(ROBINSON) — Four teams were vying for the opportunity to play a third game in the Little Illini Conference Tournament, as the consolation semifinals took place Thursday night at Robinson High School.
In the first game, fourth-seeded Olney rebounded from a first-round loss to defeat eighth-seeded Paris, 48-37.
Olney jumped out to a 17-8 lead by the end of the first quarter, then led 25-20 at halftime and 36-28 after three quarters, while winning the fourth quarter 12-9 to seal the victory.
Carsyn Ameter led Olney with 14 points, while Cooper Hires posted 13 and Reid Brown contributed 11.
Marcus Hutchins led Paris with 11 points, while Carter Eastham scored eight and Madox Hutchings netted seven.
In game two, seventh-seeded Robinson outlasted third-seeded Newton in overtime, 68-61.
The Maroons scored the first five points as part of an 11-2 run to start the game, en route to a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. Newton rallied in the second quarter, outscoring RHS 20-12 to take a 31-28 lead at halftime. Robinson responded in the third period, outscoring Newton 16-11 to take a 44-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
There were momentum swings galore in the fourth, as both teams held leads. With the game tied in the final minute, Isaac Hardiman knocked down a baseline jumper to give the Maroons a 56-54 lead with 54 seconds left, then after Newton’s Alex Gier sank a free throw, Andrew Sparks made two foul shots to give RHS a 58-55 lead with 33.8 seconds remaining. Newton’s Jacob Oldham scored with 14.8 seconds left, then Hardiman made a free throw to make the score 59-57 with 13.5 seconds to play. However, Oldham scored again on the ensuing possession and the game went to overtime after Robinson’s buzzer-beating shot was off the mark. In the extra session, Robinson scored the first four points and outscored Newton 9-2 over those four minutes to pull away for the win.
Cruz Dunlap led Robinson with 21 points, while Mason Arnone was also in double figures with 11. Jetson Hoalt contributed nine points for RHS, Gunner Hoalt posted eight and Hardiman netted seven. Drake Wolf led four players in double figures for Newton with 17 points, while Oldham posted 12, Kody Bergbower contributed 11 and Eli Wolf scored 10.
Robinson (7-15) advances to play Olney (9-14) in the consolation championship game Friday at 5 p.m. Normally, the losers of the consolation semifinals would play in the seventh place game, but that contest was scrapped this year due to weather delaying the tournament for several days.
Also on Friday, fifth-seeded Marshall (8-11) will play sixth-seeded Mt. Carmel (11-11) in the third place game at 6:30 p.m and top-seeded Lawrenceville (20-1) will take on second-seeded Casey-Westfield (15-7) in the championship game at 8 p.m.
