CS8
1. Lanphier – The Lions catapult ahead of Southeast back into the No. 1 slot in the CS8 Power Rankings. Lanphier went on the road last Friday and grinded out a win at Glenwood against one of the best defensive teams in the conference. Any talk of Lanphier still being in that “Post-City Tournament Hangover” after falling to Southeast was thrown out of the window into the brisk Springfield air. Not only is Lanphier atop the Power Rankings, but Xavier Bishop now owns an elite No. 1 honor. On Tuesday night against Springfield, Bishop surpassed Rich McBride to become Lanphier’s all-time leading scorer. Bishop needed 25 points to slide past McBride’s previous record of 2,067 points and he dropped 27. That figure is only going to continue to grow, with some season left. The Lions stare down a tough road test on Friday at The Bowl against Jacksonville.
2. Southeast – On Friday, Southeast found out first hand that winning at The Jacksonville Bowl can be a very tall task if you don’t bring your “A game”. From the second quarter on, Jacksonville established momentum, maintained it and the Spartans struggled mightily on the offensive end. Southeast couldn’t buy a bucket from the outside and postgame, Spartans coach Lawrence Thomas admitted that he didn’t have his team ready to play. A sign of a good team, though, is how they respond after a loss. The Spartans put it to SHG on Tuesday night, led by junior Trevyon Williams, who is evolving into one of the best players in the CS8. Currently, Southeast is one game back in the loss column of Lanphier in the conference. The Spartans and Lions meet in the regular season finale on February 26 at Scheffler Gymnasium. Mark your calendars.
3. MacArthur – The Generals fell into an early slump against Lincoln at Roy S. Gymnasium last Friday night and trailed 18-4 early, but MacArthur stormed back to beat the Railers for the fourth consecutive time. Keymonta Johnson led the way with 20 points and nine rebounds. A matchup with a lot of implications is set for Friday night. MacArthur hosts Southeast. It marks the fourth time the two teams will meet this year. The Generals hold a 2-1 edge, but this is the one that carries a lot of weight in terms of postseason and conference implications.
4. Glenwood – The Titans battled Lanphier in a 53-44 home loss last Friday. The Titans shot a shade under 40 percent from the field and just 21 percent from beyond the arc – not a formula to win against a top dog, but the Titans’ defensive effort was well-above par. That could be the factor that allows this team to make a run. Glenwood’s conference record still stands at 10-3 with two wins over Jacksonville, leading us to….
5. Jacksonville – Our “at mentions" were flooded on Friday by Jacksonville fans pumped up about a season sweep of Southeast. Thank you. We love the passion of the Crimsons fan base. Sweeping the City Champs in the season series is an impressive feat. There’s no doubt about that. Jacksonville dominated that game against Southeast in arguably its most complete effort of the season. But, Jacksonville has fallen twice to Glenwood, once by 25 and a second time on a Joel Alexander tip in at the buzzer, which is why Glenwood remains ahead of the Crimsons. Jacksonville has also been one of the most unpredictable and inconsistent teams in 2015-16. We’ll find out a lot about Jacksonville on Friday night at The Bowl, as the Crimsons host Lanphier. That will be a dandy.
6. Lincoln – The Railers inexperience has kept Lincoln down this season, mixed with its lack of a post presence. Lincoln has looked good during stretches, but have struggled through other phases. Following a come from behind win over East St. Louis in the Collinsville Tournament, it looked like the Railers were starting to find a groove, but then went on a six game losing streak. Since then, Lincoln has been an up and down team.
7. Rochester – The Rockets went through a rough stretch in the CS8 schedule, but were able to pick up a much-needed conference win against SHG. Another team that is having a tough go in a very competitive conference.
8. Springfield – The Solons were apart of history on Tuesday night, but it only involved them because they happened to be the opponent that Xavier Bishop broke the Lanphier all-time leading scoring record against. Springfield is without one of its leading scorers in Isaac Nelson, who is currently serving a five game suspension.
9. Eisenhower – If basketball games lasted just three quarters, Ike would be much higher on this list, but we ain’t talking about hockey. Sorry Slushie.
10. SHG – Speaking of three quarters, last Friday, it looked like a possibility that SHG was going to break its CS8 skid. The Cyclones led 40-38 after three quarters. From then on, the Cyclones scored just three fourth quarter points and Rochester closed the game on a 22-3 run. That’s indicative of how SHG’s season has gone.
Area
1. Pleasant Plains – The Cardinals are relishing the role of “the hunted” in the area and rightfully so. Pleasant Plains currently has just two losses on the year and are undefeated in league play. Pleasant Plains got Auburn’s best shot and trailed at halftime on Tuesday night, but ended up winning by four points. The Cardinals are in the drivers seat in the Sangamo, but still have to travel to Riverton for the final game of the regular season. The Hawks are still unbeaten in the conference. On Saturday, Pleasant Plains faces a 20-3 Reed Cluster team, who hails from Braidwood, Illinois in the Riverton Shootout. That could be a measuring stick game to see what Plains’ chances are of making a deep run in the 2A bracket.
2. Williamsville – The Bullets make it a point to schedule a tough out of conference slate. A back-to-back Friday / Saturday slate against Argenta-Oreana and Urbana reflects that and Williamsville escaped with two impressive victories. Harrison Creswell did suffer a knee injury on Saturday, despite him scoring 20 points and pulling down nine boards. His status for this week is uncertain. The Bullets play Pawnee on Friday and Metro-East Lutheran on Saturday in the Riverton Shootout, so they can afford to rest him given both of those games are non-conference tilts. It would be wise to error on the side of caution with his injury. The 6-foot-8 forward who just committed to Lincoln Land Community College is the ultimate difference maker for the Bullets.
3. Riverton – Lets set the stage for you here: At home on Tuesday night, Riverton was down by five to PORTA with under one minute left. A defeat seemed imminent, which would have dealt a big blow to Riverton’s chances at winning the Sangamo. Enter: The Ro-Show. Senior point guard Ryan Roscetti hit a three to cut the lead to two points with 44.4 seconds left. On the ensuing inbounds play, Roscetti stole the pass and scored to tie the game at 37. With less than 10 seconds left, Roscetti nailed two deciding free throws to win the game for the Hawks after getting fouled in transition. That’s big time and that has Riverton supplanted in at No. 3 for another week.
4. PORTA – Max Muller is only a junior. Area teams have to take note, because it’s crazy to think what this kid can accomplish next year when it comes to putting the biscuit in the basket. Muller scored 27 of PORTA’s 37 points in the Jays’ heart breaking loss to Riverton. After a lull in the middle of the year, the Jays are playing much better basketball.
5. Auburn – The Trojans nearly pulled off what would have been one of the biggest upsets of the 2015-16 basketball season on Tuesday night. The Trojans led Pleasant Plains by four at halftime and lost by four. Auburn also played Plains tough at the County Tournament and we’re talking about one of the best teams in the area. Say what you want about moral victories. You may believe in them, you may not, but sticking with Plains like Auburn has done recently shows where the Trojans’ status is.
