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Boys basketball: At full strength, Illineks take care of Fisher

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Published: Sunday, January 13, 2008 - 12:42am
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POSTGAME COMMENTS: MIKE RENNER,
CHUMAR WILLIAMS, AUSTIN RUNDUS
Click to listen

Seniors Mike Renner (first speaker), Chumar Williams (second), and Austin Rundus (third) talk about tonight's win over Fisher, Uni's loss to the Bunnies two weeks ago, and the outlook for the rest of the season.

Note to readers: For a breakdown of stats from this game, click here. For season results and remaining games, click here. Listen to postgame comments at right.

FISHER — Four seniors scored in double figures tonight as Uni upset host Fisher 71-60.

Mike Renner, Chumar Williams, Isaac Radnitzer, and Austin Rundus combined for 61 points and 23 rebounds as the Illineks improved to 12-5 with the nonconference win.

"This was a team win — all of them stepped up and played very well throughout," head coach Joel Beesley said.

"We had to battle back. We were down 9, I think, with a minute and a half left in the first half. [We] cut it to 3 and progressed from there in the second half."

The victory was payback for the Bunnies' 60-42 defeat of Uni in the third-place game of the Hayden's Classic holiday tournament on Dec. 29.

In that contest, the Illineks played without leading scorer Renner, who was ill with stomach flu.

Junior Malcolm Taylor, one of the top Illineks off the bench, was also unable to play in that game.

In tonight's contest, Renner netted a game-high 19 points, giving him 1,348 for his career and leaving him only 24 shy of brother Al's Uni boys career record of 1,372. Renner also had 6 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.

POSTGAME COMMENTS: ISAAC RADNITZER
Click to listen

Senior Isaac Radnitzer talks about the two games Uni has played against Fisher this season and looks at the road ahead for the Illineks.

Williams scored 17 points to go along with his 5 boards, 3 assists, and 1 steal.

Radnitzer finished with 14 points and grabbed a team-high 7 rebounds. He also had 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. The post player was the only Uni starter who shot above 50 percent from the free-throw line, going 8 for 11, mainly in the second half.

Rundus rounded out the senior foursome with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.

The Illineks held the Bunnies' top player, Mitch Elkins, to just 12 points. The Fisher star also fouled out.

In the Hayden's Classic game, Elkins torched Uni for 26 points on his way to being named co-MVP of the tournament. (Renner, despite not playing that game, was the other co-MVP.)

Not everything went Uni's way tonight. The Illineks shot just 44 percent from the line (15 of 34) compared to Fisher's 70-percent shooting (7 of 10). Take away Radnitzer's 73 percent, and Uni's free-throw shooting dropped to barely 30 percent.

But the visitors made up for that with their long-range scoring. Four Illineks each knocked down a pair of treys: Rundus, Renner, Williams, and sophomore Dan Lilly. Uni's 24 points from outside the arc almost tripled the 9 points Fisher got from treys.

POSTGAME COMMENTS: JOEL BEESLEY
Click to listen

Head coach Joel Beesley talks about the two Fisher games and the challenges that remain for his players, including Tuesday's home contest against PBL, one of the area's top teams.

In the first quarter the teams stayed close, with Uni leading 17-15.

But Fisher outscored the Illineks 15-10 in the next period, pulling ahead by as much as 9, and the visitors had to fight hard to go into halftime trailing only 30-27.

The game turned Uni's way for good in the third quarter as the Illineks dropped 25 on the Bunnies to take a 52-44 lead into the final 8 minutes.

Despite repeated fouling that caused the game to drag on well after the outcome was clear, Fisher couldn't disrupt the visitors' poise as Uni came away with an 11-point win.

The victory was a reminder that when the Illineks are at full strength and play with confidence, they can match up well with almost any team in the area.

Uni will get a chance to prove that again on Tuesday when Paxton-Buckley-Loda (12-4) visits Kenney Gym for a nonconference game. Today's issue of The News-Gazette ranked PBL No. 5 in the area.

Last year the Panthers defeated Uni twice — in an overtime thriller during the regular season and in the first round of the IHSA playoffs.

In JV action tonight, Fisher defeated Uni 51-13.

MORE PHOTOS: UNI AT FISHER


Senior guard Chumar Williams scored 17 points, including 3 from the line. He also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)


Uni head coach Joel Beesley talks to his team as the clock begins to run out on Fisher. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)


Senior Austin Rundus scored 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. He also had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)


Williams, Rundus, and Renner come out of the game in the final minute. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)


Senior Isaac Radnitzer went 8 of 11 from the line. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)


Radnitzer comes out of the game. He led the team with 7 rebounds. He also had 14 points, 1 assist, and 1 block. Gargoyle photo (click to enlarge)

THE VARSITY SEASON SO FAR

2007-08 BOYS VARSITY BASKETBALL: 12-5 overall, 3-1 ECIC
(home matches listed in bold)

Nov. 19: Shiloh (Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 80-32

Nov. 20: Buckley Christ Lutheran (Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 69-17

Nov. 23: Bement (Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 73-59

Nov. 24: Martinsville (Central Illinois Turkey Tourney championship game), W 74-43

Nov. 30: at Shiloh, W 72-23

Dec. 4: St. Thomas More, W 63-45

Dec. 14: at Oakwood, L 67-54

Dec. 18: Uni JV vs. BCL Varsity, W 40-23 (counts toward Uni's ECIC record only)

Dec. 27: Heritage (Hayden's Classic at Heritage), W 67-32

Dec. 27: Georgetown-Ridge Farm (Hayden's Classic at Heritage), W 63-41

Dec. 28: Salt Fork (Hayden's Classic at Heritage), L 71-64

Dec. 28: Atwood-Hammond (Hayden's Classic at Heritage), W 59-42

Dec. 29: Fisher (Hayden's Classic at Bismarck-Henning), L 60-42

Jan. 4: Decatur Christian, L 63-60 (OT)

Jan. 5: Lexington, L 51-48

Jan. 8: at Normal Calvary Baptist, W 74-51

Jan. 11: at DeLand-Weldon, W 70-25

Jan. 12: at Fisher, W 71-60

2007-08 schedule: Click here for the Gargoyle Scoreboard, which includes remaining varsity games.

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