www.mcdonoughvoice.com ■ The Voice ■ Saturday, February 28, 2015 B1
Sports
QUOTE OF NOTE "It was grind it out, it was a really tough game for us, but I'm proud of how our guys were able to keep composed." Macomb coach Brock Bainter
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? INFORMATION? Contact Sports Editor Scott Holland at sholland@mcdonoughvoice.com or (309) 833-2114.
INSIDE TODAY
ASTORIA REGIONAL | ABIGNDON-AVON 32, SOUTH FULTON 25
Rebels stunned by fourth quarter Tornado run SHELBY BURGET Voice Sports Writer
SCOREBOARD, B2
Standings, schedules and scored MLB, B4
Wainwright may not be ready for Opening Day
ASTORIA – Years from now the question will be asked. Where were you the night Abingdon-Avon and South Fulton played in the 2015 Class 1A Boys Regional title game? For A-Town and its fans, it will be remembered as a game for the ages. For South Fulton and its fans, it will be also be remembered – but for far different reasons. In dramatic a game as
one could expect at this level, the Tornadoes rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final quarter for an improbable 32-25 victory at a packed Astoria High School. A-Town improved to 1712 on the season and will face Brimfield (29-2) in Tuesday's Class 1A Sectional semifinal at Lewistown. Brimfield defeated Peoria Christian 63-53 for the regional title at Peoria Heights. South Fulton, playing in its first regional final since 2008, saw its season end
with a final record of 1616. It was the first regional title for A-Town since its consolidation two years ago. Meanwhile, the Rebels have never won a regional title since the coop began during the 199798 season. “You have to give ATown credit,” said South Fulton coach Patrick Pokorny. “They stuck with it for 32 minutes. They could have easily called it quits.” Making just 5 of its 32 shots from the floor through three quarters, the Tornadoes suddenly
put things together offensively in the final eight minutes. “The boys just came alive in the fourth quarter,” said A-Town coach Kent Jones. “They weren't willing to give up. They kept believing the whole time.” “South Fulton came out and played great defense on us. We just weathered the storm and finished it out.” Zach Glisan's 3 started the comeback with 7:03 remaining. After a South Fulton miss, Ryder Yoho drained a trey with 6:21
CLASS 2AWARSAW REGIONAL | MACOMB 40, WEST HANCOCK 31
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REGIONAL RALLY
Bears sign TE Zach Miller to 1year extension
to go, cutting the Rebel lead to 22-16, forcing the Rebels to use a timeout. “We finally got the offense going,” said Jones. “We had some guys step up and our senior leadership showed there. We hit some big 3s. “Once you see that ball go through the hoop, everybody starts believing. The mentality changes and it becomes contagious.” Despite the South Fulton timeout, the Tornadoes kept rolling. Jack Lucas
See REBELS - B3
Basketball tourney at Washington Street Gym SCOTT HOLLAND Voice Sports Editor
LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract extension through 2015 with tight end Zach Miller. He spent last season on injured reserve with a foot injury after signing with the Bears. Miller played in 33 games with Jacksonville from 200911, catching 45 passes for 470 yards and four touchdowns. The Bears announced the move on Friday.
difference on offense was a surprise, it was his usual solid defense that helped preserve the game. Drake had a pair of blocked shots on threepoint attempts and his steal and coast-to-coast layup forced a tie game, 27-27. "It was great team defense, I love the team for that," Drake said. "The guy I was guarding at the end and had two blocks on threes, I knew they would go to him, so I left my feet and got a hand on it. "I did my best, so I'm more than happy." After Drake's layup tied the game, Macomb was able to take the lead for good as Dively's second three-pointer of the fourth quarter gave the Bombers a 30-27 lead.
MACOMB – Highquality basketball is coming to Macomb this weekend, as S.A.R.A. (Student Athlete Recruiting Association) brings a tournament to Washington Street Gym. The tournament beings Saturday morning and runs through the day, with games continuing Sunday morning. S.A.R.A. and the tournament are run by Jerric Stovall, who has held similar tournaments in Bushnell and Monmouth this year. “This is the third one we’ve done,” Stovall said. “We’re trying to find college players, former college players who played college ball or semi pro and played overseas or is an avid player playing in leagues. “It’s a highly competitive tournament for players 18 and up.” The tournaments features a handful of local teams and players as well as players from around the state. Stovall hopes to expand his tournaments into a potential semipro league. “I want to create a competitive basketball tournament in the area for starters and this is a way I can provide my company’s plan to form a semipro league,” Stovall said. “By doing this I can look at more players and keep profiles on those players as well.” Stovall created S.A.R.A to help players looking to get to the next level of performance on the basketball court and hopes these tournaments can help the company and athletes. “Our mission is to provide a service that deals with kids as well as young men and women who are active or seeking assistance with recruiting, training and coaching,”
See MACOMB - B3
See HOOPS - B8
IN THE KNOW Upper concourse seats made available for Summit League Basketball Championships SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Due to the current and projected demand for single-session tickets for the two opening sessions of the Summit League Basketball Championships on Saturday, March 7, upper concourse seats have been released. The first session on Saturday will begin with Game 1 at noon, with the No. 1 seed versus the No. 8 seed, and Game 2 at 2:30 p.m., with the No. 2 seed versus the No. 7 seed. Based on the current Summit League women’s basketball standings, the first session will include South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota as these two teams have clinched the top two seeds in the women’s bracket. The second session on Saturday will begin with Game 3 at 6:00 p.m., with the No. 1 seed versus the No. 8 seed, and Game 4 at 8:30 p.m., with the No. 2 seed versus the No. 7 seed. The first game of the session will include South Dakota State University as the No. 1 seed and the second game of the session will include North Dakota State University as the No. 2 seed. The initial release of upper concourse seats will include sections 201 – 205. All single-session tickets in the upper concourse are available for $15.00. Tickets are available by calling 1-800745-3000, visiting Ticketmaster.com, the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center’s Keloland Box Office, or through other Ticketmaster outlets.
SCOTT HOLLAND/THE VOICE
Members of the Macomb boys basketball team celebrate their regional title on Friday night.
Bombers take regional title with comeback, SCOTT HOLLAND Voice Sports Editor
WARSAW – The West Hancock boys basketball team's strategy was clear, the Titans were not going to let Macomb's top guns, Jacob Billeter and Damone Doyle beat them in Friday's Class 2A Warsaw Regional final. For a half, the strategy worked as the Titans led 21-14. But after intermission, Macomb role players Ty Dively (nine points), Alec Drake (nine points) and EJ Green (six points, six rebounds) answered the call when their team needed them, helping lead the Bombers back to a 4031 regional title win. "It was grind it out, it was a really tough game for us, but I'm proud of how our guys were able
to keep composed," Macomb coach Brock Bainter said. "We had a couple of guys not used to stepping up hit big shots when they shutdown our big two." Things weren't going Macomb's way late in the first half though as Logan Dorethy's three-pointer gave the Titans a 21-14 lead at the halftime buzzer. "The first half we came out kind of slow and in the second quarter, their crowd kind of got to us," Drake said. "We came in and Bainter talked to us and told us to relax and run the plays right." For Bainter, getting the team back into the game was to employ a simple strategy. "We wrote two things on the board, 'calm down,' and 'slow down,' '' the coach said. "I thought we
played too fast and tried to do things we were not capable of. "We talked about guarding and rebounding, winning every possession, if we could make it a war, we'd win." Dively and Drake were the big two to get things rolling, as Dively hit a pair of big threes in the fourth quarter and Alec Drake scored six of his nine points after intermission. "I thought Alec really was the key tonight, his threes came at big times, stopping runs for them and getting the momentum back on our side," Bainter said. "That's not something Alec's used to doing, but he's been in big games before, he's a threesport athlete, so I'm not surprised." While Drake making a
Leatherneck baseball team looks for consistency this season SHELBY BURGET Voice Sports Writer
MACOMB – Entering his third season as head coach for the Western Illinois University baseball team, for Ryan Brownlee, the buzzword for the squad entering 2015 is consistency.
“We’re just looking to get more consistent in everything we do,” he said. “Throw more strikes, field the ball more consistently. If we can keep our offense with what we’re doing, we’re going to score five or six runs a game. That should give us a chance to win every one of our
games.” Brownlee enters his third season as coach for the Leathernecks. The squad finished 21-32 finish a year ago, including an 11-13 record in Summit League play. That was an improvement from his first season when WIU finished 19-37 overall, 10-19 in
league play. Last weekend, the Leathernecks opened their season in Murfreesboro, Tenn. against Middle Tennessee State. Western would get swept 16-14, 54 and 19-2. By the time Monday’s finale wrapped up, temperatures were in the mid 20s and the wind
chill in the teens. “Maybe we shouldn’t have played because of the temperatures,” said Brownlee. “But I would rather do that and play than not play, and I think our guys know that about me too. Whenever we have an opportunity to play, we’re go-
See WIU - B7