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 Eagles lose first round in tournament; sophomores win regional awards

   By JJ Ossola
   IV Leader Sports Editor, Mar 15, 2007

     The Illinois Valley Community College Eagles ended their season on high note despite losing the 1st round of the conference tournament to Olive Harvey on March 1, 64-75.
    Overall the team, which started the season 1 for 6, ended up breaking the .500 mark with a record of 15-14. The Eagles went into the tournament seeded tied for third, the highest ranking IVCC has had.
    The National Junior College Athletic Association ranked the Eagles 20th for field goals (47.7%), 32nd in 3 pointers (35%), and 47 th for offense and defense averages (75.68 and 73.24 respectively.)
    Head coach Mike Riley said, “I thought that this team could beat anyone that they played against. We lost a few that we should have won and maybe won a few that we shouldn’t have. We got a lot of good effort out of players late in the season, and I was a bit disappointed that we went out when we did.”
    Sophomore David Prince received post-season accolades, placing on the 1st team All Region and the 1st team All Conference.
    Prince finished the season with a very nice stat line and NJCAA rankings: 16.8 points a game on 60.2 % shooting (19th), 9.32 rebounds (25th), 2.3 assists, and 1.7 steals.
    Prince said, “I wish I had played here two years! This has been a great experience for me. The coaches have been great and I wouldn’t have gotten any awards if it hadn’t been for having great team mates.”
    Prince added, “I love playing with these guys. They are a good group of people.” Billy Ghighi also garnered recognition placing on the 2nd team All Region and 2nd team All Conference.
    Ghighi put up very good numbers as well, scoring 13.76 per game on 48.6 percent shooting with a 42.4 percent three point shot, 5.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals.
    Tony Boykins was the third leading scorer and finished with 13.4 points per game on 50.4 percent shooting and ranked 14th in 3 point percentage with 44.1 percent. He was second on the team for rebounds with 6.4 per game and he also averaged 2.4 assists.
    “Our sophomores are all probably going somewhere else to play Division 2 ball. There are about a half a dozen schools looking at Prince and Ghighi alone and another few looking at Boykins and Dickerson.” said Riley.

Next Year

    The future is bright for the Eagles with eight freshmen with a years experience under their belts. Freshmen accounted for an average of 31.3 points per game.
    Guard Jake Richter also garnered a national ranking at 47th for his 4.9 assists per game.
    Riley said, “Not more than 24 hours after our game with Olive Harvey we had a team meeting to discuss how we are going to get ready for next year.
    We have 12 or 13 returning freshmen and red shirts. We could start today. We are that ready right now.
    A lot of guys are fired up and some are still working out like the season hasn’t ended.”
    If things go as planned for Riley and assistant coach Russ Witte, the Eagles will be two deep for all the positions.
    “This is quite a blessing. I don’t think this has ever happened before: this many players committed to next season,” Riley said.
    The Eagles are still scouting local talent and plan on pursuing a few players with the April 8 signing coming soon. Riley added, “A few of the guys we would like to see in the purple and white, could challenge these guys for playing time.”

Eagle Alumni

    Former Eagle (02-03 season) and one time Eddy Curry team mate, Aubrey Conerly inked a deal with the Jacksonville Jam, an American Basketball Association team. Conerly finished his season with the Jacksonville Dolphins with the fourth highest single-season assists total, 162, and 10th overall with in school history. Conerly was a 1st team all conference and regional in 2003.
    Former Eagle (03-04) Mansour MBye plans to sign with a Belgium Basketball team soon. MBye, the first English IV player, played for the Texas-Permian Basin Falcons and represented London in several New York City summer streetball tournaments. Mbye was a 2nd team regional player in 2004.
    Both Conerly and MBye plan on a future in coaching when their professional careers are finished.

 

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