Blue Ridge Softball 7, Fisher 2

FISHER, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler improved her pitching record to 6-2.

She also hit a two-run homer in the first inning. Melinda Wilson added a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Taylor Builta had two hits.

With the win, the Lady Knights increase their record to 7-3 overall and 2-0 in the Heart of Illinois Confrence. They will play at Villa Grove today.

Fisher 12, Blue Ridge Baseball 2

FISHER, Ill. -- The Knights could not get in a sixth inning before the 10-run went into effect.

C.J. Bishop took the loss on the mound, decreasing his record to 0-3. He also doubled in the second inning.

Bishop would eventually make his way to home plate for Blue Ridge's first run of the game.

Tucker Johnson drove in the Knights' other run in the third inning, sending Will Duggins to home plate.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 3-9 overall and 0-2 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. The Knights will host a game today against Clinton at 4:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge Sports Roundup: April 3, 2012

Baseball

BLUE RIDGE 21, BUCKLEY CHRIST LUTHERAN 6

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Will Duggins drove in five runs and had three hits to lead the Knights.

Tucker Johnson won his first decision for Blue Ridge after striking out eight batters.

The Knights improve to 3-8 with the win. They will travel to Fisher today for a 4:30 p.m. game as well.

Softball

MONTICELLO 3, BLUE RIDGE 2

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler struck out 10 batters, but allowed nine hits in a nonconference loss to decrease her pitching record to 5-2.

She also hit a solo home run in the first inning and finished the game with two hits. Melinda Wilson contributed three hits.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 6-3. The Lady Knights will travel to Fisher today for a 4:30 p.m. game.

TRACK AT CLINTON MEET

Boys team scores

1. Tolono Unity 149; 2. Clinton 77.5; 3. LeRoy 43; 4. Colfax Ridgeview 36; 5. Argenta-Oreana 32.5; 6. Blue Ridge 29.

Girls team scores

1. Clinton 132; 2. Tolono Unity 96; 3. Argenta-Oreana 58; 4. LeRoy 51; 5. Colfax Ridgeview 25.5; 6. Blue Ridge 6.5.

Individual results

Boys 100 -- 7. Coale Dolbert, 12.26; 9. Justin Bailey, 12.39; 14. Wes Thompson, 12.74.

Girls 100 -- 9. Tia Morrow, 14.29.

Boys 200 -- 7. Josh McQuaid, 25.55; 9. Justin Bailey, 25.74.

Girls 200 -- 15. Tia Morrow, 30.83.

Boys 400 -- 15. Wes Foulks, 1:06.0; 17. Chris Ohlenkamp, 1:08.1; 18. Quintan Butson, 1:17.54.

Girls 400 -- 4. Korie Reynolds, 1:07.93.

Boys 800 -- 11. Chris Ohlenkamp, 2:47.02; 13. Quintan Butson, 2:50.84.

Boys 1,600 -- 10. J.D. Strum, 6:00.68; 12. David Hardin, 6:04.05.

Boys 300 hurdles -- 1. Coale Dolbert, 46.77; 10. Wayne Morrow, 57.41.

Girls 300 hurdles -- 7. T'Ann Crozier, 59.31.

Boys 4x100 relay -- 2. Justin Bailey, Coale Dolbert, Josh McQuaid, Joe Smith, 48.57.

Boys 4x200 relay -- 3. Justin Bailey, Joe Smith, Josh McQuaid, James Risler, 1:41.18.

Girls 4x200 relay -- 5. Bailey Clancy, Savannah Houtchins, Katie Meiss, T'Ann Crozier, 2:14.82.

Boys 4x400 relay -- 4. J.J. Malone, Wes Foulks, James Risler, Joe Smith, 4:00.66.

Boys 4x800 relay -- 5. Quintan Butson, Wes Foulks, Chris Ohlenkamp, J.D. Strum, 11:14.84.

Boys shot put -- 20. C.J. Phillips, 24-8 1/2.

Girls shot put -- 7. Korie Reynolds, 26-4.

Boys discus -- 5. J.D. Strum, 86-10.

Girls discus -- 9. Jeana Cheek, 55-5; 19. Jessica Phillips, 37-4; 20. Savannah Houtchins, 37-2; 21. Katie Phillips, 36-7.

Boys high jump -- T-1. Coale Dolbert, 5-10.

Girls high jump -- T-4. Bailey Clancy, 4-4.

Boys long jump -- 5. Joe Smith, 18-4 3/4; 6. James Risler, 18-4 1/2.

Girls long jump -- 4. Bailey Clancy 13-4; 5. Tia Morrow, 13-2 1/2; 7. Katrina Medernach, 10-6 1/2.

Blue Ridge Softball 9, LeRoy 5

LEROY, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler struck out 12 batters en route to allowing only one earned run on the mound.

Wheeler also hit two doubles and drove in a couple of runs at the plate.

With the win, the Lady Knights improve their record to 6-2. They will host Monticello today.

LeRoy 2, Blue Ridge Baseball 0

LEROY, Ill. -- The Knights produced a total of four hits to fall to 2-8 on the season.

Clint O'Neal got two of those hits for Blue Ridge, finishing the game batting 2-for-2 at the plate.

The Knights will host Buckley Christ Lutheran today.

Farmer City Raceway Results: March 31, 2012

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Jimmy Mars was the winner of the Illini 100 while Gary Cook Jr. took the checkered flag in the Illini 50.

CRATE LM

Feature -- 1. Kolby Vandenbergh, Ashland; 2. Chuck Barnes, East Peoria; 3. Russ Adams, Princeville; 4. Evan Fink, Glasford; 5. Brad Willis Jr.; 6. Nick Bauman, New Berlin; 7. Dick Taylor; 8. Logan Moody, Catlin; 9. Bryon Ray, Marquette Heights; 10. Brad Willis Sr., East Peoria; 11. Tim Provenzano; 12. Dustin Mounce, Flanagan.

STREET STOCK

Feature -- 1. Jesse Simmons; 2. Mike McKinney, Plainfield; 3. Jordan Smith, Villa Grove; 4. Don Hilleary, Pepineoe; 5. Jeff Semmons, Pontiac; 6. A.J. Wright, Danville; 7. Larry Russell, Decatur; 8. David Shain, Humboldt; 9. Jonathon Drake, Decatur; 10. Jeremiah Hoadley, Decatur; 11. Matt Maier, Thomasboro; 12. Caleb Wankel; 13. Dave Weaver III; 14. Eric Wilson, Downs; 15. Travis Thrasher, Clinton.

HORNETS

Feature -- 1. Joe Reed, Decatur; 2. Eric Wisher; 3. David Lauritson, Normal; 4. Peter Hayes, Romeoville; 5. Larry Hawk, Champaign; 6. Adam Webb, Decatur; 7. Josh Smith, Clinton; 8. Jeremy Reed, Decatur; 9. Jim Wilson, Towanda; 10. Damon Sandlia; 11. Josh Nimrick; 12. Brian Wilson, Colfax; 13. Joe McDannald; 14. Andrew Sharwarko, Henry.

Blue Ridge Softball 5, Argenta-Oreana 2

OREANA, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler stuck out 11 batters to lead the Lady Knights to a 5-2 win over the Bombers.

With the complete-game performance, Wheeler improved to 4-1 on the mound.

Blue Ridge produced three runs in the seventh inning to pull away. Melinda Wilson hit 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in two runs.

With the win, the Lady Knights increase their record to 5-2. They will travel to LeRoy for a 4:30 p.m. Game on Monday.

Monticello 9, Blue Ridge Baseball 1

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- The Knights scored their only run in the sixth inning and produced three hits at the plate.

They also committed five errors in the field.

Clint O'Neal took the loss on the mound, striking out three batters and allowing five earned runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 2-7. The Knights will travel to LeRoy for a game on Monday.

Mahomet-Seymour 3, Blue Ridge Softball 1

MAHOMET, Ill. -- Despite hitting two doubles, Jordan Wheeler took the loss on the mound for the Lady Knights.

With the defeat, Blue Ridge falls to 4-2. The team will play a doubleheader at Argenta-Oreana on Saturday.

Blue Ridge Track Performs at Clinton Outdoor Meet on Tuesday

Boys 100 -- 8. Wes Thompson, 12.28; 11. Coale Dolbert, 12.35; 13. Justin Bailey, 12.52; 20. Wayne Morrow, 13.46.

Girls 100 -- 9. Tia Morrow, 14.39; 16. Katie Phillips, 16.32.

Boys 200 -- 10. Josh McQuaid, 25.15; 16. Wes Thompson, 26.32; 21. Wayne Morrow, 32.36.

Girls 200 -- 19. Tia Morrow, 32.54.

Boys 400 -- 16. Wayne Morrow, 1:09.29; 17. Wes Foulks, 1:09.86; 18. Chris Ohlenkamp, 1:10.36; 19. Quintan Butson, 1:12.42.

Boys 800 -- 1. J.J. Malone, 2:23.8; 16. Chris Ohlenkamp, 2:44.28; 17. Quintan Butson, 2:44.51.

Girls 800 -- 20. Kaitlyn Zelhart, 4:07.49.

Boys 1,600 -- 1. J.J. Malone, 4:58.82; 10. J.D. Strum 5:57.43; 14. David Hardin, 6:40.64.

Boys 3,200 -- 10. David Hardin, 13:36.64.

Boys 4x100 relay -- 5. 50.11.

Girls 4x100 relay -- 8. 1:00.95.

Boys 4x200 relay -- 6. 1:43.07.

Girls 4x200 relay -- 7. 2:16.61.

Boys 4x400 relay -- 6. 4:13.09.

Girls Discus -- 19. Jeana Cheek, 48-5; 22. Savannah Houtchins, 36-9; 23. Jessica Phillips, 36-5.

Boys high jump -- T-3. Coale Dolbert, 5-8.

Girls high jump -- 10. Bailey Clancy, 4-2.

Boys long jump -- T-5. James Risler, 17-5 1/2; 7. Joe Smith, 17-3; 16. Wayne Morrow, 14-2 1/2.

Girls long jump -- 10. Bailey Clancy, 12-5 1/4; 13. Katrina Medernach, 10-6.

Blue Ridge Baseball Beats Warrensburg-Latham in Extra Innings

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Ben Wells hit a game-winning RBI single to score Trever Jones.

The score gave the Knights a 4-3 win over the Cardinals.

Conner Builta improves his record to 2-0 on the pitcher's mound with a five-hit complete game. He struck out 16 Warrensburg-Latham batters.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to 2-6. The Knights will play another home game today at 4:30 p.m. against Monticello.

Blue Ridge Sports Roundup: March 24, 2012

Softball

Game 1 -- BLUE RIDGE 18, CERRO GORDO 0

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler achieved perfection on the mound and dominance at the plate against the Broncos in the Lady Knights's five-inning win.

She added a three-run homer to her perfect game.

Jamison Brandt and Kylee Beck each had two hits. Brandt scored four runs while Beck drove in four.

Game 2 -- BLUE RIDGE 15, CERRO GORDO 0

FARMER CITY, Ill. --  Jordan Wheeler hit a two-run dinger.

Melinda Wilson had a home run as well and drove in three runs. Liz Cordes had two RBIs and three runs on three hits.

Cheye Beres finished the game with two hits and batted in three runs. 

With the two wins over Cerro Gordo, Blue Ridge improves to 4-1. The Lady Knights will take the diamond on Tuesday, when they travel to Mahomet-Seymour for a 5 p.m. game.

Baseball

Game 1 -- CERRO GORDO 7, BLUE RIDGE 2

Game 2 -- CERRO GORDO 13, BLUE RIDGE 10

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Conner Builta finished the doubleheader with three hits, two RBIs and two runs.

With the losses, the Knights fall to 1-6 on the season. They will host Warrensburg-Latham on Monday at 4:30 p.m.



Blue Ridge Baseball 7, South Piatt 0

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Conner Builta led the Knights to their first victory of the season with a dominating performance on the mound.

Builta pitched a one-hit shutout in which he struck out 13 batters and walked four of them. He was productive at the plate as well, hitting 2-for-3 with a double and a stolen base.

Clint O'Neal and Jeremy Dubson each drove in two runs to boost Blue Ridge's offensive production.

The Knights (1-4) will host a doubleheader against Cerro Gordo on Saturday, starting at 11 a.m.

Blue Ridge Sports Roundup -- March 21, 2012

ARMSTRONG, Ill. -- The softball Lady Knights beat Armstrong-Potomac 14-0 in five innings.

Jordan Wheeler was one out away from a perfect game, but an error ended the chance. She settled for a one-hit shutout in which she struck out 12 batters.

Wheeler is now 2-0 on the season.

Cheye Beres led Blue Ridge at the plate, getting four RBIs on two hits. Melinda Wilson drove in two runs on a couple of hits while Kylie Beck went 2-for-2 wit three runs and two walks.

With the win, the Lady Knights are now 2-1. They will host a doubleheader against Cerro Gordo on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The baseball Knights, meanwhile, will host Bement today at 4:30 p.m. looking for their first win after losing to Armstrong-Potomac 7-2.

Quincy Crawford drove in Blue Ridge's only two runs, scoring Conner Builta and Ben Wells with a single in the seventh inning.

The Knights combined for only three hits.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 0-4 on the season.

Argenta-Oreana 17, Blue Ridge Baseball 0

ARGENTA -- Michael Cummins threw a perfect game for the Bombers.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 0-3 on the season. The Knights travel to Armstrong today.

Blue Ridge Sports Roundup: March 17, 2012

SOFTBALL
Game 1
Blue Ridge 3, Tolono Unity 1

TOLONO, Ill. -- Jordan Wheeler struck out 10 batters while only allowing three hits and one walk.

Wheeler also had two hits and two RBIs at the plate.

Game 2

Tolono Unity 6, Blue Ridge 5

TOLONO, Ill. -- Liz Cordes took the loss on the mound for the Lady Knights.

BASEBALL

Game 1

Hoopeston-Area 2, Blue Ridge 1

HOOPESTON, Ill. -- Conner Builta had a no-hitter going through six innings.

With two outs in the seventh inning, however, Hoopeston-Area scored the tying run. The Cornjerkers tallied the winning run in the eighth inning, giving Will Duggins the loss on the mound.

Builta went 3-for-4 in the contest.

Game 2

Hoopeston-Area 7, Blue Ridge 6

HOOPESTON, Ill. -- Jon Jones took the loss on the mound for the Knights.

LeRoy Regional Championship Game: Ridgeview 43, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 36

LEROY -- The clock struck midnight midway through the fourth quarter for the Cinderella Knights.

After entering the fourth quarter up by two points, Blue Ridge increased its lead to 36-30.

From there, however, the Knights could not score a single point. The Mustangs, meanwhile, went on a 13-0 run to win the game.

Ridgeview's Trevor McIntosh hit a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining to put his team up 37-36.

Michael Plunk led Blue Ridge with 14 points. Will Duggins contributed 12 points and six rebounds.

With the loss, Blue Ridge ends its season with a 10-20 record. Michael Plunk could not advance in the Three-Point Showdown.

Blue Ridge Boys Basketball Advanes to LeRoy Regional Championship Game with 44-31 Win over Lexington

LEROY -- Unlike last year's regional championship team, this year's Knights went into the postseason with a losing regular-season record at 8-19.

With Wednesday's 44-31 upset victory over No. 2-seeded Lexington in the LeRoy Regional semifinals, No. 3 Blue Ridge achieved the only record that matters in the postseason: 2-0.

"We talked about how, last Friday in El Paso, we kind of got skunked, but I told them how every team is 0-0," Blue Ridge coach Kyle Watson said. "It doesn't matter what the records are once you go to the postseason, and now we're 2-0. Hopefully, we can keep our Cinderella run going."

The Knights advanced to their second consecutive regional championship game thanks to a defense that played one of the best games it played all year. Blue Ridge held the Minutemen to a total of eight points or less in each quarter.

In the first quarter, the Knights held Lexington to four points in the first 4:24 to race out ot a 11-4 lead. Michael Plunk scored seven points during that run to lead Blue Ridge offensively.

The Knights ended the first quarter with a 13-8 lead. Despite only scoring four points (all by Travys Nichols) in the second quarter, they went into halftime leading 17-16 by holding the Minutemen to eight points in that quarter.

"Defense wins championships," Watson said. "We've talked about that so many times before. We didn't play great defense at Gibson City on Thursday, we didn't very good defense in Monticello at Christmas time, and we didn't play good defense in [the] McLean County [Tournament]. We preach to our kids to keep working on our defense. This is the biggest tournament that's left. We kind of gave up 62 to Calvary the other night. We'd been working on our defense yesterday in practice and today in the walk-through, and we held a very athletically-talented Lexington team to 31 points."

Nichols also scored eight points in the third quarter to help Blue Ridge end the quarter with a 27-24 lead. He also contributed defensively, drawing two charging calls on Lexington that helped put the Knights in the bonus.

Before Michael Plunk sank two free throws with 16.1 seconds left in the third quarter, Blue Ridge did not attempt a single free throw in the game, as Watson pointed out to a referee with 1:10 remaining in the quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Knights scored 11 of their 17 points on 11-of-16 shooting at the charity stripe, including an 8-for-10 effort from Michael Plunk.

"Free throws win or lose games," Watson said.

Michael Plunk led Blue Ridge offensively with 17 points while Nichols contributed 14 points. Tucker Johnson added eight points.

Meanwhile, the Knights held the Minutemen to seven points in the fourth quarter. Taylor Schneider finished the game leading Lexington in scoring with seven points while Michael Baker tied with Jonny Meints with six points.

"[There was] great defense not only by Will Duggins, who was chasing Baker all night, but great defense by Mark Plunk on Schneider," Watson said. "That's a great job by the kids. I can't be more proud of our kids right now.

Watson also said one of his assistant coaches, Garie Brock, helped him devise a game plan that led to the Knights' stifling defense.

"Coach Brock went and scouted Lexington last Friday night," Watson said. "He ran the Lexington sets in practice yesterday. He had the scouting report tonight. He screamed out to our kids exactly what the offense is that they're running. It was a great job by my assistant coaches. This was a win by our staff. I can't be proud of not only my kids, but I can't be more proud of my coaching staff."

Blue Ridge will look for its second straight regional championship on Friday night. The Knights will face Ridgeview at 7:30 p.m.

"We kind of had the Cinderella slippers on long enough tonight to pull off an upset," Watson said. "They're the No. 1 seed, we're the No. 3 seed. We've just got to hope that our Cinderella slippers don't slip off and that we can make a little bit of a run here. We're playing our best basketball of the year, and this is the perfect time to play your best basketball of the year."

Ridgeview lost to Blue Ridge two weeks ago after beating the Knights last December in the Monticello Holiday Hoopla.

The No. 1-seeded Mustangs earned the trip to the regional title game with a 66-39 victory over LeRoy in the semifinals.

"Hopefully, Ridgeview doesn't shoot the way they shot tonight, because they shot the lights out tonight," Watson said. "Man, did they shoot the lights out tonight. They beat us at Christmas time. We beat them two weeks ago on Friday night. I told our kids, 'It sure would be awful great to be playing them in two weeks,' and now we are."

Sports Thread's in the Bonus

Michael Plunk advanced to the final round of the Three-Point Showdown by making eight 3-pointers in the semifinals.

He will shoot prior to the LeRoy Regional title game along with Schneider and Josh Jackson of Lexington and Normal Calvary Christian's Kyle Freeze.

Jon Jones made four shots, but will not advance to Friday's regional final.

LeRoy Regional: Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 44, Lexington 31 (box score)

Blue Ridge (44)
Mark Plunk 0 0-0 0, Jon Jones 0 1-2 1, Trenor Hildreth 0 0-0 0, Michael Plunk 3 10-12 17, Will Duggins 2 0-0 4, C.J. Bishop 0 0-0 0, Travys Nichols 7 0-0 14, Josh Plunk 0 0-0 0, Tucker Johnson 3 2-4 8, Clint O'Neal 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-18 44
Lexington (31)
Taylor Schneider 2 3-4 7, Michael Baker 3 0-0 6, Chris Collins-Terry 2 0-0 4, Josh Jackson 1 0-0 3, Donavan Laible 0 0-0 0, Jonny Meints 2 2-4 6, Nick Barkes 2 0-0 5. Totals 12 5-8 31
Blue Ridge      13      4      10      17      -- 44
Lexington      8      8      8      7      -- 31
3-pointers -- Blue Ridge (Mi. Plunk). Lexington 2 (Jackson, Barkes).
(Blue Ridge -- 10-19; next: Friday vs. Ridgeview in LeRoy Regional championship game, 7:30 p.m.)

BLUE RIDGE BOYS BKB UPDATE: The Knights advance to the regional title game with a 44-31 win over Lexington.

BLUE RIDGE BOYS BKB UPDATE: Michael Plunk made eight shots in the Three-Point Showdown to advance to Friday's final round.

LEROY BOYS BKB REGIONAL UPDATE: Ridgeview beat LeRoy 66-39 to advance to Friday's title game against the winner of Blue Ridge vs. Lexington.

Blue Ridge Boys Basketball Out-Shoots Normal Calvary Christian to 72-62 LeRoy Regional Quarterfinal Victory

LEROY -- In Monday's LeRoy Regional quarterfinal game, the Knights' post game matched up against NCC's sharp shooting.

Blue Ridge won the battle with a 72-62 shootout victory to advance to the regional semifinals.

"I'm a little disappointed [about] giving up 62 [points]," Blue Ridge coach Kyle Watson said, "but I'm really happy [with] scoring 72."

With the win, the Knights (9-19) will face Lexington in the LeRoy Regional on Wednesday at 8:10 p.m. The winner of that game will face either Ridgeview or LeRoy in the championship game Friday at 7:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge has a strong recent postseason history with the Mintuemen, having faced them in the regionals in each of the past two years.

Two years ago, Lexington beat the Knights in the quarterfinals of a regional they hosted. Last year, Blue Ridge returned the favor with a 73-71 victory in the semifinals of the Farmer City Blue Ridge Regional.

The Knights hosted a regular season game against the Minutemen on Jan. 10, which Lexington won 69-67.

"They're playing very good basketball right now," Watson said. "They're a senior-dominant team. They're obviously going to have fire in their eyes. They're the higher seed, so I guess we've got to hope that Cinderella's slippers fit for a week or two. We'll go out and play, go out and have fun, and what happens happens."

Tucker Johnson scored 13 points in the first quarter, including eight on Blue Ridge's opening 11-4 run. Thanks to the shooting touches of Calvary's Bryson Barth and Kyle Freeze, NCC came back and tied the game at 14-14 with 10.2 seconds left in the first quarter.

Johnson made two free throws (he sank 5-of-7 free throws, all in the opening quarter) with 2.5 seconds remaining in the quarter to give his team the 16-14 lead.

Barth made a 3-pointer, one of three he converted in the game, to give Calvary a 17-16 lead early in the second quarter before Johnson made a bucket while being fouled to give Blue Ridge a 18-17 advantage with 7:44 left in the quarter.

Barth finished with a game-high 29 points while Freeze had 14 points. Dustin Beernink contributed 12 points, nine of which were scored on three 3-point field goals.

As a team, NCC made nine 3-pointers, including eight from a combined effort of Barth, Freeze and Beernink.

"Barth is a great shooter," Watson said. "That Freeze kid has been very good scorer for them all year long. I told the coach after the game they played awfully hard."

Defensive adjustments, including the replacement of Will Duggins (who scored five points) for Mark Plunk for the task of guarding Barth, helped the Knights take control of the game in the second half. Barth was held to five points, all on free throws, in the fourth quarter.

"We played a lot better halfcourt defense in the second half," Watson said. "Mark's length really bothered him. Mark Plunk did a really nice job on him in the second half."

The Knights countered offensively with a solid post game. After scoring 17 points in the first half, Johnson added 10 more to finish with a team-high 27 points.

"Tucker's been very steady for us the second half of the season," Watson said.

After Michael Plunk made a 3-pointer to give Blue Ridge a 40-38 lead, Travys Nichols scored a couple of baskets in the paint to help increase the Knights' lead to 46-38 with 3:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Nichols was held scoreless in the first half, but scored eight points in the third and fourth quarters each to finish with 16 points. His free throws with 2:15 remaining in the third gave Blue Ridge a 50-41 lead.

"Travys, I had to get on him a little bit at halftime because, [as] I told him, he had as many points as I did at halftime, which is none," Watson said. "He ends up with 16 in the second half. I don't have to have 16 out of him in a half, but I can't have zero from him in a half, either."

Clint O'Neal came off the bench to score three points to give the Knights a total of 46 points in the post.

"We knew that we had a height advantage on them," Watson said. "In a zone offense, we want to attack the basket. We got into the double bonus in the first half, and anytime you get into the double bonus, everybody attacked the lane, and if you get fouled, you're going to shoot two free throws the whole rest of the way. There's going to be some nights where it's the guards' night, and there's some nights where it's the post's night. Tonight just happened to be one night where it was a post night."

Michael Plunk led Blue Ridge's perimeter production. He scored a total of 17 points, including three 3-point field goals.

"Our posts were doing so well that it made them suck inside, and that's what opened up our perimeter guys for some nice shots," Watson said. "I think we ran our zone offense probably the best we've run it all year. We had some nice pass fakes, which opened up some nice assists for layups from our guards."

Sports Thread's in the Bonus

Before the regional quarterfinal game, Michael Plunk and Beernink showed their ability to shoot from beyond the arc in the Three-Point Showdown.

He made six 3-pointers to force an overtime shoot-off with Beernink. Michael Plunk won the shoot-off to advance to Wednesday's semifinal round, which will take place prior to the Blue Ridge/Lexington game.

He will represent the Knights in the Three-Point Showdown alongside Jon Jones, who made seven 3-point shots in the quarterfinals.





LeRoy Regional: Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 72, Normal Calvary Christian 62 (box score)

Normal Calvary Christian (62)
Bryson Barth 10 6-7 29, Nate Huddleston 2 2-2 7, Kole Walker 0 0-0 0, Connor Gentry 0 0-0 0, Dustin Beernink 3 3-5 12, Kyle Freeze 4 4-6 14, Diamante McCquicker 0 0-0 0, James McConnell 0 0-0 0, Emory Thomas 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-20 62
Blue Ridge (72)
Mark Plunk 1 0-2 2, Dylan Grammer 0 0-0 0, Jon Jones 0 0-0 0, Trenor Hildreth 0 0-0 0, Michael Plunk 6 2-2 17, Will Duggins 2 1-4 5, C.J. Bishop 1 0-0 2, Travys Nichols 7 2-3 16, Josh Plunk 0 0-0 0, Tucker Johnson 11 5-7 27, Clint O'Neal 1 1-2 3, Daniel Gilbert 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 11-20 72
Normal Calvary Christian      14      16      16      16      -- 62
Blue Ridge      16      17      21      18      -- 72
3-pointers -- Normal Calvary Christian 9 (Barth 3, Beernink 3, Freeze 2, Huddleston). Blue Ridge 3 (Mi. Plunk 3).
(Blue Ridge -- 9-19; next: Wednesday vs. Lexington in LeRoy Regional semifinal, 8:10 p.m.)

BLUE RIDGE BOY BKB UPDATE: The Knights will advance to the regional semifinals with a 72-62 win over Normal Calvary Christian.

BR BOYS BKB UPDATE: The Knights lead 54-46 at the end of the third quarter.

BLUE RIDGE BOYS BKB UPDATE: The Knights lead Normal Calvary Christian 33-30 at halftime in the LeRoy Regional quarterfinals.

El Paso-Gridley 65, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 43

EL PASO, Ill. -- The Knights concluded their regular season with a Heart of Illinois Conference loss to the Titans.

EPG outscored Blue Ridge 16-5 in the second quarter after leading 14-10 at the end of the first. The Titans held 18-12 and 17-16 advantages in the third and fourth quarter, respectively.

Jon Jones led the Knights in scoring with 11 points. Michael Plunk and Travys Nichols contributed nine and eight points, respectively.

Will Duggins and Tucker Johnson each scored four points. C.J. Bishop tallied three points.

Clint O'Neal and Daniel Gilbert each finished the game with two points.

With the loss, Blue Ridge ends the regular season with an 8-19 overall record and a 4-8 record in the HOIC.

The Knights will face Normal Calvary Christian Academy in the quarterfinals of the LeRoy Regional on Monday at 8:10 p.m. If they win, they will face Lexington in the semifinals on Wednesday at 8:10 p.m.

St. Thomas More 56, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 46

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- The Knights led after the first quarter 15-9 and had a 23-20 halftime lead.

Blue Ridge could not hang on, however, as the Sabers outscored the Knights 36-23 in the second half. St. Thomas held 19-11 and 17-12 advantages in the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

Tucker Johnson led Blue Ridge in scoring with 17 points. Michael Plunk scored in double figures as well with 10 points.

Will Duggins contributed nine points while Mark Plunk finished the game with six points. Travys Nichols added four points.

With the loss, the Knights fall to an overall record of 8-18. They will conclude their regular season with a road game against El Paso-Gridley Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge Athletes of the Month -- January

According to today's Blue Ridge High School student announcements, the following athletes were chosen as Athletes of the Month for January:

Girls Basketball -- Jacquelyn O'Neal

Boys Basketball -- Tucker Johnson

Cheerleading -- Korie Reynolds

Jacquelyn O'Neal Advances to Three-Point Showdown Sectional Final

COLFAX, Ill. -- The Lady Knights' leading scorer of 2011-12 once again showed her versatility

O'Neal averaged 15.3 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 3.3 blocks for Blue Ridge during the season. She also made 15-of-37 (41 percent) of her 3-point shots.

On Monday, O'Neal advanced to the Colfax Ridgeview Sectional finals of the Three-Point Showdown. She will be joined by Ashley Walker of LeRoy, Fisher's Elyssa Browning and Sydney Freed of Lexington.

LeRoy beat Heyworth 52-46 to advance to the sectional finals as well. The Panthers will face the winner of Urbana Uni-High/St. Anne at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, before which the Three-Point Showdown will occur.

Prior to Monday's Uni-High/St. Anne tip-off, Sarah Mowrey (St. Anne), Leslie Chambers (Champaign Judah Christian), Holly Huckstadt (Danville Schlarman) and Jamie Blue (Urbana Uni-High) advanced to the sectional finals of the Three-Point Showdown.

BLUE RIDGE SEASON-ENDING STATS

Jacquelyn O'Neal 186-403 58-90 445, Korrie Gilbert 45-142 54-87 148, Melinda Wilson 153-331 37-62 366, Liz Cordes 2-19 2-5 6, Bailey Clancy 28-117 52-73 108, Gabby Pearl 49-110 14-22 112, Jamison Brandt 78-194 20-39 176, Jeana Cheek 15-58 10-22 42, Breanna Watterson 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 557-1,378 247-400 1,405.

3-pointers -- Blue Ridge 44-156 (O'Neal 15-37, Gilbert 4-26, Wilson 23-79, Cordes 0-1, Brandt 0-4, Cheek 2-9).

Rebounds -- Blue Ridge 1,030 (O'Neal 350, Gilbert 71, Wilson 154, Cordes 27, Clancy 93, Pearl 144, Brandt 138, Cheek 49, Watterson 4). Assists -- Blue Ridge 352 (O'Neal 97, Gilbert 58, Wilson 93, Cordes 3, Clancy 21, Pearl 16, Brandt 40, Cheek 24). Steals -- Blue Ridge 340 (O'Neal 46, Gilbert 48, Wilson 141, Cordes 1, Clancy 33, Pearl 8, Brandt 39, Cheek 22, Watterson 2). Blocks -- Blue Ridge 204 (O'Neal 97, Gilbert 13, Wilson 15, Cordes 1, Clancy 7, Pearl 52, Brandt 16, Cheek 3).

Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 56, Ridgeview 51

COLFAX, Ill. -- The Knights pulled off a come-from-behind victory in the Heart of Illinois Conference.

Ridgeview outscored Blue Ridge 18-12 in the first quarter and 12-6 in the second to take a 30-18 halftime lead. The Knights, however, came back with a 24-13 third quarter to cut their deficit to 43-42.

Blue Ridge pulled ahead 14-8 to seal the comeback win.

Tucker Johnson led the Knights with a game-high 24 points. Michael Plunk scored in double figures as well with 14 points.

Travys Nichols finished the game with six points and five rebounds. Will Duggins contributed five points while Clint O'Neal tallied four points.

Mark Plunk and Jon Jones finished the game with two points and one point, respectively.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to a record of 8-17 overall and 4-7 in the HOIC. The Knights will play in their home finale on Tuesday, facing St. Thomas More.

Meanwhile, Blue Ridge's junior varsity team beat Ridgeview 52-45.

Jacquelyn O'Neal Advances past Regionals in Three-Point Showdown

FISHER, Ill. -- Prior to the Fisher Regional championship game, Blue Ridge girls basketball was represented in the Three-Point Showdown by a player who proved to be a Jacq of all trades.

Averaging 14.8 points, 12.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks after Jan. 26's game against Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland, Jacquelyn O'Neal made seven 3-pointers to advance past the regional round.

Meanwhile, LeRoy will advance past the Fisher Regional as well. Two days after blowing out the Lady Knights in the semifinals, the Panthers beat Fisher 58-41 in the title game to advance to next week's Colfax Ridgeview Sectional.

Fisher Regional: LeRoy 71, Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 47

FISHER, Ill. -- Jacquelyn O'Neal led the Lady Knights with 19 points.

It was not enough, however, as Blue Ridge ends its season with a record of 13-17 with a blowout loss in the regional semifinals.

LeRoy outscored the Lady Knights in all quarters except the third. In the third quarter, Blue Ridge and LeRoy tied at 13-13.

The Panthers took an 18-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. In the second quarter, the No. 4-seeded Lady Knights increased their deficit to 34-21 at halftime.

Leading 47-34 at the end of the third quarter, top-seeded LeRoy erased any trace of doubt with a 24-13 fourth quarter.

O'Neal got her team-high 19 points partially on three 3-point field goals. Prior to the game, she made six 3-pointers in the Three-Point Showdown to advance to the finals.

She made five 3-pointers prior to Monday. Jamison Brandt and Melinda Wilson each advanced past Monday's round of the Three-Point Showdown, making five and four 3-point goals, respectively.

Brandt also scored 12 points against LeRoy.

O'Neal was Blue Ridge's only advancing 3-point shooter advancing past Tuesday. She will participate in the finals on Thursday at 6:45 p.m.

LeRoy will advance to the regional championship game against Fisher on Thursday thanks in part of the efforts of Ashley Walker and Molly Marcum.

Walker scored a game-high 24 points while Marcum recorded a double-double, tallying 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.

As a team, the Panthers made 30-of-65 (46 percent) shots from the field. They recorded 31 rebounds, including 11 on the offensive end, and 17 steals.

Paxton-Buckley-Loda 56, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 39

PAXTON, Ill. -- The Knights head back to Farmer City with a non-conference loss.

PBL led 39-33 heading into the fourth quarter. Michael Plunk led the Knights in scoring with 12 points.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 7-17 overall. The Knights will be back on the court on Friday, when they travel to Colfax for a Heart of Illinois Conference showdown against Ridgeview.

Postseason Information

LEROY REGIONAL

Game 2 -- Monday, Feb. 20: No. 3 Blue Ridge vs. No. 6 Normal Calvary Christian, 8:10 p.m.

Game 4 -- Wednesday, Feb. 22: No. 2 Lexington vs. Winner Game 2, 8:10 p.m.

Game 5 -- Friday, Feb. 24: Winner Game 3 vs. Game 4, 7:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball Advances to Fisher Regional Semifinals with 61-20 Win over Buckley Christ Lutheran

FISHER, Ill. -- Despite spending significant minutes on the bench, Jacquelyn O'Neal and Melinda Wilson each achieved a double-double on Monday.

O'Neal scored a game-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Wilson had a more unconventional double-double, tallying 16 points and stole the ball 10 times.

Thanks in part to the performance of their star duo, the No. 4-seeded Lady Knights achieved a 61-20 victory in the Fisher Regional quarterfinals over No. 5 Buckley Christ Lutheran.

"They're good," Blue Ridge coach Stephanie Schroeder said. "They're my ones that are going to lead them on there, so they did exactly what I asked them to do and what they should have done."

With Blue Ridge leading 20-5 after the first quarter, Schroeder could afford to give O'Neal and Wilson some spurts on the bench during the next three quarters to avoid injury and give them rest.

They would need their rest, as the Lady Knights (13-16) will face No. 1-seeded LeRoy the next night at 6 p.m.

"I didn't want to get them hurt before tomorrow. I sat them as much as they can allow. They're a little antsy on the sidelines," Schroeder said. "They did good."

Wilson and Gabby Pearl each scored six points to help Blue Ridge gain its 20-5 first-quarter lead. The Lady Knights opened the game with 13 unanswered points.

The Crusaders got their first points of the game with 3:06 left in the first quarter, when an Olivia Janssen field goal cut Blue Ridge's lead to 13-2.

In the first quarter, the Lady Knights held BCL to 2-for-11 shooting from the field. The Crusaders were held to a total of two points in the second quarter on 1-for-10 shooting.

Meanwhile, Blue Ridge scored 11 points in the second quarter -- six from O'Neal and five from Bailey Clancy -- to go into halftime leading 31-7.

"They did good tonight," Schroeder said. "I told them to come out strong. [We had to] maintain discipline for ourselves.  We hadn't faced a team where we had move at a slow pace, so it was hard for us to not want to just keep going and set some moving screens because we're just thinking too hard and going too fast for what it really was. We got the win that we knew we should get. Tomorrow night's going to be the complete opposite."

In the third quarter, Wilson got things started with one of her 10 steals, which created a fastbreak layup opportunity for her that increased the Lady Knights' lead to 33-7. Wilson scored eight of her 16 points in the third quarter, as Blue Ridge outscored BCL 14-7 in the quarter to take a 45-14 lead.

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Knights took a 16-6 advantage. Six of Blue Ridge's points were scored by O'Neal, and four by Pearl.

Pearl finished the game scoring in double figures with 12 points. She also grabbed six rebounds.

"She did really good," Schroeder said. "She was getting rebounds; she's tall. She needs to be putting up points like that for me every game, so [I'm] getting her built up for the future. She's only a freshman. She's still got a ways to go, so [this is a] good experience for her."

Jamison Brandt had a solid day on the boards as well, finishing the game with seven rebounds. She also stole the ball six times and scored three points.

Wilson led her team in assists with six and blocked three shots. O'Neal also had one blocked shot.

For the Crusaders, Andrea DeBella led her team with nine points.

FISHER REGIONAL

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball  61, Buckley Christ Lutheran 20

Buckley Christ Lutheran (20)
Andrea DeBella 4 0-2 9, Sophia LaMie 2 1-2 5, Dani Meyer 0 0-0 0, Olivia Janssen 2 0-0 4, Alex Tofari 0 0-0 0, Markie Riston 0 0-0 0, Maggie Russell 1 0-0 2, Billie Lohrbach 0 0-2 0. Totals 9 1-6 20
Blue Ridge (61)
Jeana Cheek 2 0-0 4, Jacquelyn O'Neal 10 0-0 21, Korrie Gilbert 0 0-0 0, Melinda Wilson 7 2-2 16, Liz Cordes 0 0-0 0, Bailey Clancy 2 1-2 5, Gabby Pearl 6 0-0 12, Jamison Brandt 1 1-2 3. Totals 28 4-6 61
Buckley Christ Lutheran      5      2      7      6      -- 20
Blue Ridge      20      11      14      16      -- 61
3-pointers -- Buckley Christ Lutheran (DeBella). Blue Ridge (O'Neal).
For Blue Ridge, Wilson had 10 steals, 6 assists, 3 blocks. O'Neal had 10 rebounds. Brandt had 7 rebounds, 6 steals. Pearl had 6 rebounds.
(Blue Ridge -- 13-16; next: Tuesday vs. LeRoy at Fisher Regional, 6 p.m.)

Tri-Valley 60, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 50

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- After a 13-13 tie at the end of the first quarter, the Vikings outscored the Knights 11-8 in the second quarter and 27-19 in the third.

Tucker Johnson led Blue Ridge with 19 points. Jon Jones scored in double figures as well with 13 points.

Michael Plunk had nine points while Clint O'Neal contributed four points. Will Duggins and Travys Nichols finished the game with three and two points, respectively.

With the loss, the Knights drop to 7-16 overall and 3-7 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. They will travel to Paxton-Buckley-Loda for a non-conference game on Tuesday.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 51, Tri-Valley 43

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- The Lady Knights celebrated their Senior Night with a Heart of Illinois Conference victory over the Lady Vikings.

Seniors Jacquelyn O'Neal and Melinda Wilson led Blue Ridge with 19 and 11 points, respectively. Gabby Pearl had 11 points as well.

The Lady Knights overcame a 15-10 first-quarter deficit by outscoring Tri-Valley 16-6 in the second quarter and 17-9 in the third.

Jamison Brandt and Bailey Clancy contributed six and four points, respectively, for Blue Ridge.

With the win, the Lady Knights concluded their regular season with a record of 12-16 overall and 5-6 in the HOIC.

They will face Buckley Christ Lutheran in the quarterfinals of the Fisher Regional on Monday at 6 p.m. If Blue Ridge wins, it'll go up against LeRoy on Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Deer Creek-Mackinaw 47, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 41

MACKINAW, Ill. -- The Knights held a 34-32 lead after three quarters.

They outscored the Chiefs 12-10 and 15-11 in the second and third quarters, respectively, after trailing 11-7 following the first quarter. However, Dee-Mack outscored Blue Ridge 15-7 in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.

Michael Plunk led the Knights with 14 points, as the Plunk brothers accounted for more than 70 percent of their team's points. Mark Plunk finished the game with eight points while Josh Plunk tallied seven points.

Tucker Johnson contributed nine points while Jon Jones finished with three points.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 7-15 overall and 3-6 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. The Knights will host a conference game against Tri-Valley on Friday.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 51, Deer Creek-Mackinaw 40

MACKINAW, Ill. -- The Lady Knights overcame a 15-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter with some tough defense, allowing only three points in the second quarter en route to the Heart of Illinois Conference victory.

Blue Ridge outscored the Lady Chiefs 15-3 in the second quarter to take a 24-18 halftime lead. The Lady Knights held a 14-12 advantage in the third quarter to go into the fourth leading 38-30.

Thanks in part to 6-of-9 shooting at the free-throw line by Korrie Gilbert, Blue Ridge outscored Dee-Mack 13-10 to clinch the victory. Gilbert finished the game with double-digit scoring, tallying 12 points.

Jacquelyn O'Neal led the Lady Knights in scoring with 15 points. Melinda Wilson scored in double figures as well with 14 points.

Jamison Brandt contributed six points while Gabby Pearl finished the game with four points.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to 11-16 overall and 4-6 in the HOIC. The Lady Knights will conclude their regular season on Thursday by hosting a conference game against Tri-Valley.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 59, Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland 30

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- The Lady Knights' Pink Out game turned into a block party.

On a night when Blue Ridge was selling bracelets and accepting donations toward Breast Cancer-related charities, Jacquelyn O'Neal and Gabby Pearl combined to block 18 shots.

O'Neal came up with seven of those blocked shots and finished the game with a double-double, scoring 27 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

Pearl blocked 11 shots and tallied six points.

Thanks largely to the frontcourt defense, the Lady Knights held FCW to five and seven points in the first and second quarters, respectively. The Lady Falcons scored 10 points in the third quarter, but only managed eight in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Blue Ridge took a 29-12 lead into halftime after a 19-point second quarter. The Lady Knights got 30 points in the second half, including 17 in the third quarter.

Along with O'Neal, Melinda Wilson scored in double figures, finishing with 13 points. Jamison Brandt tied Pearl with six points.

Bailey Clancy contributed four points. Korrie Gilbert tallied two points and Jeana Cheek had one point.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to 10-16 overall and 3-6 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. The Lady Knights will be back on the court on Monday, when they play a conference game at Deer Creek-Mackinaw.

Blue Ridge Basketball Roundup -- January 24, 2012

Boys

BLUE RIDGE 63, FLANAGAN-CORNELL 61

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Thanks to four Knights players who scored in double figures, Blue Ridge took an 18-5 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a Heart of Illinois Conference victory.

Travys Nichols led the Knights in scoring with 17 points, with Michael Plunk not too far behind at 16 points. Tucker Johnson contributed 12 points and grabbed nine rebounds.

Will Duggins also scored double-digit points with 11.

With the win, Blue Ridge increased its record to 7-14 and 3-5 in the HOIC. The Knights will be back on the court Tuesday with a conference showdown at Deer Creek-Mackinaw.



Girls

PAXTON-BUCKLEY-LODA 73, BLUE RIDGE 56

PAXTON, Ill. -- Jacquelyn O'Neal had a double-double, scoring 24 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.

It was not enough, however, as the Lady Knights lost the non-conference game.

Korrie Gilbert made it to double-digit scoring with 11 points. Melinda Wilson came close with nine points.

Gabby Pearl contributed six points while Jamison Brandt had four points and Jeana Cheek finished the game with two points.

With the loss, Blue Ridge fell to a 9-16 overall record. They will host a Heart of Illinois Conference game on Thursday against Flanagan-Cornell.

El Paso-Gridley 75, Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 48

EL PASO, Ill. -- The Lady Knights simply had no chance against the undefeated Titans, who opened up a 40-20 lead at halftime en route to a Heart of Illinois Conference.

EPG (23-0, 9-0) outscored Blue Ridge 17-9 and 23-11 in the first and second quarters, respectively. The Lady Knights could not rally, as they were outscored 19-18 in the third quarter and 16-10 in the fourth.

Jacquelyn O'Neal led Blue Ridge in scoring with 18 points. Melinda Wilson scored in double digits as well with 14 points.

Bailey Clancy contributed seven points. Korrie Gilbert finished the game with three points while Gabby Pearl, Jamison Brandt and Jeana Cheek each had two points.

The Lady Knights drop to 9-15 overall and 2-6 in the HOIC. They will play on the road again today, facing Paxton-Buckley-Loda.

Meanwhile, the junior varsity team lost to the Titans 57-20.

Blue Ridge Boys, Girls Basketball Loses Consolation Championship Games in McLean County Tournament

Boys

HEYWORTH 63, BLUE RIDGE 60

LEXINGTON, Ill. -- The Knights went into halftime leading 37-26 after taking 15-13 and 22-13 advantages in the first and second quarters, respectively.

The Hornets, however, responded with a 16-11 third quarter to cut Blue Ridge's lead to 48-42. Then a 21-12 fourth quarter pushed Heyworth over the edge.

Travys Nichols led the Knights in scoring with 24 points. Will Duggins and Jon Jones each scored in double figures as well with 17 and 10 points, respectively.

Tucker Johnson contributed eight points and Michael Plunk finished the game with one point.

With the loss, Blue Ridge sees its overall record fall to 6-14. The Knights will be back in action on Tuesday, when they host Flanagan.

Girls

LEXINGTON 55, BLUE RIDGE 40

LEXINGTON, Ill. -- The Lady Knights were shut out in the first quarter before a 16-8 second quarter that cut the Lady Minutemen's lead to 22-16 at halftime.

Blue Ridge also held a 13-12 advantage in the third quarter to cut its deficit to 34-29. However, Lexington outscored the Lady Knights 21-11 to seal the deal.

Melinda Wilson led Blue Ridge with 12 points while Jacquelyn O'Neal scored in double-digits as well with 10 points.

Gabby Pearl and Korrie Gilbert each added six points. Jeana Cheek contributed four points while Bailey Clancy finished with two points.

With the loss, the Lady Knights fall to 9-14 overall on the season. They will return to the court on Monday for a road game against El Paso-Gridley.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball IHSA Postseason Schedule

The Lady Knights are the No. 4-seeded team in the six-team Fisher Regional.

They will play against No. 5 Buckley Christ Lutheran in the quarterfinals on February 6 at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will face top-seeded LeRoy on February 7 at 6 p.m.

The winner of that game will play in the regional championship on February 9 at 7:30 p.m.

The Fisher Regional champion will compete in the Colfax Ridgeview Sectional, facing the Lexington Regional winner in the semifinals on February 13 at 6 p.m. The winner of that game will play in the sectional title game on February 16 at 7:30 p.m.

The Colfax Ridgeview Sectional winner will face the Varna Midland Sectional champion in the Bloomington Illinois Wesleyan Super-Sectional game on February 20 at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of that game will move on to the state final tournament at Redbird Arena in Normal, playing in the semifinals against the champion of the the DeKalb Super-Sectional on February 24 at 12:15 p.m.

The winner of that game will play in the state championship game on February 25 at 2 p.m. The loser will play for third place at 12:15 p.m.

Blue Ridge Basketball Schedule Update

The boys basketball game against Tri-Valley, originally scheduled for February 3, has been rescheduled for February 2.

The girls basketball team will play that night at 6 p.m., and the boys team will follow them at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge Boys, Girls Advance to Consolation Championship of McLean County Tournament

Boys

BLUE RIDGE 69, FISHER 65 -- OT

LEXINGTON, Ill. -- The Knights led at halftime of the McLean County Tournament consolation semifinal game 35-18.

After the Bunnies responded with a rally to force overtime, Blue Ridge outscored Fisher 12-8 in the extra period.

Michael Plunk and Tucker Johnson led the way for the Knights with 19 points each. Jon Jones also scored in double figures with 11 points.

Mark Plunk finished the game with eight points while Travys Nichols and C.J Bishop contributed six and four points, respectively.

Clint O'Neal and Will Duggins each scored one point.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves its record to 6-13. The Knights will play in the consolation championship game against Heyworth on Friday at 7 p.m.

Girls

BLUE RIDGE 57, TRI-VALLEY 52 -- OT

LEXINGTON, Ill. -- After trailing the Lady Vikings 16-9 after the first quarter and 28-23 at halftime, the Lady Knights outscored Tri-Valley 14-7 in the third quarter.

As a result, Blue Ridge led 37-35 at the end of the quarter. After Tri-Valley outscored the Lady Knights 10-8 to force overtime, Blue Ridge clinched the victory with a 12-7 advantage in the extra period.

Jacquelyn O'Neal led the Lady Knights in scoring with 22 points. Melinda Wilson scored 17 points.

Korrie Gilbert finished the game with nine points while Gabby Pearl and Bailey Clancy each contributed four points.

Jeana Cheek also scored a point.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to an overall record of 9-13. The Lady Knights will play in the consolation championship game of the McLean County Tournament against Lexington on Friday at 6 p.m.



Blue Ridge Athletes of the Month -- December

According to Blue Ridge's student announcements, the following athletes were chosen as Athletes of the Month for December:

Boys Basketball -- Travys Nichols

Girls Basketball -- Melinda Wilson

Tremont 69, Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 52

COLFAX, Ill. -- The Lady Knights will not play for the championship of the McLean County Tournament after losing in the first round to the Turks.

Tremont took a 13-7 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to a 33-27 halftime advantage. The Turks outscored Blue Ridge 36-25 in the second half, including 19-10 in the fourth quarter.

Jacquelyn O'Neal and Melinda Wilson each led the Lady Knights in scoring with 18 points. Korrie Gilbert also scored in double figures with 11 points.

Jeana Cheek had three points while Liz Cordes and Bailey Clancy each contributed one point.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to a record of 8-13. The Lady Knights will play on Wednesday in the consolation bracket, when they will face Tri-Valley at 6 p.m.

Tremont 60, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 61

COLFAX, Ill. -- The Knights were knocked out of the McLean County Tournament championship bracket early with a loss to the Turks.

Tremont built a 41-26 lead at halftime, including a 22-14 advantage in the second quarter. After Blue Ridge outscored 21-17 in the third quarter, the Turks responded with a 22-14 fourth ouarter.

Travys Nichols was the Knights' leading scorer with 14 points. Michael Plunk and Tucker Johnson each scored 12 points.

Matt White contributed six points while Jon Jones finished the game with four points. Will Duggins and C.J. Bishop each recorded two points.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to a record of 5-13. The Knights will play in the consolation bracket on Wednesday, when they take on Fisher at 7:30 p.m.

Blue Ridge Basketball Update from January 13, 2012

Boys Basketball

BLUE RIDGE 52, LEROY 46

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- After falling behind 12-6 at the end of the first quarter, the Knights outscored the Panthers 46-34 the rest of the way en route to a Heart of Illinois Conference win.

After going into halftime down 22-20, Blue Ridge held a 20-12 advantage to gain a 40-34 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Michael Plunk led the Knights in scoring with 18 points, with Tucker Johnson was not too far behind with 16 points. Clint O'Neal and Travys Nichols each contributed six points.

Jon Jones had four points while Will Duggins finished the game with two points.

With the win, Blue Ridge improves to 5-12 overall and 2-5 in the HOIC. The Knights will begin competing in the McLean County Tournament today.

Girls Basketball

LEROY 64, BLUE RIDGE 37

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- Right from the first quarter, the Lady Knights did not stand a chance against a LeRoy team that went into Farmer City undefeated in the Heart of Illinois Conference.

The Panthers began with a 19-8 first quarter en route to taking a 32-13 halftime lead. LeRoy outscored Blue Ridge 17-12 in the third quarter before a 15-12 final period.

Jacquelyn O'Neal led the Lady Knights in scoring with 15 points. Melinda Wilson scored in double figures as well, finishing with 10 points. 

Korrie Gilbert and Bailey Clancy each contributed five points while Jeana Cheek had two points

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 8-12 overall and 2-5 in the HOIC. The Lady Knights will begin playing in the McLean County Tournament today.

Meanwhile, the Blue Ridge junior varsity team lost to LeRoy 36-24.

Blue Ridge Girls Basketball Update: January 12, 2012

The Lady Knights' game against LeRoy has been postponed.

They will reschedule the game for Friday.

Lexington 69, Blue Ridge Boys Basketball 67

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- A last-second heave was not enough for the Knights to get the Heart of Illinois Conference victory over the Minutemen.

Tucker Johnson was Blue Ridge's leading scorer with 26 points.

With the loss, the Knights fall to 4-12 overall and 1-5 in the HOIC. They will host Pack the Place Night on Friday, when they face LeRoy.

Blue Ridge High School boosters will give away gift cards during the game.

Lexington 55, Blue Ridge Girls Basketball 50

FARMER CITY, Ill. -- In a rematch of the Okaw Valley Holiday Tournament quarterfinals, the Lady Minutemen won this time around.

The Lady Knights ended the first quarter tied at 12-12. They trailed Lexington 26-22 at halftime before putting themselves in a 45-27 hole at the end of the third quarter.

Although Blue Ridge outscored the Lady Minutemen 23-10 in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to pull off the victory.

Melinda Wilson led the Lady Knights, and tied with Lexington's Sydney Freed for the game-high, in scoring with 24 points. Jacquelyn O'Neal scored in double figures as well, finishing with 15 points.

Korrie Gilbert contributed six points. Gabby Pearl and Breanna Watterson each had two points while Bailey Clancy scored one point.

With the loss, Blue Ridge falls to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in the Heart of Illinois Conference. The Lady Knights will host another conference showdown on Thursday, when they face LeRoy.

Meanwhile, there was no junior varsity game because Lexington did not have enough players.