Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 9

Decatur, Illinois, Saturday, December 7, 1985 Section -Herald Meview Sports- By BOB FALLSTROM HeraM Review Sports Editor CHAMPAIGN A downcast Doug Altenberger admits: "It doesn't look good." The most valuable University of Illinois basketball player last season tested his ailing right knee for 16 minutes in the 79-56 romp over Eastern Kentucky Friday night in the Mini Classic tournament He obviously flunked the test. "I felt sluggish, I can't do things the way I want to do them," Altenberger said. "I'm not in good shape because of the knee. Obviously I'm not the same player I was last season. "Until last week I didn't consider redshirting (skipping this season, coming back next season).

This has been going on since I had arthroscopic surgery in September. It's getting late. I have to make a decision within a week or two. It's becoming a joke. "In order to help the team I have to be healthy and Henson.

"He gets better and better as a pressure defensive player, as a shooter, as a smart Judges Altenberger: "Wysinger is exactly what this team needs. His size (5 feet 10) is not that much of a problem. He does enough to compensate." Wysinger's potential makes Altenberger delay the decision about giving up until next November: "We're, going to have a great year and I'd love to be a part of it." Utah State Wins: Utah State's Greg Grant made a free throw with seven seconds to go to wrap up a 75-74 victory over Murray State. Utah State (3-1) pulled ahead for good at 72-70 on Grant's 15-footer. Grant led all scorers with 20 points.

Murray State (3-1) plays Eastern Kentucky (2-2) tonight at 7:07 in the third place game. Friday night attendance was 13,707, with about 400 staying to see the Utah State victory. on my game. If I'm not going to have fan, it's not worth Right now Altenberger is not much help.This was the third time he has played. He made one of four shots, missed a free throw.

His scoring total is now eight points. He moves around gingerly instead of with all-out abandon. How the knee feels this morning will determine if Altenberger plays in the championship game with Utah State tonight at 9:07. "The morning after a game is when the knee usually stiffens up," Coach Lou Henson said. Henson quite likely will keep Altenberger on the bench tonight, then play him in the game at Tennessee next Tuesday.

The Altenberger dilemma overshadows all preparations for the Big Ten season. Illinois (4-1) needs Alten-berger's defensive talents, needs his outcourt shooting, needs his considerable experience, needs his aggressive ness and leadership. So the fun aspect of overpowering Eastern Kentucky with 12 players scoring was considerably dampened. Illinois stormed to an 18-4 advantage to wrap up Henson's 200th Illinois victory (200-110 record) in a hurry. Efrem Winters, looking dominating for a change, got all of his 10 points in the first half.

Bruce Douglas got all of his nine points (4-for-7 shooting) in the first half. The younger players were more in evidence in the second half, although Anthony Welch got three baskets to emerge as top scorer with 11 points. Scott Meents and Tony Wysinger provided the most positive signs. Meents made four of five shots, including a breakaway solo dribble for a layup after stealing the ball. Wysinger made five of nine shots from the perimeter and had seven assists as the point guard in place of Douglas.

"Wysinger moves the ball, he sparks us," praises EfinnI3iiweff flesurrms mums m. MATTOON Jad Mason hit all four free throw attempts in overtime as MacArthur High School tripped Mattoon 61-57 Friday night in Big 12 basketball action. MacArthur's Carlos Sidney got six points in the fourth quarter to help send the game into overtime (54-54). Sidney led MacArthur with 14 points, while Mason added nine. MacArthur was five of seven in free throw shooting in the overtime.

Ken Gagnon scored 21 points, 11 in the fourth quarter, for Mattoon. Guy Taylor added 12, including eight in the third quarter. Mattoon is 1-3, and 0-1 in the Big 12. MacArthur is 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12. More prep basketball, Pg.

2 ter and finished with 16 to spark East Park Baptist BOafd battle By JEFF RIVERS 1 Herald Review Sports Writer Eisenhower High School had another classroom ses-; sion of Winning Basketball 101 Friday night. This time, Matt Snyder made sure his team got a passing grade. Snyder hit five-of-eight free throws in the fourth i quarter to help Eisenhower pull away to a 56-50 victory over Champaign Central in a Big 12 Conference basket- ball opener for both teams. Snyder, a 5-foot-10 junior point guard, hit two free throws with one minute, four seconds left to give Eisenhower a 50-46 lead. Two more free throws with 41 seconds left made the margin 52-46.

Snyder hit another free throw and Kevin Roberson chipped in two more to keep Champaign at bay. "I wasn't nervous," said Snyder. "I was just thinking about putting them in. I'm a pretty good free throw shooter. They want to get the ball to me at the end." Putting the ball in the hoop at the end has been a for Eisenhower, 2-2.

Eisenhower led 38-31 against Mount Zion in the Thanksgiving Tournament be--fore bowing 51-49. The team wasn't satisfied with its fourth quarter play in a 64-55 loss to Stephen Decatur, either "We have to get used to the pressure," said Snyder. "We let two games get away in the Turkey Tournament. We were really down. This one should help our confi- dence." "These kids know how to play," said Coach Bob Witt.

"Now they have to learn how to win. We lost two games i in the Turkey Tournament because we didn't know how to win. My philosophy has always been the first 30 minutes you play for fun, the last two minutes you play to win." Witt played to win the final minutes by making sure Snyder had the ball. "I like to have my best free throw shooter have the ball if I have the lead," Witt said, "because you know they're going to foul. "Matt did a pretty good job.

But he's got to do better than that and he will." Roberson couldn't do much better. The 6-4 senior hit a game-high 16 points seven in the final quarter and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. "I just let my inside ability take over', said Roberson modestly. Another strong finisher was Tony Brown. The 5-11 senior guard overslept and arrived shortly before game-time.

A 14-point-per-game scorer, Brown was shut out the first three quarters. But he responded with a seven-; point fourth quarter, hitting two field goals and three-of- five free throws. "Something just clicked in my head that we had a game," said Brown. "I just took off out of the house. I got here 15 or 20 minutes before gametime.

"I didn't feel too comfortable coming in because I I didn't get enough warm-up," he added. "I was just get-; ting it into the guys inside that were warmed up. Then at the end I felt I was ready to take control." Taking control is something Roberson would like to see the team do more of. "Right now, we're inexperienced," said Roberson. "As the season goes on, we'll do a lot better.

We've got to learn how to take control at the end of the game." After passing Winning Basketball 101, Eisenhower is looking forward to its next lesson and its next test. East Park defeats Alton Brian Durnil scored eight points in the second quar- No. 1 in the Herald Review small school rankings. He had nine points in the second quarter as Teutopolis took a 23-11 halftime lead. Teutopolis has a 2-0 record, Shelbyville 1-1.

(Photo by Jan Abbott) Shelbyville's Doug Storm, left, battles Teutopolis' Bob Zerrusen for a rebound in action at Shelbyville in which Teutopolis scored a 56-33 victory. Ted Wiessing poured in 19 points to lead Teutopolis, OlIIl wins illikin Academy to a 58-53 basketball victory over Alton Christian Friday. East Park won its fourth straight game, while Alton Christian slipped to 4-1. John Gaines scored 23 points to lead all scorers, including 14 in the first half. Vaughan leads Mt.

Pulaski PLEASANT PLAINS Eric Vaughan scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Mount Pulaski to a 57-46 basketball victory over Pleasant Plains Friday Others night. Mount Pulaski, No. 12 in the Herald Review small school rankings, improved its mark to 3-1, and 1-0 in the Sangamo Conference opener. Vaughan hit 10 of 17 shots and scored eight points in the third quarter. Pleasant Plains, 0-3, was outrebounded 34-20.

Monticello 68, Tolono 67: Kevin Roberts scored 15 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 25 points to lead Monticello to a 68-67 victory over Tolono Unity Friday night. John Martin added 12 points and Scott Dempsey 11 for Monticello, 3-2. Doug Cekander topped Tolono with 27 points, including 20 in the second half. Heyworth 59, Farmer City 50: At Farmer City, Randy McBeath hit eight-of-11 shots for a game-high 20 points for the winners. Steve Newby canned eight-of-13 shots to finish with 16 for Heyworth, 1-0 in Sangamon Valley Conference play.

Shaun Zimmerman topped Farmer City, 14 overall and 0-1 in conference, with 16 points on seven-of-eight shooting. Greg Lutz hit six-of-six for 12 points. EFFINGHAM Ed Camine scored 24 points on nine-of-11 shooting to lead Mount Zion High School to a 72-60 victory over Effingham in the Apollo Conference basketball opener for both teams Friday. Brett Andricks chipped in 20 for Mount Zion, ranked Apollo No. 4 among Herald Review large schools.

Marty Tolliver topped Effingham with 15 points. Mount Zion is 4-1 overall and 2-0 in conference while Effingham falls to 2-2 and 1-1. Springfield Griffin 66, Taylorville 58: At Springfield, Brian Weber scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead the victors. The loss spoiled an outstanding effort by Taylor-ville's Chris Ondrula and Brian Caton. Ondrula hit 12-of-19 shots for 28 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Caton scored 10 points in the first quarter and seven more in the fourth to finish with 21. Taylorville is 1-1. Charleston 67, Newton 53: At Newton, Jeff Gueldner fired in 20 points to lead Charleston, 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference. Darrell Hite chipped'in 12 points and Tad Everett hit for 10 more. Mark Wallace topped Newton with 17 points and INDIANOPOLIS Paula Keller pumped in 31 points as Millikin University outlasted Marian 110-95 Friday in the women's Marian College tournament.

Keller connected on 12 of 21 shots and added seven of 11 free throws. Stacy McLaughlin contributed 21 points on 8-of-ll shooting, while also grabbing 14 rebounds. Millikin plays Georgetown, Ky. today for the championship. Marian, which is 0-2, plays Indiana-Purdue for third place.

Eastern Illinois rolls: At DeKalb, Chris Aldridge of Taylorville scored 16 points in the second half to spark Eastern Illinois to an 87-65 victory over Northern Illinois in the Fastbreak Fest tournament. Aldridge finished with 19 points, four assists, two steals and three rebounds. Melanie Hatfield scored 14 in the first half, and finished with 20 points for Eastern. Lisa Tyler added 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Eastern is 4-1 and plays Tennesee for the championship tonight at 8:30.

uavia niman chipped in lu. CD SPSIFJKS IT SLUE Stonington edges Argenta STONINGTON Bob Moffett pumped'in 17 points, including sinking five free throws down the stretch, to enable Stonington High School to escape with a 57-55 Meridian non-conference basketball victory over Argenta-Oreana Friday night. It kept Stonington, No. 10 in the Herald Review small school rankings, undefeated with a 4-0 record. Argenta-Oreana is 1-2.

Stonington led by as much as seven points in the fourth quarter before Argenta closed the gap. Rod Carls scored 7 of his 13 points in the final period to play an instrumental role in staving off Argenta. Free throws were decisive. Stonington sank 17 of 25 to offset a 25-20 deficit in baskets. Brian Ennis topped Argenta with 14 points, including eight in the second quarter.

Niantic romps: At Niantic, Mark Beck connected for 15 points to lead a blanced attack that carried Ni-antic-Harristown to a 58-37 Meridian Conference victory over Moweaqua. Beck sank 6 of 13 shots. Troy Page added 13 points on 6-of-ll scoring and snared 10 rebounds. Ricky Shaffer was high for Moweaqua with 10 points, sinking 4 of 15 shots. It was the conference opener for Niantic, which is 2-1 overall.

Moweaqua is 1-2 in the conference, 2-2 overall. Tower Hill Wins At niibpolis, Tim Jones and Darrell Troby each popped in 14 points and Pat Guiot 13 "That was a big play when he (Leurck) got in foul trouble," said Reed. "That allowed us to get some inside shots to go with our outside shooting." The combination was too much to handle for St. Teresa (1-3). St.

Teresa fought back within 61-52, but Reed drilled a baseline shot. Moments later when St. Teresa crawled within eight points (65-57), Reed again held off the home team with an eight-foot jumper in the lane. "That spurt they had at the start of the second half shook us," said Reed. "We started to settle down and worked our inside game.

Every time they sagged on us, we were able to hit the outside shot." Pana's Ron Ambrose worked the inside for 18 points, -Although he didn't shoot for three quarters (4-of-13), he hjt all three shots in the fourth quarter and made four of six free throws. shots during a 20-point Pana run in the third quarter, and two more in the final period to thwart a despar-ate St. Teresa rally. "They were overplaying me a lot," said Reed. "I thought the key was our outside shooting because everytime we stopped hitting, St.

Teresa came back." The scariest moment for Pana (2-1) came when St. Teresa began the second half with a fury. St. Teresa scored 12 of the first 14 points to forge ahead 45-39. Eight of those points came by Tom Rayhill, the 5-foot-7 junior who finished with 13 points, on 6-of-9 shooting.

But the turning point came when St. Teresa's man in the middle, John Leurck, picked up his fourth foul. Leurck, who scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shots and 4-of-4 free throws, rested as Pana reeled off 20 straight points to take a 59-45 lead. It was a deficit st- Teresa could not By J. MICHAEL FLANAGAN Herald A Review Sports Writer John Reed didn't exactly bust out of a shell.

He merely decided to start accepting some generous offer-'ings. "The shots have been there." said Reed. "But in the first couple 'of games, it didn't seem like a good I time to take them. Tonight it did." Reed hit 10 of 17 shots, mostly 15 feet-plus, and added four throws to steer Pana High School to a 76-67 basketball victory over Decatur St. Teresa Friday 'night.

"He's a real pure shooter," said Pana Coach Charlie Strasburger. "He's passed up some good shots, but that's the kind of player he is. He'd rather make a good pass or dish it off than take the outside Tshot." i Reed, however, netted six out-t court jumpers in the first half to spark a 37-33 lead. Then he hit two as Tower Hill cruised to a 64-58 "victory over the home team Steve Hopkins had 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting and Jason Hohenstein 15 on 7-of-ll shooting for Illiopolis. Tower Hill is 2-1 in the conference, 4-3 overall.

Illiopolis is 0-3 in the conference, 1-4 overall. Maroa rolls At DeLand-Weldon, Jeff Cooley poured in 17 points to lead a balanced attack that boosted Maroa-Forsyth past the home team 70-61. Cooley had 10 points in the first quarter. Wes Wilson had six of his 16 points in the opening period. Mike Mielke added 14 points, six in the last quarter.

DeLand's Doug Swinger led all scorers with 25 points, eight in the first quarter. Maroa has a 2-1 record, DeLand-Weldon 1-5. Findlay 68, Neoga 66: At Mike Knierim sank two free throws with three seconds left for the decisive points. Knierim finished with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Brian Herzog added 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting.

Scott Hanfland kept Neoga close with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Findlay remains unbeaten running its record to 4-0. Neoga is 1-2. rflbanMi ramps Stephen Decatur's hopes suffered a severe blow when Troy Leonard left the game with a knee injury midway through he final quarter. Stephen Decatur's leading scorer in the Decatur Thanksgiving Classic last week he finished with 14 points on 6-fo-12 shooting.

It was not immediately certainhow serious his knee injury is. Stephen Decatur also was hampered by having seven of its players missing because of injuries or ineligibility. "We can't fault the kids' effort under the circumstances," said Stephen Decatur Coach Rease Binger. Stephen Decatur was left with a 2-2 record overall. Urbana is 2-3.

1 left the lane open," he explained. "The rest of our players were covered, so I thought it best just to try and take it all the way for the layup." Terence Alexander sank two free throws 12 seconds later to give Urbana a 68-62 lead before Eric Leonard scored Stephen Decatur's final basket with 52 seconds to go. Urbana controlled the ball thereafter. Stephen Decatur had one final shot, but failed to connect Ironically, the final margin was the most cushion Urbana had at the end of any of the four quarters. Urbana led 14-13 at the end of the first period.

It was tied 30-20 at haltime and Urbana took a 49-47 lead into the final quarter. Johnson came through with seven of his points in the crucial fourth quarter. Jerry Baker had four of his 10 points down the stretch. He sank 4 of 5 shots. James Kkisey, making his first start, produced 14 points, eight the first half.

Superior shooting proved to be the difference. Urbana connected on 27 of 47 shots, Stephen Decatur 23 of 60. Urbana's shooting negated superb efforts by Stephen Decatur's Bryan Green and Eric Leonard. Green led all scorers with 24 points, including sinking 14 of 17 free throws. Eric Leonard added 18 points on 8-of-16 By REX SPIRES HeraM Review Sport? Writer Lars Johnson had fire in his eyes.

"Dribbling is not one of my better things, but I can if I have to." said Johnson after he grabbed a rebound and took the ball the length of the court for a layup basket "with 1:12 minutes left that proved decisive in Urbana High School's 68-64 victory over Stephen Decatur Friday night in a Big 12 Conference basketball opener at Ste-' phen Decatur. The 6-f oot-5 Johnson emerged; as Urbana's leading scorer with 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting. None of his baskets were more important than the one that came at me end of his full-court dribble in the waning seconds..