(Bloomington – Robert Frank Sports Center) – Bloomington’s boy’s basketball team jumped out to an early 14-0 lead, and fought off a spirited comeback attempt by Metamora in a 70-54 Class 3A Regional Semifinal.  The Raiders will now face top-seeded Washington on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Regional Final at Bloomington.  The Raiders defeated Washington 45-37 on December 4^th at Washington.

Cole Jackson led the Bloomington effort with 17 points.  Jeremy McDavis added 12 points, Jamaal McDavis 11 and Timmy Manns 10 for BHS.

On the boards, T.J. Riggs, Torre Harrell and Jeremy McDavis each had six rebounds.  Bloomington out rebounded Metamora 37-26 on the evening.

COUNTRY Financial Three-Point Showdown

Matthew Mardis and Jamal McDavis both qualified for the Regional final round with seven apiece.  They will shoot before the game Friday night, with the top four finishers advancing to the Sectional.

Washington received the top seed and will play the winner of the quarterfinal game between Normal U-High and Pontiac.

Torre Harrell moves down the court in basketball action at Normal West High School.

(Normal, IL) – A 14-2 first quarter got Bloomington off and running, and they never looked back in a 49-27 Big 12 Conference win at Normal West.  The victory moves the Raiders to 6-5 in conference play and 11-11 overall ahead of a weekend homestand against Danville and Schaumburg.

Senior Torre Harrell led Bloomington with 10 points and eight rebounds, and also shared the defensive assignment in slowing West’s Austin Stewart.  Stewart had 13 points after dropping in 35 during the two team’s earlier meeting.  Coach Peter Goff also credited T.J. Riggs and Damien Lipscomb with slowing the athletic Stewart.

On the evening, BHS shot 44 percent from the field while outrebounding West 35-25.

Raider guard Timmy Manns added nine points in the winning effort.

Guard Kerri Harris, one of only two seniors, led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 11 points.  Ariel Williams added 10, while Arianna Newman had six rebounds in the losing effort.

Bloomington finished the Big 12 season with a 5-8 record, good enough for a sixth-place tie with Mattoon.

COUNTRY Three-Point Showdown

No Bloomington entrants advanced to the Regional final round.

Tiana Shickel posted a career high 20 point performance to lead the Lady Raiders, while Shannon Hall added 13.

Shickel and Arianna Newman grabbed eight rebounds in the winning effort.

COUNTRY Financial Three-Point Showdown

Bloomington advanced three to the next round of the COUNTRY Financial Three-Point Showdown.  Shickel, Alexis Martinez and Whitney Bingham all advanced to Tuesday’s round against Morton’s entrants.

Against Centennial, senior Cole Jackson had a team high 19 points.  Torre Harrell added 10 points in the losing effort.

The Raiders return to action Tuesday, February 15^th in a conference matchup at Normal West.  The game is the makeup for the contest postponed on February 1^st.

IHSA Pairings Announced

Bloomington was awarded the #3 seed and will host the Regional.  The Raiders opening opponent will be #2 seed Metamora on Wednesday, March 2^nd.  Game time is 7:30 pm.

The full Regional schedule is as follows:

The game has been rescheduled for February 15th.

The sophomore game will start at 6:00 p.m., with the varsity game following at approximately 7:45 p.m.

Champaign Central 62   Bloomington 56

After falling behind by 10 in the first half, Bloomington rallied to within two points late before a late run gave Central the Big 12 victory.  Purdue commit Jay Simpson dropped 26 points on the Raiders, and Clayton Jones added 11 first half points to push the early lead.

Cole Jackson led the Raiders with 14 points, which T.J. Riggs added 12.  Toree Harrell returned from a football injury to add a spark off the bench and a career-high 11 points.

Peoria Central 66   Bloomington 46

A road game against state-ranked Peoria Central resulted in a second weekend loss.

With Bloomington leading 25-14 midway through the 2^nd quarter, Peoria went on a 9-1 run to end the half.

The second half saw more of the same, as Central’s 15-4 run put the game out of reach for the Raiders.

Timmy Manns led Bloomington offensively with 15 points.

The Raiders return to action Friday (1/28) with a conference match at Decatur MacArthur.  Bloomington defeated MacArthur 61-46 to open Big 12 play last December 3^rd.

Bloomington 57   Decatur Eisenhower 39

Timmy Manns let Bloomington’s scorers with 12 points, and Matthew Mardis chipped in 11 in the victory.

Caleb Cannon also reached double figures with a career high 10 points.

The win moved Bloomington to 3-3 in Big 12 play.

Rock Island 79   Bloomington 52

Stanford recruit Chasson Randall and his supporting cast was too much for the Raiders in non-conference action at Rock Island.  Randall knocked down 26 points and the Rocks outscored Bloomington in every quarter.

Cole Jackson led Bloomington scorers with 20 points, and Timmy Manns added 10 in the loss.  The Raiders fall to 8-6 on the year.

The win pushed the Raiders’ overall record to 7-5 ahead of a return to conference play at Decatur Eisenhower on Friday (January 14^th).

Timmy Manns added 13 points in the winning effort.

Friday’s game at Decatur Eisenhower is the first of two weekend games, with the Raiders traveling to Rock Island for a Saturday non-conference matchup.

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Plainfield North 56   Bloomington 47

Cairie Brown led Bloomington’s effort with a 20 point performance, but the Raiders were outscored 20-10 in the final period.

Chris Trunell pulled down seven rebounds in a losing effort.

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Bloomington 51   Joliet West 47  Overtime

Cole Jackson had four 3-point goals and 18 points to lead Bloomington to an overtime victory in the consolation bracket.  Cairie Brown added 12 points and seven assists, and Jeremy McDavis added eight rebounds.

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Niles West 62   Bloomington 59

Bloomington had a sluggish first quarter, and couldn’t recover in a 62-59 loss to Niles West High School.  The loss eliminated the Raiders from tournament play.

T.J. Riggs led Bloomington with 16 points.  Cole Jackson (12) and Cairie Brown (11) also reached double figures.

Jeremy McDavis was again the leading rebounder with 11.

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Bloomington returns to action January 8^th against Hinsdale Central in the Rock Falls Shootout.

The victories move the Lady Raiders to an overall mark of 5-6, but more importantly 4-2 in Big 12 conference play.

Bloomington 54   Lincoln 36

Mary Lawrence had a breakout game with 14 points and 11 rebounds in non-confernece play at Lincoln.

Arianna Newman added a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

Bloomington 52   Decatur Eisenhower 45

In a home conference win, Tiana Shickel had 11 points and Mary McCullers 9 as the Lady Raiders won their fourth consecutive game.

Shickel also pulled down 11 rebounds to go with three steals in the final game before the State Farm Holiday Classic.

State Farm Holiday Classic

Bloomington drew top-seeded Springfield High for their first round matchup in the State Farm Holiday Classic.  The game will be played Monday, December 27^th at 1:00 p.m. at US Cellular Colliseum.

The Raiders sit at 5-3 overall.

Bloomington 64   Mattoon 36

Timmy Manns scored a season high 20 points as Bloomington thrashed Mattoon on the road, 64-36.  The win moved the Raiders back to .500 in the Big 12 at 2-2.

Jeremy McDavis added 12 points in the winning effort.

Urbana 70   Bloomington 63

Bloomington’s boys basketball team dropped a Big 12 conference game at Urbana, falling 70-63 after leading in the fourth quarter.  The loss dropped the Raiders to 2-3 in Big 12 conference play.

Cole Jackson had a breakout game with 24 points.  The Raiders placed three other players in double figures as Cairie Brown had 14, Jeremy McDavis 13 and T.J. Riggs 10.

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Bloomington is now idle until the opening game of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on December 28^th.

Morton 66   Bloomington 20

Bloomington fell behind 22-3 in the first period and could never recover in the non-conference loss.

Kerri Harris led the Lady Raiders in scoring with six points.

Bloomington 55   Mattoon 52  Overtime

The Lady Raiders won their second straight Big 12 conference game with a 55-52 overtime victory at Mattoon.

Bloomington squandered an eight point lead in the fourth quarter, but battled back in overtime to record the victory.

Tiana Shickel had a monster game with 14 points and 19 rebounds.  Shannon Hall added 12, and Arianna Newman 11.

Bloomington 34   Urbana 25

Mary Lawrence led Bloomington with nine points and eight rebounds in the victory.

Tiana Shickel had eight rebounds, and senior Mary McCullers had four assists, four steals and four points in the winning effort.

Bloomington registered a pair of victories over the weekend, pushing their conference mark to 1-2 and their overall record to 4-2.

Bloomington 61   Decatur MacArthur 46

Bloomington put together a 22-10 third quarter Friday night to pull away from Decatur MacArthur and notch their first Big 12 win of the 2010-2011 campaign in their home opener at the Robert Frank Sports Complex.  The Raiders forced 18 MacArthur turnovers in holding them to 31 percent shooting in the game.

Senior guard Cairie Brown posted a team leading 15 points, and classmate T.J. Riggs added 14.

Chris Trunell added nine points and six rebounds, and Jeremy McDavis added eight points and ten boards.

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Bloomington 45   Washington 37

T.J. Riggs led Bloomington scorers with 14 points as the Raiders won a non-conference game on the road.

Trailing 33-29 after three quarters, the Raiders went on an 8-0 run to start the final period and never relinquished the lead.

Bloomington next returns to action with two conference road games this week, at Mattoon Tuesday and Urbana on Friday.  They will compete in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament over the holiday break.

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Bloomington (Robert Frank Sports Complex) – Juniors Arianna Newman and Tiana Shickel led Bloomington’s Lady Raider basketball team to their first victory of the season Thursday night with a 55-44 Big 12 conference victory over visiting Decatur MacArthur.

Newman turned in a career-best 21 point performance, while Shickel added 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Bloomington led 29-19 at halftime, but MacArthur started the 3rd quarter with a 9-2 run to bring the Generals within a possession.  Bloomington responded, however, and an 8-0 run to start the 4^th period put the game out of reach for the winners.

Shannon Hall added 10 points before leaving the game before halftime with an injury.

The Lady Raiders (1-5, 1-2 in Big 12) return to action December 7^th with a home date against non-conference foe Morton.  The varsity tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

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Shannon Hall scored 16 points in a loss that saw the Lady Raiders plagued by 32 turnovers.

Ariel Williams led Bloomington in rebounding with five.

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Bloomington (Shirk Center) – It was a battle for 32 minutes, but Bloomington came out on the short end of the final Intercity tournament game, falling to rival Normal Community 67-63.  The loss dropped the Raiders to 2-2 on the season and 2-2 in the tournament, good enough for a three-way tie for second place with Normal West and Normal U-High.

After falling behind early, Bloomington battled back several times, and tied the game at 52 with a little over five minutes to play.  But Normal Community pulled away down the stretch and clinched the title with an undefeated 4-0 mark.

For the Raiders, Cole Jackson led all scorers with 21 points.  T.J. Riggs added 12 with a 10 of 10 performance at the free throw line, and Cairee Brown also reached double figures with ten points.

Bloomington fell to 0-2 in the Big 12 conference play.  They next host Decatur MacArthur Friday night at the Robert Frank Sports Complex.  The varsity game is slated for a 7:45 p.m. start.

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Bloomington (Shirk Center) – Despite jumping out to an early lead, Bloomington couldn’t hold off Normal West in the conference opener, falling 57-50 at Illinois Wesleyan’s Shirk Center.  The loss moved the Purple Raiders to 2-1 on the season, and 0-1 in Big 12 play.

T.J. Riggs dropped in 19 points for Bloomington, but it wasn’t enough to offset a 35-point performance by West’s Austin Stewart.  Cairee Brown also added ten points for the Bloomington.

Bloomington now sits at 2-1 in the Intercity tournament, but still has a chance to share the title after Normal Community defeated Normal West Saturday night.  Bloomington and Normal Community tip off at 7:30 p.m. Monday night in the final game of the tournament at the Shirk Center.

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Bloomington (Shirk Center) – Agressive defense and 60 percent shooting from the field let Bloomington to a dominating 58-37 victory over Bloomington Central Catholic in the Intercity tournament.  The win puts the Raiders at 2-0 on the season and 2-0 in the tournament, with conference foes Normal West and Normal Community still on the docket.

Bloomington took a 28-15 lead in to intermission, and was never challenged the remainder of the game.  Cole Jackson chipped in a team high 15 points, which Jeremy McDavis added 12.  Teammate Brandan Monroe, who hit a game winning shot in the opener, also reached double figures with ten points on the night.

The Raiders continue Intercity play on Friday night with their conference opener against Normal West.  West currently sits at 1-0 in the Intercity tournament.  Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Illinois Wesleyan University’s Shirk Center.

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