September 1, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

SJO boys’ basketball stays unbeaten, wins Toyota of Danville Classic

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball program relied on stingy defense, balanced scoring at times and its Division I prospect to win the Toyota of Danville Classic.

SJO easily defeated Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 76-43 this past Saturday night in the championship game of the eight-team tournament held in St. Joseph.

Prior to the win against the Knights, SJO defeated Schlarman 76-48 last Friday night, held off Oakwood 62-57 last Wednesday night and opened tournament play with a 78-55 win against Cissna Park last Tuesday night.
Now, SJO (5-0) turns its attention to its first true road game of the season, with the Spartans set to play at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday against nonconference foe Hoopeston Area.

Balanced scoring and stingy defense lifted SJO past ALAH in the Toyota of Danville Classic championship game.

Ty Pence, who has multiple Division I offers, scored a team-high 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made five assists in the win, with Evan Ingram not far behind with 13 points and Logan Smith adding 11 points to go along with four steals. SJO led 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, 31-14 at halftime and 51-27 to start the fourth quarter.

Andrew Beyers (eight points), Tanner Jacob (eight points), Coy Taylor (seven points), Maddux Carter (six points), Luke Landrus (six points) and Brock Trimble (three points) all contributed offensively as well.

SJO ran away from Schlarman after a close first quarter saw the Spartans only ahead 14-13 at the end of the period. SJO took a 34-22 lead into halftime and led 54-35 to start the fourth quarter.

Pence dropped in a game-high 27 points to spark the Spartans, with Ingram scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half. Smith joined them in double figures with 12 points. Landrus (five points), Taylor (four points), Nolan Grindley (three points), Carter (two points), Jacob (two points), Colin Wayland (two points) and McGwire Atwood (one point) rounded out the scoring.

In its closest game so far this season, SJO fended off Oakwood after trailing 11-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans only led 27-25 at halftime and 45-43 to start the fourth quarter before beating the Comets.

The St. Joseph-Ogden High School boys’ basketball program relied on stingy defense, balanced scoring at times and its Division I prospect to win the Toyota of Danville Classic.

SJO easily defeated Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 76-43 this past Saturday night in the championship game of the eight-team tournament held in St. Joseph.

Prior to the win against the Knights, SJO defeated Schlarman 76-48 last Friday night, held off Oakwood 62-57 last Wednesday night and opened tournament play with a 78-55 win against Cissna Park last Tuesday night.
Now, SJO (5-0) turns its attention to its first true road game of the season, with the Spartans set to play at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday against nonconference foe Hoopeston Area.

Balanced scoring and stingy defense lifted SJO past ALAH in the Toyota of Danville Classic championship game.

Ty Pence, who has multiple Division I offers, scored a team-high 14 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made five assists in the win, with Evan Ingram not far behind with 13 points and Logan Smith adding 11 points to go along with four steals. SJO led 18-7 at the end of the first quarter, 31-14 at halftime and 51-27 to start the fourth quarter.

Andrew Beyers (eight points), Tanner Jacob (eight points), Coy Taylor (seven points), Maddux Carter (six points), Luke Landrus (six points) and Brock Trimble (three points) all contributed offensively as well.

SJO ran away from Schlarman after a close first quarter saw the Spartans only ahead 14-13 at the end of the period. SJO took a 34-22 lead into halftime and led 54-35 to start the fourth quarter.

Pence dropped in a game-high 27 points to spark the Spartans, with Ingram scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half. Smith joined them in double figures with 12 points. Landrus (five points), Taylor (four points), Nolan Grindley (three points), Carter (two points), Jacob (two points), Colin Wayland (two points) and McGwire Atwood (one point) rounded out the scoring.

In its closest game so far this season, SJO fended off Oakwood after trailing 11-8 at the end of the first quarter. The Spartans only led 27-25 at halftime and 45-43 to start the fourth quarter before beating the Comets.

Pence carried the scoring load for SJO with a game-high 34 points, while Ingram added 16 points. Taylor, Smith and Trimble each added four points.


Pence led the way against Cissna Park with a game-high 29 points, while Trimble (11 points) and Smith (10 points) also joined him in double figures.


After Tuesday night’s game at Hoopeston Area, SJO will hit the road again on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. nonconference game at Casey-Westfield.

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