TERRE HAUTE — Apollo Conference rivals Robinson and Paris took decidedly different paths toward what both their coaches hope to be a third meeting of the season Friday.
If the Maroons and Tigers meet again, that would mean they’ve advanced to the championship game of the Illinois Class 2A Effingham St. Anthony Sectional, where Robinson plays Tolono Unity tonight and Paris takes on slightly favored Teutopolis on Wednesday.
Robinson, led by 7-foot Illinois recruit Meyers Leonard and two other stars in Ben Jones and Derek Hannahs, was expected to be where it is right now. Paris, beset by coaching turmoil and in a regional with defending sectional and super-sectional champion Marshall, probably wasn’t.
Longtime Paris assistant coach Jim Virostko became the Tigers’ third coach in about a week near the midpoint of the season, and the 14-15 Tigers have won 10 of 17 since then.
“[The players] responded pretty rough at first,” Virostko told the Tribune-Star earlier this week.
“It was a new system, and I coached different. But they caught on pretty good; I would give them good marks [for handling] a situation that was not real good.”
In the second half of the season Paris defeated two Apollo foes that had beaten the Tigers handily earlier, and avenged a regular-season loss to Marshall to win the regional championship — something that impressed Virostko.
“I have nothing but respect for [coach] Tom [Brannan] and Marshall,” he said. “To beat Marshall, you’ve done a heck of a job.”
Beating the fifth-ranked Wooden Shoes on Wednesday would qualify as the same kind of job.
“Them and Robinson tend to be the favorites,” Virostko said. “T-town plays 10 kids and they’re all about the same [in skill level], which makes it really hard to match up. We’ve been playing pretty good man-to-man defense … but the kids have got to keep their focus.”
Robinson lost a close game to Teutopolis back in November, and beat Tolono by nearly 20 points — at St. Anthony, coincidentally — in a holiday tournament.
“[Unity] is playing really well right now,” coach Bob Coffman of the Maroons cautioned this week. “They went to the state in football, and when we played them they might not have had the football out of them yet.”
Coffman’s team gave Marshall one of its biggest tournament scares a year ago in sectional play, and would like nothing better than to be the Wabash Valley team to make a long tournament run in 2010.
“We’ve faced some pretty good competition, and we’ve played really good at times,” Coffman said. “The key is for us to play at our tempo, get the ball up and down the floor.”
Friday’s winner will travel to Springfield for super-sectional play early next week.
Class 2A Effingham St. Anthony Sectional
Today — Robinson (22-5) vs. Tolono Unity, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday — Paris (14-15) vs. Teutopolis (25-3), 7:30 p.m.
Friday — Championship, 7:30 p.m.
All times CST
High School
Apollo rivals Robinson, Paris still standing in Illinois postseason
Teams may meet in Class 2A sectional championship
- High School
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Davis hits layup in double overtime to lift Terre Haute North at Bloomington North
Playing without their two leading scorers against a team that — most of the time — seemed more determined to win than they did, Terre Haute North's Patriots got a driving layup from Steven Davis with 2.8 seconds left in the second overtime to escape Bloomington North with a 54-52 win in high school basketball Thursday night.
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Sullivan stays on top of WIC for third straight year
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South girls looking for solid performances at swimming state finals
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Teutopolis knocks off record-setting Marshall girls in regional championship
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South pulls upset
Plainfield’s 16-5 record made the Quakers the team to beat in the Class 4A Terre Haute North Sectional.
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Vikings break long sectional drought
You’ll have to forgive West Vigo for celebrating just a wee bit prior to the postgame handshake with South Vermillion, but its first victory in a sectional game in 11 years was worthy of celebrating.
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PREP ROUNDUP: RP rolls past Attica
Riverton Parke jumped to a 20-point halftime lead and easily defeated Attica 59-34 in the Class A North Vermillion girls basketball sectional on Tuesday.
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They’re the pride of Marshall
With a 24-1 record, coach Kathy Miller’s Marshall team earned the top seed in the Class 2A Teutopolis Regional.
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Union season more fun with Talpas around
The Union boys basketball team has had its share of fun moments in the past, arguably the most fun being its Class A state runner-up in 2000.
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Northview holds off Plainfield
Northview got its sixth victory in boys high school basketball action Saturday night, defeating Plainfield 59-56.
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Brandon Dorman and Joe Fidler combined for 37 points and six 3-pointers Saturday night as visiting Cloverdale defeated Turkey Run 63-45 in boys high school basketball.
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North seniors enjoy hot start
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Ben Davis Giants top South Braves
Visiting Ben Davis nearly went to sleep on a sizeable lead against Terre Haute South in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school basketball Friday night.
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No. 3 Panthers too much for Patriots
After trailing by 15 at halftime, Terre Haute North’s boys basketball team got off to a nice start in the second half and cut its deficit to seven against Class 4A No. 3 Indianapolis North Central.
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Clay City gives Shakamak first SWIAC loss
Clay City shook up the top echelon of the SouthWestern Indiana Athletic Conference with a solid 52-41 victory Friday over visiting Shakamak in a boys high school basketball game at the Eel Dome.
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Regional wrestlers know importance of opening-round matches
Eight in each weight class. Four of those advance to the semistate. No byes.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Mahurin leads Rox to victory
Lane Mahurin tallied 10 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth quarter to help Rockville hold off Wabash River Conference foe Fountain Central 80-72 in boys high school basketball Friday night.
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Robinson rolls past Paris
Whenever Paris strung a few plays together, Robinson had an answer Friday night in an Apollo Conference boys basketball game. The host Maroons held on for a 52-36 victory to go to 15-7 overall and 6-4 in the conference.
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Sullivan girls focused only on team success
If you’re looking for a good omen for the postseason hopes of the Sullivan High School girls basketball team, you might want to consider how the Golden Arrows handled the ceremonies and hoopla surrounding Rhagen Smith’s 1,000th point recently.
There wasn’t any — no ceremony, no hoopla. In fact Smith, her family, her coaches and her teammates weren’t exactly sure when the 1,000th point happened (it was actually Jan. 12) — and that seems perfectly fine with everyone. -
PREP ROUNDUP: South falls at Carmel, West Vigo girls win
Tasia Brewer had 18 points and 10 rebounds but visiting Terre Haute South lost its regular-season girls high school basketball finale to Carmel by a 78-47 score Thursday night in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference play.
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Sullivan's Cox eyeing wrestling state finals
Back in the day, Jed Cox’s father and older brother were considered good wrestlers around Sullivan County.
Troy Cox, his father, qualified for the regional and brother Justin got to the semistate.
A good wrestler himself, Jed Cox hopes to go where no family member has gone before — the IHSAA state finals in Indianapolis. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Swimming sectionals begin today
Three Vigo County schools will join eight other schools in the IHSAA girls swimming and diving sectional at Plainfield starting tonight and concluding on Saturday.
- Wabash Valley verbal commitments
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Hughes follows in Weatherford's footsteps
Terre Haute North senior A.J. Hughes made a verbal commitment last week to punt for coach Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech next season, and Hughes hopes to be the starter for the perennially ranked BCS program.
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College plans health awareness event Feb. 8
To call attention to the importance of personal health and safety, Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill., will host a free Health Awareness Day for the public from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 8 in Williams Hall.
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