By Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007, The OG, sports

BROADLANDS — Coming off a week of intermittent open gyms and practices, the boys varsity basketball team went 1-4 in the Hayden's Athletic Classic last week, finishing eighth out of 12 teams. The Illineks played all their games — which took place Wednesday through Friday — at Heritage High School.

WEDNESDAY: Shiloh & Salt Fork

In their first game, the boys took on Shiloh, a team they beat by 9 points on Dec. 1 at Kenney Gym. Unfortunately, the Illineks fell victim to a stunning shooting performance by their opponents and lost 65-61. Junior Mike Renner led Uni with 17 points, and freshman Dan Lilly hit four 3-pointers to notch 12 points.

Later that evening, Uni fell to Salt Fork 53-32. (Salt Fork is a co-op between Catlin and Jamaica high schools.) Unable to finish layups in their transition attack and fazed by Salt Fork's defensive pressure in the halfcourt, the Illineks only put up 10 points in the first half and trailed by double digits at the break. Renner played for only the first few minutes, coming out for the rest of the game with a knee injury. Both teams played substitutes for much of the fourth quarter.

Lilly led the Illineks with 10 points, while juniors Chumar Williams and Austin Rundus added 8 and 6, respectively.

THURSDAY: Heritage & Atwood-Hammond

The team looked to rebound the next afternoon against the host Heritage Hawks. Uni got off to a roaring start, taking a 15-4 lead early in the first quarter. However, as the game progressed Heritage chipped away at Uni's advantage and eventually pulled ahead. The Hawks hit their free throws late in the game and walked away with a 62-48 victory. Renner scored 15 points, followed by Williams and junior Isaac Radnitzer, both with 8.

In the evening game Uni recorded its only win of the tournament, against Atwood-Hammond, the team that won the Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney in late November. The Illineks once again jumped to an early lead with a solid defensive performance, and Atwood-Hammond was never able to mount a comeback as the Illineks finished on top 62-51. Renner led the team with 24 points, including four 3-pointers. Radnitzer added 12 points, and Williams contributed 10.

FRIDAY: Oakwood

With the surprise win, Uni was in a three-way tie at the bottom of the six-team Heritage High School bracket with Shiloh and Georgetown-Ridge Farm. Each team had one win and three losses in group play, so free-throw percentage over the course of the tournament came into play as the tie-breaker. Since the Illineks outshot the other two teams from the line, they finished fourth in the group, and played in the seventh/eighth place game Friday at Heritage against Oakwood.

The Illineks were excited about the chance to avenge their 74-61 home loss to the Comets on Dec. 15, but they were a little shorthanded due to the losses of junior Austin Rundus to sudden illness, and sophomore Malcolm Taylor, who had his wisdom teeth removed that day.

The rematch proved similar to the first game between the two teams in its multiple lead changes. Uni was ahead by as much as 15-8 early in the game but trailed Oakwood at the half.

The score remained very close in the second half, but in the end the Illineks' mistakes, including some missed layups, came back to haunt them. With less than a minute left in the game and the score tied at 50, Oakwood advanced down the court, worked the ball around for the last shot, then attacked the basket. Though the Comets missed their first shot, they were able to rebound and eventually score after a desperate frenzy under the basket to take a 52-50 lead with just over 3 seconds left.

The Illineks were able to get the ball into the hands of Renner after a timeout, but the junior's last-second 3-pointer was heavily contested and bounced off the backboard.

Renner finished with 17 points, and senior Michael Belmont added 11.

Uni will go into the New Year with a 5-9 overall record as it begins the East Central Illinois Conference portion of its schedule. The Illineks will play Friday at Decatur Christian.

VARSITY RECORD: 5-9 overall (4-9 against varsity competition), 1-0 East Central Illinois Conference
(Games at Kenney Gym are in bold)

Season Preview: A new era begins

Nov. 20: Buckley Christ Lutheran (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 50-44
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 12 pts
— story: Uni wins season opener over Buckley Christ Lutheran

Nov. 21: Mahomet-Seymour JV (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 58-53
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Illineks defeat Mahomet-Seymour JV in Turkey Tourney

Nov. 24: Bement (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), L 54-46 (OT)
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 13 pts
— story: Illineks fall in overtime

Nov. 25: Martinsville (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney, at A-H), L 51-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Illineks go down to the wire again

Dec. 1: Shiloh, W 55-46
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 29 pts
— story: Illineks get back on winning track, defeat Shiloh

Dec. 5: at St. Thomas More, L 54-32
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 7 pts
— story: Illineks suffer tough road loss to crosstown rival

Dec. 9: Fisher, L 53-39
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts
— story: Renner scores 21 but Uni falls to Fisher

Dec. 12: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 79-51 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Uni wins conference opener against Buckley Christ Lutheran

Dec. 15: Oakwood, L 74-61
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 19 pts
— story: Oakwood denies Uni comeback bid

Dec. 27: Shiloh (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 65-61
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: see above

Dec. 27: Salt Fork (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 53-32
— leading scorer: Dan Lilly, 10 pts
— story: see above

Dec. 28: Heritage (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 62-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: see above

Dec. 28: Atwood-Hammond (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), W 62-51
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: see above

Dec. 29: Oakwood (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 52-50
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference game