Sunday, January 31, 2010

Another (tied) record for Galesburg!

In a season full of state records, the Galesburg (Ill.) High School Silver Streaks had one of their most impressive outings Saturday by simply tying another one. The Streaks, coached by "System" neophyte Evan Massey, made 20 3-pointers in a 90-70 blowout over Bloomington, joining two other schools in the Illinois prep record book. Mason City was the first to do it, back during the 2001-02 season, and Herscher made 20 as well Dec. 5, 2007. Jessica Howard's 3 in the final minute proved to be the final one of the game for Galesburg, which finished 20-for-51 from beyond the arc.

In case you're not familiar with the job Coach Massey is doing this season at Galesburg, his team now has state records for 3-pointers attempted in a game (71) and a season (1,169), along with made treys in a season (324). And adding this other mark, albeit one that will be shared for now, might not have been the most impressive aspect of this game.

The Streaks played Bloomington twice last year and lost both by a combined 40 points on their way to a 14-18 record, one of the reasons Coach Massey went to "The System" for his 32nd season at the school. In one of those games, Galesburg trailed at the half 43-18; on Saturday, the score was nearly reversed, with the Streaks on top 48-32. Just an amazing turnaround.

They won for the 11th time in their past 15 games to improve to 17-10.

"I have coached 30+ years and have had teams come into a locker room after qualifying for state many times, but what I am seeing this year when they come into a locker room after games is unbelievable," Coach Massey posted on the "Run and Gun" Yahoo! message board I follow. "Today after our win everyone was congratulating everyone. Sense of team is unbelievable. Wow!"

Galesburg has three more games in the regular season before the postseason, beginning at home Thursday against Alleman. Go, Streaks!

Elsewhere in "System"land Saturday, the Grinnell Pioneers had a tough day on the road at Lake Forest, losing 89-56. Matt Skelly made four 3s to finish with 12 points to lead Grinnell, which dropped to 4-12, 3-7 in the Midwest Conference. The Pioneers fell behind by 20 points midway through the first half and never really recovered, eventually trailing by as much as 39 points. They get a quick chance at redemption when they host Fontbonne on Sunday at beautiful Darby Gym. Here's hoping Grinnell turns things around.

At Glenville State College, this squad of Pioneers scored the final 10 points to hold off the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown 110-96 in West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Donita Adams again was the star for Glenville State, finishing with 29 points in 23 minutes, with teammate Autumn Davis adding 24 points. Davis also connected on six of her team's 13 3-pointers.

Coach Bunky Harkleroad's team dominated in many of "The System" categories, finishing with 92 shots (19 more than Pitt-Johnstown), 28 offensive rebounds and 30 forced turnovers. The Mountain Cats made half of their shots in the second half (17-of-34) but still were outscored 62-51.

The Pioneers now are 10-6 overall, including 8-4 in the WVIAC, while Pitt-Johnstown fell to 9-8, 6-6. Andrea Dalton paced the Mountain Cats with 34 points.

Glenville State hosts Davis & Elkins on Monday, with the tip scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Hopefully, I'll be able to report on another victory for Coach Harkleroad.

Speaking of victories, the Whitmore Lake (Mich.) Trojans coached by blog interviewee Dave Arnold continue to roll, rallying to beat Clinton High School 85-76 on the road Friday for their third consecutive victory. Whitmore Lake made 20 3-pointers, well short of the state-record 29 it connected on earlier in the season, but still put up 51 points in the second half after trailing 41-34 at the break.

Colton Judge made five of the 3s to lead the Trojans with 20 points, with Alex Cattley (13 points), Jake Kerrigan and Jacob Clinansmith (12 points each) also in double figures.

"We really came out with a refocused effort in the second half," Arnold told AnnArbor.com. "Both on the defensive end and with our shots. That push really got us out front."

Whitmore Lake (7-5, 5-2 Tri-County Conference) pulled within a game of Clinton (8-4, 6-1) in the conference standings. Coach Arnold and his team host Greenhills on Tuesday, and I wish them the best.

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