boys’ basketball season is not over. In fact, it continues on to the State Championships in Peoria next weekend. Unfortunately for Railer players, coaches and fans, this trip is not for the entire team. Fortunately, the Railer green and red will be proudly displayed.

Last night, at the Prairie Capital Convention Center, before a large crowd, including many LCHS fans, two Railers, Brock Werner and Cliff Carnahan advanced in the IHSA Three-point Shootout and now move on to the State Tournament in Peoria. The shootout was held just prior to the sectional final game between Lanphier and Mt. Zion.

Brock Warner, a 6-3 Junior sharpshooter, knocked down 10 treys to advance to Peoria. Only one other shooter had more completed shots.  LCHS Junior Cliff Carnahan took a little tougher route to the finals. He was tied with two other shooters at the end of the initial shootout. Carnahan then won a tie breaking shoot-off by knocking down 8 threes to move on to the Peoria. LCHS was the only team at the Springfield Sectional Complex to have two players move on to the state finals.

According to the IHSA schedule of events, Werner and Carnahan will begin their quest to win the 11^th Annual Class AA Country Insurance and Financial Services Three-Point Showdown competition on Thursday, March 14, 2002 at 5:00 p.m. at Carver Arena in Peoria.  

CONGRATULATIONS to these two Railer players and good luck in Peoria next week. GO RAILERS!

[Rick Hobler]
 

[MARCH 9, 2002]   Lincoln College improved to 24-8 with a 68-58 victory over Lewis & Clark in the Region 24 men's basketball tournament at Lebanon Friday. Leading the way for the Lynx was James Roberson with 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting from the floor and three of four at the foul line.

Joining Roberson in double figures were Amir Major with 15 and Mike Sams with 10. Sams also pulled down a game high 13 rebounds. The Lynx dominated the board at a 46-31 clip. Lincoln shot 47 percent while the Lewis & Clark squad shot 33 percent. Conference freshman of the year, Anthony Weeden, led the losers with 31 points.

Lincoln College (68) - James Roberson 8-11-3-4-21; Josh Clark 0-1-0-0-0; Mike Fowler 2-5-0-0-4; Steve Turner 1-8-1-3-3; Andrew Kehr 2-6-1-2-6; Mike Sams 5-8-0-0-10; Amir Major 6-10-1-4-15; Derik Hollyfield 2-6-4-4-9. Totals - 26-55-10-16-68. Three point goals - Roberson 2, Kehr, Major 2, Hollyfield.

Lewis & Clark (58) - Anthony Weeden 11-25-2-2-31; Ryan Kennedy 3-7-0-0-6; Zack May 1-6-0-0-2; Glenn Brown 0-2-0-0-0; Brent Segree 1-5-0-0-2; Richard Wellings 1-2-2-2-5; Aaron Edwards 3-11-3-4-10; Corey Thompson 0-4-0-1-0; Sheu Allibalogun 1-2-0-0-2. Totals - 21-64-7-9-58. Three point goals - Weeden 7, Wellings, Edwards.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[MARCH 9, 2002]   If revenge is an actual motivating factor in the game of college basketball, then the University of Minnesota men’s basketball team should have been ready to play Friday night in the Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.

It was Illinois, remember, that scored the final ten points of their previous game Sunday against the Gophers to grab a share of the conference title and put Minnesota’s NCAA tourney hopes in serious jeopardy.  Many so-called experts thought Minnesota would storm out to a lead and cruise to victory.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.

[Photos by Tom Seggelke]

 Illinois started the game well, running out to a 20-9 lead.  Led by eleven quick Cory Bradford points (including three 3-pointers) and five from Lincoln’s Brain Cook, Illinois looked to be in good shape against the Gophers.  The only down side to the early run was the foul problems Illinois developed, getting called for three quick fouls and five in the first eight plus minutes of action.  Minnesota went six minutes without scoring, allowing Illinois to explode to a comfortable lead.  When Damir Krupalija nailed a three-pointer in his first action since February 3, Conseco Fieldhouse was up for grabs and the Illini had a nineteen point lead at 28-9.

 Illinois went into the half with a ten point advantage, 46-36, largely because of the seven three-point baskets the Illini made in the first half, including four by senior Cory Bradord.  Playing as if it could be his final conference game ever, Bradford sparked the Illini first half effort with 18 points.  Looking to extend their eight game winning streak, Illinois dominated a first half of action which saw a total of 23 fouls called on both teams.  Illinois’ two leading scorers, Brian Cook and Frank Williams, combined for just seven points, but it did not hurt the Illini, as eight different players scored for the orange and blue.  Illinois shot a sizzling 61% in the first half from the field and made 7 of 12 three-point baskets.

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 Illinois had two major points of emphasis after Minnesota soared for 23 offensive rebounds and forced Illinois into 20 turnovers.  This time however Minnesota had just 3 offensive rebounds in the first half, but Illinois still committed 10 turnovers in the opening twenty minutes.

The second half began very sloppy for both teams, as they traded turnovers and missed shots for the first five minutes.  Krupalija scored two quick buckets underneath the basket and Sean Harrington nailed a three to give Illinois a 54-41 lead at the first media timeout.  Illinois all the way for the entire second half and did a great job handling the Minnesota pressure without much trouble.

 Both Cook and Archibald fouled out late and the Archibald received two fouls in the same sequence.  Referee Tom Rucker, officiating his last conference game ever this weekend, called Arch for an intentional foul moments after missing Lucas Johnson getting an elbow to the neck.  Rucker then gave Archibald a technical foul for an ill-advised comment.  It didn’t matter, however, as Illinois rolled to a 92-76 victory.

Bradford finished the game w/ 25 points and Sean Harrington chipped in 16.  Cook added 13 and Krupalija and Archibald each scored 11 for the victors.  The Illini shot 62% for the game and made 13 of 23 three-point shots.  Illinois also knocked down 23 of 31 free throws, while out-rebounding the Gophers 34-24 and allowing just 7 offensive rebounds.

 Illinois moves into a semi-final matchup against Ohio St. at 3pm today.  The game is televised by CBS and can be seen locally on WCIA-TV.

[Jeff Mayfield]

[MARCH 9, 2002]   If you think a regular season college basketball game is over-hyped and is just pure craziness, it is nothing compared to what has become an annual right of spring; the Big Ten tournament. 

Yes, the Big Ten like almost every other conference succumbed to including a tourney before selection Sunday.  And if you think that they made that decision for any reason other than the money, you probably aren’t into sports very much.  The greed in big-time college and professional sports is only surpassed by the egos of the people making the decisions.

 But despite all the problems with big-time sports, none of which are going to be solved by this column, the Big Ten tourney is an event you might want to put on your family’s calendar.  And yes, we know that ticket and food prices can add up.  That hasn’t stopped a lot of Big Ten faithful from virtually every state represented by the conference.  Several kids and families have been working all the angles.  We know personally of a local police officer who got to take his son to three games for free.  Other people traded one session for another.  The opportunities are out there, if you’re willing to work.

 And what do you get for your efforts?  A fun-filled foray through the 4-day tourney that is like a trip to a 3-ring circus.  The fun never stops.  Whether the tourney’s in Chicago or in Indy like this year, there is so much for a family to do; even if you don’t like basketball or don’t want to spend much money.  There are museums, great zoos, nice parks and scenic attractions.  There are plays, operas and symphonies for those who prefer the fine arts, and if you’re a people watcher you can live off an event like this for weeks.

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 But, if you’re a college basketball lover it just may not get any better than this!  You get to see all eleven teams play in a 4-day span with just great excitement and intensity.  You get to see the conference champions and those whose lost seasons can be re-claimed in just one magical weekend.  You see the Big Ten’s best players as well as those who were good enough to make All-American.  You get to watch some of the best coaches in America and some of the country’s zaniest fans, not to mention the broadcasters and the ‘other’ media types.

 The weather has been spectacular and allows for a lot of people movement.  Ticket movement is brisk.  Those who are upset are disappointed and leave.  Those who win, survive for another day and are sometimes more relieved than they are exuberant.  Whether the good guys win or not is not important.  What is important is that we use everything we can possibly learn to make a deep NCAA tournament run!  That’s why we’re here, bringing you loyal LDN fans the inside scoop of this crazy event.  O.K., O.K. we like the atmosphere and the environment as most any other fan does.  But someone has to deliver the news to you.  Who else but us?

[LDN Sports Staff]

[MARCH 8, 2002]   Amir Major scored 15 points and pulled down 15 rebounds to lead Lincoln College to a 63-53 victory over John Wood College in the Region 24 tournament at Lebanon Thursday night.   The victory sends Lincoln College against Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. Friday.

Lincoln College (23-8) limited John Wood to just 19 first-half points and took a 30-19 lead to the locker room at intermission.  John Wood outscored the Lynx by one in the second half; however, the Lynx stayed in control throughout.

Joining Major in double figures for coach B.J. McCullum were Derik Hollyfield with 12 and James Roberson with 11.

Lincoln finished the game with 23 field goals in 54 attempts for 43 percent while John Wood managed to connect at a 34 percent rate, after making just seven of 27 shots in the first half for 26 percent.

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Lincoln College (63) — James Roberson 2-6-7-8-11; Josh Clark 1-4-0-0-3; Mike Fowler 1-3-1-2-3; Steve Turner 4-9-0-0-9; Andrew Kehr 0-0-2-2-2; Mike Sams 4-11-0-0-8; Amir Major 6-12-2-2-15; Derik Hollyfield 5-8-0-2-12; Loyd Bowen 0-1-0-0-0. Totals 23-54-12-16-63.  Three-point goals: Clark, Turner, Major, Hollyfield 2.

John Wood (53) — Michael Brooks 1-4-0-1-2; Kellen Fernetti 2-7-0-0-6; Dean Taylor 2-6-1-2-6; Brandon Powell 4-10-3-6-12; Milton Guillory 6-13-0-0-14; Leon Veal 2-5-0-0-4; Joshua Everage 1-1-0-0-3; Mamadou Cisse 0-9-0-0-0; Abraham Saxon 2-3-2-2-6; Benjamin Schauer 0-1-0-0-0.  Totals 20-50-6-11-53.  Three-point goals: Fernetti 2, Taylor, Powell, Guillory 2, Everage.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[MARCH 7, 2002]   NORMAL — Illinois State forward Katie Donovan, the leading freshman rebounder in the Missouri Valley Conference, was one of five players selected to the Valley’s All-Freshman Team.

Donovan, a 6-foot native of Kingston, Ontario, broke the Redbird freshman record for offensive rebounds in a season with 75. She averaged 6.1 rebounds per game, No. 13 in the Missouri Valley. She led her team in rebounding for the season and had five double-figure rebounding games.

She also scored 7.8 points per game for the season and 48.3 percent from the field in Missouri Valley Conference games, ranking No. 8 in the conference in league game statistics. Among her season highlights was a 15-point, 14-rebound effort vs. Louisville, plus 11 points and 12 rebounds in the Redbirds’ non-conference win over Northern Illinois.

Redbird coach Jenny Yopp believes Donovan will have a large impact on Illinois State’s future.

"Clearly, Katie is capable of developing into a versatile, all-around basketball player," said Yopp. "She is a gifted athlete who embodies a passion for the game. Our coaching staff is looking forward to working with Katie, and all of our other talented young players, to prepare for next season. They are the main reason that our future looks so bright."

The Redbirds lose just one player, center Kristi Larson, to graduation. As it stands now, the 2002-2003 Redbird roster will include two seniors, five juniors, six sophomores and two freshmen.

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Donovan played some of her best basketball of the season in the final month, averaging 10.3 points per game in her final seven games and shooting 60.4 percent from the field, hitting 32 of her last 53 shots for the season. She is joined on the team by fellow rookies Dena Williams and Genny Mueller from Bradley, Laura Spanheimer from Creighton, and Jenny Lingor from Southwest Missouri State.

The league also announced its 10-player all-conference team (Jennifer Kaczka of Wichita State and Carla Bennett of Drake, both selected for the third year) and its all-defensive squad, which includes Latasha Austin of Evansville, chosen for the third straight year.

The Valley’s All-Freshman Team is elected by vote of the league’s coaches, media relations representatives and two media members from each team’s market. Since the league began choosing the team in 1994, Donovan joins teammate Steph Reichle (2000), plus former Redbirds Jenny Schmidt (1996) and Corinne Vossel (1995), as members of Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman teams from Illinois State.

[ISU news release]

[MARCH 7, 2002]   University of Illinois guard Frank Williams was one of 10 players named to the United States Basketball Writers Association All-District V Team. Visit the links below to view the USBWA All-America and All-District teams.

The USBWA has released its 2001-02 All-America and All-District teams:

http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/
allamerica020306.html

http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/
alldistrict020306.html

Also, the association has announced the winner of its annual Most Courageous Award:

http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/
courageous020306.html

Please visit the USBWA website for more information at http://www.usbwa.com.  

[USBWA news release]

[MARCH 6, 2002]   

Boys

Lincoln        15  25  37  52

Lanphier      15  25  41  64

Lincoln stats

Schonauer 2-1-6, Schrader 8-0-22, Farmer 4-3-12, Bunch 1-2-4, Young 2-4-8

Three-point field goals: Schrader 6, Schonauer, Farmer

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[Photos by Bob Frank]

[MARCH 6, 2002]   Two Lincoln College basketball players were selected to the Collegiate Conference of Central Illinois all-conference team as announced by coach B.J. McCullum. 

Selected from the Lynx squad were Derik Hollyfield and Steve Turner.

Hollyfield, a 6-4 freshman guard, averaged 16.3 points per game for the Lynx while pulling down an average of nearly four rebounds per game and handing out 2.5 assists per game.

Turner, a 6-3 freshman guard, averaged 12.5 points per game while averaging five rebounds and two assists per contest.

Joining the Lynx pair on the all-conference team were Phil Jones, Spoon River; Keith Parks, Parkland; David Roos, Illinois Central; Virgil Akers, Danville; Reuben Statum, Illinois Central; Tony Weeden, Lewis & Clark; Zack May, Lewis & Clark; Mamadou Cisse, John Wood; and Cedric Miles, Illinois Central.

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Jones was named the player of the year and Weed was picked as the freshman of the year.  Tony Wysinger, Illinois Central, was named the coach of the year. Illinois Central won the conference crown with Lincoln finishing second.

Lincoln opens play in the regional tournament March 7 at 1 p.m. against the winner of the John Wood-Lincoln Land contest.

[Bill Martinie,
Lincoln College sports information director]

[MARCH 6, 2002]   

[Click here for background information (in Adobe Acrobat).]

[Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader.]

[MARCH 6, 2002]   PARK RIDGE — Following the national tragedy on Sept. 11, 2001, the Big Ten Conference through its intercollegiate athletic department revenues pledged a $1 million scholarship contribution to assist the families of those affected by the terrorist attacks. On Sunday, March 10, Big Ten Commissioner James E. Delany will make a presentation to Lumina Foundation for Education and Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America™ to provide undergraduate and graduate degree scholarships at Big Ten Conference member institutions.

The contribution will be administered by CSFA as a sub-fund to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™. The conference’s donation shall be called the "Big Ten 9-11 Scholarship Fund." The $1 million contribution will be drawn from conference reserves, which are generated as a result of football and men’s basketball participation in NCAA, bowl and regular-season television opportunities.

The presentation will be made during the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament final at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Delany will present a check to Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation, and Fred Vogel, executive vice president of CSFA.

"Many lives were lost on Sept. 11 and many more lives were forever changed as a result of these attacks," said Delany. "The Big Ten Conference is honored to have the opportunity to make a $1 million educational contribution to the surviving family members of those who lost their lives on Sept. 11, 2001."

The Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents/Chancellors unanimously supported the contribution to the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™. "This scholarship fund represents our commitment to a hopeful future for those individuals so tragically affected by the Sept. 11 attacks. The Big Ten Conference is honored to offer these scholarships and the full resources of our respective institutions during this time of need," said Dr. Myles Brand, president of Indiana University and chair of the Big Ten COP/C.

"Ensuring educational opportunity is the greatest gift we can give to others," said Vogel. "On behalf of the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™ and the families of the victims, I thank the Big Ten Conference Council of Presidents/Chancellors and its member institutions for their extremely generous gift."

CFSA, the nation’s largest nonprofit scholarship organization, is coordinating the overall fund initiative, receiving all monies raised and administering the scholarship program over the life of the fund.

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Headquartered in Minneapolis and St. Peter, Minn., CSFA carries out its mission of expanding access to educational opportunities and encouraging academic achievement through its Dollars for Scholars®, Scholarship Management Services™ and the ScholarShop® programs.

Since its founding in 1958, CSFA has distributed over $776.2 million to more than 748,000 students through its scholarship and other support programs. For the fifth year in a row, Smart Money, the Wall Street Journal’s magazine of personal finance, has ranked CSFA as one of the 17 most efficient nonprofits in the country. Worth Magazine also has named CSFA as one of America’s 100 Best Charities in its December 2001/January 2002 issue.

Lumina Foundation for Education, headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., is a private, independent foundation, which strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access to an education beyond high school. Lumina Foundation pledged the initial $3 million that created the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™.

"I’m pleased that my fellow Midwesterners have joined this worthy effort to help families devastated by the events of Sept. 11," Lamkin said. "As this contribution demonstrates, hoops and heart are hallmarks of the Midwest and Indiana. Because education provides an opportunity to overcome life’s obstacles, the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™ may open doors for these families who have suffered such a great loss."

The Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund™ has been created to provide education assistance for postsecondary study to financially needy dependents of those killed or permanently disabled as a result of the terrorist attacks on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2001, and during the rescue activities relating to those attacks. Former President Bill Clinton and former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole are serving as co-chairs of the campaign fund effort.

For more information see www.familiesoffreedom.org, e-mail familiesoffreedom@csfa.org or call 1 (800) 335-1102.

[Big Ten news release]

[MARCH 5, 2002]   Basketball fans will have a tough time choosing between two big basketball events Tuesday evening.

Pictures:

• Lincoln Railers vs. Lanphier

• Harlem Ambassadors

•  The Lincoln Railers play Springfield Lanphier in IHSA sectionals at PCCC in Springfield. The game can be heard via Lincoln Daily News on FIX 96 at 7:30 p.m.

Good luck, Railers!

•  Out at Lincoln Christian College’s new Laughlin Center, Habitat for Humanity of Logan County hosts the popular Harlem Ambassadors for a fund-raiser at 7 p.m.

The Nail Benders, composed of all local talent, will be playing for Habitat for Humanity of Logan County. The team is comprised of Will Tomlinson, Kent Cross, Neal Leesman, Matt Haseley, Brad Aper, Dayne Oltman, Kory Conrady, Jeremy Bruce, Terry Hoe of Bradley University, Steve Peterson of Bradley, Ben Lovat of Bradley, Jesse Smith of Bradley, Phil Dehner, Billy Barton and Randy Unger.

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Team sponsors are Lincoln IGA, Lincoln A.G. Edwards, State Farm Insurance, Holiday Inn Express, Lincoln Christian College and Lincoln Christian Church.

Sponsors of players are George Dahmm Construction, Farmers Bank of Emden, Leesman Construction, Lyle Fout Construction, Lee’s Home Furnishings, attorney William B. Bates, "Holers," Jim Xamis Ford and Ray La Hood.

Reduced-price advance tickets are available at $10 for adults, $7 for senior citizens and $5 for children under 12. Tickets at the door will be $12 for adults, $9 for senior citizens and $7 for children under 12. For more information, contact Habitat at P.O. Box 714 or phone (217) 732-6234. Tickets can be purchased in Lincoln at the IGA, A.G. Edwards and Union Planters Bank.

[LDN and Habitat news release]

[MARCH 5, 2002]   PARK RIDGE — For the second straight year, a sophomore collected the Big Ten’s highest honor, as Indiana’s Jared Jeffries was chosen as the conference Player of the Year in voting by both the coaches and media. University of Illinois junior Frank Williams was honored as the Player of the Year for 2001 and received first-team honors this year. Lincoln’s Brian Cook, also a junior at Illinois, was one of five players named to the second team.

Jeffries, the league’s only unanimous All-Big Ten First Team pick this season and the 2001 Freshman of the Year, is the second Hoosier in the past three years to be named conference Player of the Year. A.J. Guyton was honored in 2000. Jeffries led Indiana to a share of its first Big Ten championship since 1993 while topping the league with 2.13 blocked shots per game and ranking among the top 10 in rebounding (second, with 7.9 rpg), steals (sixth, with 1.50 spg) and scoring (seventh, with 15.1 ppg). The IU sophomore led his team and was the only Big Ten player to appear in the top 10 in each of those categories.

Other individual honors include Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan being named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media, the first Badger head coach to earn that distinction. Ryan led Wisconsin to a share of its first Big Ten championship in 55 years, as the last UW league title came in 1947.

A pair of Minnesota players earned individual honors, as Rick Rickert was named the conference Freshman of Year, and Travarus Bennett shared Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year accolades with Indiana’s Dane Fife. Rickert is the first Gopher to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He led all conference freshmen in scoring (14.1 ppg) and blocks (1.30) while rating third in rebounding (5.3 rpg). Bennett and Fife are also the first players from their respective schools to earn conference Defensive Player of the Year honors (selected by the coaches), as Bennett led the Big Ten in steals with 2.31 per game and Fife rated seventh with 1.50 picks per contest in league games only.

The all-Big Ten choices for 2002 featured youth, as eight members of the first and second teams have eligibility remaining, while each of the four conference co-champs was represented. The first team all-Big Ten squads selected by both the coaches and the media featured these players: Jeffries, Illinois’ Frank Williams, Michigan State’s Marcus Taylor, Ohio State’s Brian Brown and Wisconsin’s Kirk Penney. Jeffries was the only unanimous selection, while Williams was the only player to earn first-team honors for the second straight season.

The complete list of the All-Big Ten awards follows.

2001-02 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Team

As selected by Big Ten coaches

First team

Brian Brown, Ohio State

Jared Jeffries, Indiana*

Kirk Penney, Wisconsin

Marcus Taylor, Michigan State

Frank Williams, Illinois

Second team

Brian Cook, Illinois

Tom Coverdale, Indiana

Brent Darby, Ohio State

Reggie Evans, Iowa

Rick Rickert, Minnesota

Third team

Robert Archibald, Illinois

Willie Deane, Purdue

Tavaras Hardy, Northwestern

Luke Recker, Iowa

Dusty Rychart, Minnesota

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Honorable mention

Travarus Bennett, Minnesota

Winston Blake, Northwestern

Charlie Wills, Wisconsin

Player of the Year

Jared Jeffries, Indiana

Freshman of the Year

Rick Rickert, Minnesota

Co-Defensive Players of the Year

Dane Fife, Indiana, and Travarus Bennett, Minnesota

* unanimous

Repeat performers

First team: Williams

Second team: Evans

Note: Jeffries was named to the coaches’ second-team in 2001, Cook was a third-team pick, and Brown and Recker were honorable mention selections.

As selected by Big Ten media

First team

Brian Brown, Ohio State

Jared Jeffries, Indiana*

Kirk Penney, Wisconsin

Marcus Taylor, Michigan State

Frank Williams, Illinois

Second team

Brian Cook, Illinois

Tom Coverdale, Indiana

Willie Deane, Purdue

Reggie Evans, Iowa

Rick Rickert, Minnesota

Third team

Adam Ballinger, Michigan State

LaVell Blanchard, Michigan

Brent Darby, Ohio State

Luke Recker, Iowa

Dusty Rychart, Minnesota

Honorable mention

Robert Archibald, Illinois

Boban Savovic, Ohio State

Sharif Chambliss, Penn State

Player of the Year

Jared Jeffries, Indiana

Freshman of the Year

Rick Rickert, Minnesota

Coach of the Year

Bo Ryan, Wisconsin

* unanimous

Repeat performers

First team: Williams

Second team: Cook, Evans

Note: Blanchard was named to the media’s second team in 2001, Brown and Jeffries were third-team picks, and Recker was an honorable mention selection.

[Big Ten news release from Scott Chipman]

[MARCH 5, 2002]   ST. LOUIS — Randy Rice, with 14 points, led three Redbirds in double-figure scoring, but Illinois State’s hopes for a fifth State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Tournament title were dashed by Creighton’s hot shooting in a 90-63 Bluejay win on Sunday in a tournament semifinal game.

Kyle Korver scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half and led a barrage of 3-point field goals for Creighton as the Bluejays took command of the game in the first half. Shawn Jeppson and Baboucarr Bojang each had 11 points for Illinois State, while Terrell Taylor backed Korver’s play with 19 points. Six Creighton players had at least one 3-pointer.

The third-seeded Redbirds, 17-14, had two good runs at Creighton in the first half, fueled by Rice’s 11 points. CU led 8-2 when the Redbirds went on a 9-0 run to take an 11-8 lead on Baboucarr Bojang’s 3-point play with 14:35 left in the half.

The Jays edged ahead 26-21 before Tyler McKinney fired in back-to-back 3s to start a 15-0 spurt that put Creighton ahead 41-21. Rice and Jeppson hit 3-pointers in an 8-0 ISU run to slice that lead to 41-29, but Korver hit another 3 and Creighton led 47-31 at intermission.

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Creighton, 21-7, the No. 2 seed, guaranteed its advance to the title game with an opening 23-4 flurry after halftime. The Jays tied the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament record with 13 3-point field goals made for the game. The Jays hit 58.3 percent from the field and 21 of 26 free throws.

Illinois State, which has won 10 of its last 13 games, allowed a season-high 90 points, shot just 42 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 35-22 despite Bojang’s game-high eight boards.

Creighton went on to defeat No. 1 seed Southern Illinois 84-76 in the final on Monday.

[ISU news release]

[MARCH 5, 2002]   ST. LOUIS — Shawn Jeppson beat the final buzzer with a 25-foot turnaround, fall-away 3-pointer to lead Illinois State past Drake 64-63 on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the State Farm-Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

Jeppson, who scored 18 of his 24 points after halftime and hit eight of his final 10 shots, helped the No. 3-seeded Redbirds, 17-13 overall, overcome a 29-point performance by Drake guard Luke McDonald to advance Illinois State to the tourney semifinals for the 20th time in 21 years.

Drake had led 7-6 after a Jeppson steal and layup with 14:27 left in the first half. Lonnie Randolph’s layup started an 11-0 Bulldog run, which ended when McDonald drained a long 3-pointer with 6:33 left.

The No. 6-seed Bulldogs, 14-15, hit five of 12 3-pointers as the cold-shooting Redbirds suffered through a seven-minute scoring drought, missing nine straight shots. McDonald had 14 points at halftime as Drake held a 33-21 advantage. ISU made just nine of 25 first-half field goals.

Illinois State trailed by as many 15 in the first half and trailed 47-37 with 11 minutes left before Baboucarr Bojang hit a jumper to start a 12-0 run punctuated by a Jeppson 3-pointer with 7:45 left, which gave the Redbirds their first lead of the game, 49-47.

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The teams battled to 56-56 into the final three minutes, when a McDonald driving shot and an Andry Sola layup gave Drake a 60-56 lead with 1:54 left. Shedrick Ford hit two free throws for ISU, and McDonald’s final basket of the game, a trey, put the Bulldogs ahead 63-58.

Gregg Alexander, who had 13 points, hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 57 seconds left to cut that back to 63-61. Then Randy Rice stole the ball from McDonald to set up ISU’s final possession. Jeppson missed a driving layup with eight seconds left, but the ’Birds got the ball back for the final time as Drake’s Greg Danielson landed on the baseline with the rebound.

"Shawn made an unbelievable shot," said Redbird coach Tom Richardson. "Greg’s shot was big-time from the corner before that. Randy Rice made a big-time defensive play, so we had a number of things happen to lead up to that play."

The win slated Illinois State to meet No. 2 seed Creighton in a semifinal matchup.

[ISU news release]

[MARCH 4, 2002]   Led by Lincoln’s Brian Cook on Sunday afternoon, Illinois showed the world why they are named the Fighting Illini.

Down by nine points in Minnesota with just over three minutes to play, it looked like the final nail was going into the Orange and Blue coffin.

Suddenly there were reports that both Lazarus and the Illini were coming back from the dead. And when Frank Williams stripped the ball away and Cory Bradford drilled one of his five 3-pointers on the day, Illinois was down by only one with 6.9 seconds to play.

Frankie then hushed the crowd in an aptly named sold-out arena by sending a high-arching banker that floated softly through the twine.

Why do I say aptly named? Because the barn is known as "Williams" arena!

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Frank’s shot set off a wild celebration throughout the state, which hopefully will sober up by Friday!

Lincoln’s Brian Cook did all he could to set up the celebration by registering a double-double, tallying 22 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.

Illinois finishes league play tied for the Big Ten championship with Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio State! The Illini get the No. 3 seed and will face the Penn State-Minnesota winner Friday night at 8:10 p.m.

How sweet it is!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Field set for Big Ten tourney

[MARCH 4, 2002]  PARK RIDGE — The field is set for the 2002 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament that will take place Thursday-Sunday, March 7-10, at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Co-Big Ten champion Wisconsin (18-11, 11-5) earned the No. 1 seed after winning a tiebreaker among four teams. Fellow conference winner Ohio State (20-7, 11-5) nabbed the No. 2 seed. With a win over Minnesota on Sunday afternoon, Illinois (23-7, 11-5) collected a share of their second straight league crown and the No. 3 seed in the tournament, while co-conference champ Indiana (19-10, 11-5) was awarded the No. 4 seed.

All four teams received a first-round bye, along with No. 5 seed Michigan State (19-10, 10-6), and will start tournament play on Friday, March 8.

The fifth annual 2002 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament will tip off for the first time in the state of Indiana with a local flavor, as No. 8 Purdue (13-17, 5-11) will face No. 9 Iowa (16-14, 5-11), the defending tournament champion, at 2 p.m. EST on Thursday, March 7, on ESPN2. The four previous conference tournaments were contested at the United Center in Chicago.

The second game of the tournament will feature No. 7 Northwestern (16-12, 7-9) against No. 10 Michigan (10-17, 5-11) at 4:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.

The final game on Thursday will be No. 6 Minnesota (16-11, 9-7) and No. 11 Penn State (7-20, 3-13), with a 7:10 p.m. EST tipoff on ESPN Regional.

Day two will begin with the No. 4-5 contest at 11:30 a.m. EST (ESPN2), as Indiana will face Michigan State, which has won five straight games and emerged victorious in two other conference tournaments.

Wisconsin, which earned its first No. 1 seed in the five-year history of the tournament, will begin its quest for its first tournament title, at 2 p.m. EST on ESPN2 against the Purdue-Iowa victor.

No. 2 Ohio State will also aim for its first tourney crown, on Friday at 6:40 p.m. EST (ESPN Regional) versus the Northwestern-Michigan winner.

The second day will conclude with No. 3 Illinois facing the Minnesota-Penn State winner at 9:10 p.m. EST (ESPN Regional), as the Illini aim for their third berth in the tourney final in the last four years.

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The Big Ten Tournament semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 9, with the first game beginning at 1:45 p.m. EST on CBS. Game two will start 30 minutes following the conclusion of game one, at approximately 4:05 p.m. EST.

The tournament will conclude with the championship game on Sunday, March 10, at 3:30 p.m. EST on CBS.

Iowa became the lowest-seeded team to win the Big Ten Tournament last season, as the sixth-seeded Hawkeyes won four games in four days to clinch the tournament crown and an automatic NCAA championship berth. Iowa’s win ended a string of two straight Big Ten Tournament titles by Michigan State, as the Spartans won it all in 2000 and 1999, while Michigan won the inaugural event in 1998.

A limited number of full-session ticket packages for the 2002 Big Ten Conference Tournament are still available and on sale for $225 to the general public. Tickets are available at the Conseco Fieldhouse box office, Ticketmaster charge-by-phone numbers and www.ticketmaster.com.

Click here to see the tournament brackets, with teams, dates, times and television (in Adobe Acrobat). [Click here to download Adobe Acrobat reader.]

[Scott Chipman, Big Ten Conference]

[MARCH 4, 2002]   While I enjoyed growing up in Southern California and skateboarding and hittin’ the beach with my buddies out there, it doesn’t even compare with March Madness!

And, yes, they have great basketball out there. In fact, some of the all-time great hoopsters and current Hall of Famers hail from that region. It’s just that the weather is so nice there most of the time, that nobody cares about going indoors to watch anything, much less basketball.

On the other hand, here in the Midwest the world is an entirely different planet! I woke up this morning, picked Payne up out of his bed and went to turn on Clifford the Big Red Dog (what else would you be watchin’ at that time of the morning?). The weather update on the screen said that the temperature outside was 1 and that the wind chill was minus 12! Payne wanted me to flip to SportsCenter to get caught up on all the tourney results nationwide, and I gladly obliged him! What else are you gonna do in these weather conditions?

This year’s Railers have clawed, scratched, outworked, out-hustled, out-coached and outplayed their opponents en route to yet another 20-win season.

As we travel the state so many have told us what it would mean for their local high school team to have even one 20-victory campaign. So regardless how the rest of the season goes, the LDN salutes this year’s Railers! Nice going, fellas!

The Railers proved once again that what they may lack in size and athleticism, they make up for in preparation, execution and made free throws. Champaign Central is well coached and had a good game plan, but when Lincoln hits 24-of-25 free throws you’re not going to beat them.

We will go on record to say that if LCHS converts 24-of-25 charity tosses against Lanphier Tuesday night, they will walk off the court with an upset of epic proportions. It appears that no one thinks that they could ever beat this Lanphier team. And yes, it does have the potential to get ugly, but people said the same thing about the David-Goliath matchup until the blabbering bully went facedown in the dirt.

The Lions will still have to hit the shots and make the plays and prove that they really are the No. 2-ranked team in the state. And there is no reason to suspect that they are not that good. Some even say that they are the best team in the state and will have no problem runnin’ the table on their way to a state championship.

If they do it, we say, more power to them. Their coach Craig Patton, who is a former Lincoln coach, seems to be a nice enough guy; we would certainly wish him well IF they were to travel that road.

However, in order to travel that road they must get by the Railers first. Others have countered and said that Lincoln just saved Champaign the embarrassment of taking another shellacking from the Lions; that, on paper, these guys are one of the best teams ever in our state.

I’m sure glad that no game we’ve ever been involved in was played on paper! No one knows how a team is going to react, especially after last year when everyone was saying the exact same things. We recall that some other team went on to win the sectional title.

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We’re not saying that it would be easy to spring such an upset. It would take a near flawless performance. It would mean patiently breaking down one of the better presses that we’ve seen in a while. It would mean limiting the Lions to one shot per possession. It would take great overall team defense, moving feet so quickly as to not let dribble penetration take over the contest. It would mean contesting every shot and trying to force the opponents into taking off-balance, forced shots maybe quicker than they are ready to do so. It would take deliberate offensive flow, with good ball movement and excellent screens to free up the best shooters at just the right times. It would take a spectacular effort in the post both offensively and defensively. And it would take a huge coaching effort to even allow one’s self to even believe that an upset is even in the realm of possibility.

A wry smile has just come across our collective face. All the pressure in the world is on Lanphier. Everyone expects them to win and to win big… Well, maybe not everyone…

The Redbirds won a thrilling contest over Drake Saturday night when Shawn Jeppson hit a 3-point prayer as time expired, leading ISU to a win over Drake. But the dreams hit the skids Sunday when Creighton took it to ISU big in the semis. Actually it sets the stage for the MVC’s two best regular-season teams to battle it out Monday night to see who gets the NCAA automatic bid.

But what about ISU’s postseason chances? ISU’s SID, Todd Kober and I have been speculating for the last couple of weeks that ISU really is deserving of an NIT bid. IF you look at the record over the last 10 games and consider how they have overcome injuries, and then if you look at a pretty decent RPI… I guess you could say that we’d be pretty disappointed if they don’t get an invite. It could result in a very difficult game on the road, but we’ve always believed that any postseason experience is a good experience. And what it could do for next year’s team would be huge. We’re keepin’ our fingers crossed for an engraved invitation!

PLEASE join Greg Taylor and I Monday night on FIX-96.3 from 6 to 7 pm. Greg is ALREADY in Indy sending good Illini vibes all over the place in order to allow the Illini a deep tournament run. Tonight’s agenda will include high school sports, and obviously the IHSA A and AA tourneys; college sports — U of I, ISU, LC and LCC reports; Cub and Cardinal spring training updates; prize giveaways; and a whole lot more.

Call us at 648-5510 or toll free (877) 963-9669.

The Illinois Fighting Illini, winners of back-to-back Big Ten championships. On behalf of your loyal LDN staff, CONGRATULATIONS!

[Jeff Mayfield]

Announcements

[FEB. 28, 2002]  The Lincoln Pony League will have their sign-up period for both baseball (boys) and softball (girls) over the next three weekends, beginning this Saturday, March 2, and continuing on March 9 and 16. Sign-ups will be in the lobby of the Lincoln Rec Center from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

Anyone interested in playing ball this summer can get signed up during those times. Representatives of the Lincoln Pony League will be on hand to answer any questions and to assist with the sign-ups.

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