March 29, 2025 Local Stories in and Around St. Joseph, Illinois

Spartans win Toyota of Danville Classic as Jacobs earns MVP honors

How well the St. Joseph-Ogden boys’ basketball team would fare this season without current Illinois State guard Ty Pence in the Spartans’ lineup was an obvious question.

Turns, out, just fine.

SJO rolled to a tournament championship at the eight-team Toyota of Danville Classic that the Spartans hosted in St. Joseph last week, defeating Oakwood 74-42 in the championship game on Saturday night.

The Spartans also defeated Charleston 48-41 this past Friday night in their final pool-play game after earning pool-play wins against Watseka, a 74-38 triumph last Thursday night, and starting the season off with a convincing 80-21 win against Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond last Tuesday night.

SJO (4-0) will try to keep its current run of success intact in its first road game of the season when the Spartans play at Normal West at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a nonconference game.

Tanner Jacob led the Spartans during the Toyota of Danville Classic, with the senior guard winning tournament MVP honors. Jacob scored a team-high 19 points in the win against Oakwood, making 7 of 9 shots from the field and both of his three-point attempts. He added three assists.

Junior forward Tanner Siems came through with 14 points against Oakwood, while senior guard Logan Smith had a steady all-around game with 10 points, six steals and five assists.

Junior guard Collin Thomey contributed seven points, while sophomore guard Ryker Lockhart and junior guard Coy Taylor each had six points. Sophomore forward Parker Fitch (five points), sophomore guard Tim Blackburn-Kelley (three points), senior guard Luke Landrus (two points) and sophomore guard Asher Premier (two points) rounded out the scoring efforts for the Spartans.

SJO overcame poor shooting to defeat Charleston and clinch a spot in the title game, with the Spartans only making 14 of 51 shots from the field (27 percent) and only making 16 of 27 at the free throw line (59 percent).

Jacob led the Spartans with 18 points, while Smith joined him in double figures with 14 points. Siems added seven points and six rebounds, while Thomey (five points) and Taylor (four points) also chipped in.

SJO had an easier time offensively in its lopsided win against Watseka, with Jacob scoring 20 points, Siems producing a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and Taylor compiling 10 points. Smith contributed nine points and five steals, while Blackburn-Kelley had eight points. Thomey (six points), Lockhart (three points), junior forward Kendrick Johnson (three points) and Landaus (two points) also dented the scoring column.

SJO met little resistance from ALAH in its season opener, darting out to a big lead and never looking back. 

All told, 12 different SJO players scored against the Knights as Landrus dropped in a team-high 16 points after making 3 of 4 three-point attempts. Lockhart joined him in double figures with 12 points and four assists, while Smith had 10 points. Thomey finished with nine points, Jacob scored eight points and Taylor wound up with six points. Sophomore guard Will Haley (five points), Fitch (four points), Siems (three points), Pruemer (three points), Blackburn-Kelley (two points) and sophomore guard Logan Lackey (two points) all made at least one bucket for the Spartans.

After Tuesday night’s game at Normal West, the Spartans will return to the Bloomington-Normal area on Saturday to begin Illini Prairie Conference play. SJO will play at 3 p.m. Saturday at Bloomington Central Catholic, the reigning Class 2A state runner-up. 

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