Game 39: Springfield Lanphier vs. Chicago Orr (Boy's Basketball)

Game 39
Springfield Lanphier vs. Chicago Orr (Boy's Basketball)
Athleticare/1450 Shootout (Springfield)
12/4/10

After the Whitney Young/Springfield Southeast game, it would be tough to top that classic. Two players I was interested to see in this game were Lanphier freshman Larry Austin Jr. and Orr senior Mycheal Henry. Austin is ranked 20th nationally in the freshman class by ESPNU, while Henry is one of the state's top seniors, heading to the University of Illinois.



Orr jumped out to a 15-6 lead after the first quarter, with Henry scoring 9 points. By halftime, the Orr Spartans led 35-22, and would cruise to a 68-52 victory. Henry put on a show, finishing with 6 slam dunks and a game-high 30 points. At one point in the second half, some words were exchanged between Austin and Henry, who had to be seperated.

Outside of the Henry highlights, not much to talk about in this game. A large number of turnovers, and fouls. A total of 47 fouls were called between the two teams. During the 4th quarter, one of the referees came over to press row and said, "We would let them play, if they stopped hacking."

Curtis Jones pitched in 23 points for Orr. Kendall Murdock scored a team-high 15 points for the Lions, and Everett Clemons finished with 14 points. Austin Jr. was held to 9 points.

Name Most Resembling a Pro Wrestler: Orr's Santino Siggers (6'1" Sr.). Everytime I said his name, I pictured WWE wrestler Santino Marella.

Favorite Name: The "Name of the Game" award goes to Lanphier's Jaylen Briggity (5'8" Jr.).

As I headed out of the Prairie Capital Convention Center and warmed up the car, I debated on what to do the rest of the night. Work was last on that list. I was pretty tired, so the agenda was probably going to involve the couch. It did.

Last year, I finished the season with 112 broadcasts, with four of those nights involving a visit by a friendly police officer on the shoulder of a highway. Tonight, was almost my first visit of sorts for 2010-11. Outside of Ashland, I think, a car was cruising along at 50 mph. When the first opportunity arose, I sped on by, hitting close to 70 mph. An oncoming car happened to be an Illinois State Police trooper. With eyes peeled on the rear view mirror waiting for brake lights, none were seen. Phew...a close one.

Game 39 Miles: 85

The Quest 2: 150 Stats
Games: 39
Game 39 last year occurred on: December 28th
Average broadcasts/week (thru 3 weeks): 13
Current pace for entire season: 234
Teams broadcasted: 56
Miles Traveled: 1,745