By Gargoyle sports staff


Posted Sunday, Jan. 28, 2007, The OG, boys basketball & sports

Austin Rundus in action against Lexington.

(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

LEXINGTON — A week that began with perhaps the biggest win of the year for the Uni boys varsity ended with the Illineks' most lopsided defeat of the season, a 68-37 road loss to Lexington Saturday night.

The Illineks made the 100-mile round trip barely 24 hours after their 62-55 Friday night defeat of Buckley Christ Lutheran at Kenney Gym. That victory raised Uni's East Central Illinois Conference record to 6-1 and brought the team to within one win of a .500 overall record.

With Saturday's nonconference loss, the Illineks are now 10-12. Lexington, located about 50 miles west of Champaign-Urbana in McLean County, is 11-8.

Uni trailed 24-14 at the end of the first quarter. By halftime the game was virtually out of reach, with the Minutemen ahead 45-20.

The Illineks made the game a bit closer in the second half, putting up 17 points to Lexington's 23. But the final margin of 31 points represented Uni's most one-sided loss of the season.

It was a frustrating way to end an otherwise memorable week, which began with the Illineks moving into the ECIC's top spot with a decisive 65-52 win Tuesday over Judah Christian, which had been undefeated in conference play.

Friday's victory over conference opponent BCL strengthened Uni's hold on first place. The good news from Saturday's loss is that it had no effect on the ECIC standings.

Junior small forward Mike Renner again led his teammates in scoring, but his final tally of 10 points was considerably lower than his 17.3 average going into the game.

Juniors Isaac Radnitzer and Austin Rundus each contributed 5 points, followed by junior Chumar Williams with 4. Rundus and Renner each made one 3-pointer.

Radnitzer, a 6-foot-1 forward, grabbed a team-high 6 rebounds. Six-footers Renner and Rundus each hauled in 4 boards. Williams contributed 3 assists and 2 steals.

The team returns to Kenney Gym on Tuesday for a conference game against Decatur Christian. In honor of Spirit Week, all Uni students who wear orange or royal blue (not navy) will get in free. There will be no JV game, so the varsity action begins at 6 p.m.

VARSITY RECORD: 10-12 overall, 6-1 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 (vs. Uni varsity) (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: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 27: Salt Fork (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 53-32
— leading scorer: Dan Lilly, 10 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Heritage (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 62-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Atwood-Hammond (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), W 62-51
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 29: Oakwood (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 52-50
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Jan. 5: at Decatur Christian (DC's “JV,” as explained in article linked below), W 66-52 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Illineks remain unbeaten in conference play

Jan. 9: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 51-36 *

— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 11 pts

— story: Normal Calvary hands Uni first conference loss of season

Jan. 12: DeLand-Weldon, W 79-43 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 16 pts

— story: Uni rebounds from ECIC loss to win by 36

Jan. 16: at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, L 69-60 (OT)

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts

— story: Illineks lose a heartbreaker in overtime

Jan. 18: at Decatur Lutheran School Association, W 62-56 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts

— story: Uni defeats Decatur Lutheran, takes control of second place

Jan. 23: at Judah Christian, W 65-52 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts

— story: Illineks roll against Judah in showdown for conference lead

Jan. 26: Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 62-55 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 19 pts

— story: Uni defeats BCL, keeps control of conference lead

Jan. 27: at Lexington, L 68-37

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 10 pts

— story: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference game