Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois • Page 7

I WWWJG-TCCOM THURSDAY.jWARCH 28, 201 3 SECTION bJ JewaMV.Jj NCAA BASKETBALL LaSalle, Miami, Duke, Arizona, Ohio State: A look ahead to the Sweet 18 round of the men's tournament. B6 COME BACK TOMORROW MattoonHIgh School boys' track season preview. EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL BRIAN nielsenJ, VV) Panthers start anew With OVC rings distributed, Eastern looks forward to new season ahead of last year's pace when a new coaching staff was just getting started implementing the up-tempo offense that Babers brought from his days as wide receiversspecial teams coach at Baylor. By the fourth game of last season, Eastern combined with Murray State's equally fast-paced philosophy to set an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision record of 210 plays in a game the Panthers won 50-49 in overtime. Still, as Babers insisted last spring when observers were remarking about the fast offense and last season when his Panthers were rewriting season," Babers said.

"What the 2012 team did has no effect on what the 2013 team does. That's evidenced by what happened in the 2011 season. You don't get any carryover." With a humbling playoff loss at South Dakota State reminding the team more is still to accomplish after a 7-5 season, spring practice is to start on Tuesday at one place or another. How fast this week's snow melts and how fast slush becomes actual ground with workable footing may determine whether the Panthers use the rugby field like last spring, practice fields south of the O'Brien Field parking lot like last season or the O'Brien Field artificial turf. "I like to keep the turf special," said Babers, who put grass practice fields back in use about a decade after the ready-for-use-every-day artificial turf was installed at O'Brien.

"The only time we go on the turf is for scrimmages." Another factor throw into the mix this spring is that the installation of a new track around the football field may prevent even some scrimmages at O'Brien Field. "If they tell us we can't go on there, we won't go on there," Babers said. Otherwise, the 2013 Panthers certainly figure to be Submitted photo Eastern football players received their conference championship rings, like this one, Wednesday. the head coach. "That's the 2012 season and spring starts a new football -r.

V-U -S i 4v mc Gulf Coast memories and other sport notes Do you remember when Florida Gulf Coast, now the closest thing to a darling left in the NCAA basketball tournament, played at Eastern Illinois' Lantz Arena? If not don't feel bad. Emanuel Dildy's memory had to be jolted and he was Eastern's leading scorer than Feb. 16, 2004 night. In a forgettable 6-21 season that provided the fewest wins of any of Rick Samuels' 25 years while becoming EIU's winningest coach in program history, Florida Gulf Coast beat the Panthers 81-72. Dildy, who just completed his first season as Jay Spoonhour's assistant at EIU, had 18 points leading the Panthers as a junior guard.

"I barely, barely remember that game but they were pretty good to be Division II," Dildy said. "I remember Marc Polite was there." Gulf Coast was Division II at that time but had several Division I transfers and brought more talent than you would expect from any lower division team, let alone one that was just in its second year of fielding a basketball team. Polite, the former EIU forward who still has the Ohio Valley Conference record of 10 3 -pointers in a game, had his short stint in college coaching at that Florida school before getting into the high school circles where he is now the head coach at the East Moline United school where he played. Building its program quickly, Gulf Coast now has become the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet 16 facing Florida in a Friday night NCAA South Regional game.

No word yet on a college decision for Oblong's Anthony Johnson but that may be drawing near as Spoonhour and EIU go for what might turn out to be a gem hidden in the Little Illini Conference. "I know he went for a college visit at Eastern," Oblong coach Brent Harper said. "They made an offer. He is supposed to visit Indiana State (Wednesday). I don't know if they've made an offer." Also in the recruiting picture is Southern Indiana, which finished 23-8 as the 15tn-ranked team in NCAA Division II, and Vincennes, which finished fourth in the national junior college Division I finals with a 33-3 record.

Indiana State finished 18-15 losing to Iowa in the first round of the NIT. So the question may be whether Johnson wants to join one of the programs with more recent success and established tradition -then again do kids today even realize Larry Bird once had the whole nation watch- BY BRIAN NIELSEN JQ-TC Sports Editor CHARLESTON In the rather private setting of the Eastern Illinois football team room, Ohio Valley Conference championship rings were presented on Wednesday. "The players didn't want to make a big deal of it," coach Dino Babers said. "They didn't want to do it at a basketball game. I'm happy Barbara (Burke, the athletic director) was here to hand out the rings to every one of them.

It was just our little family." That may have been the final chapter of EIU's story of going from last in the OVC in 2011 to the championship last fall in Babers' first year as Bulls cool Heat CHICAGO (AP) The Miami Heat's 27-game winning streak was snapped Wednesday night by the Chicago Bulls, 101-97, when a furious comeback by LeBron James and his teammates fell short. The Heat finished six games short of the record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Luol Deng scored 28 points, Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds, and the Bulls brought the Heat's pursuit of the record to a screeching halt despite another big game from James. Miami's superstar did all he could to keep the run going, scoring 32 points in a physical Sea BULLS, B3 Trojans BY BRIAN NIELSEN JG-C Sports Editor CHARLESTON After finishing second to Olney last year, Charleston's boys' tennis team now sees an Apollo Conference with Olney departed. So what else would a veteran Trojans team be thinking other than an Apollo championship? "That's clearly a goal I would have in mind to win the conference and see who we can qualify for state," coach Kevin Hussey said.

"You'd like to win a sectional but when we're put in with Teutopolis and (Effingham) St. Anthony and Mattoon, that's a tough one to win. We should be comparable if not better as a team." A good early gauge could come today when the Trojans are to play a rescheduled season opener at 4:15 p.m. today at Olney, which remains on the schedule after moving See PANTHERS, B3 Associated Press Deng watch a loose ball during and some encouraging signs when the team has been able to practice. "What I've noticed is they all seem to be at just a little bit better level," the third-year coach said.

"I think some of them did play a little bit in the off-season. I think we should have a fun season." The exception to those playing considerable off-season tennis ironically is the coach's son and leading player Sean Hussey, who makes no pretenses about his main sport on his way to being an invited walk-on to Illinois' football team as a quarterback. "Sean was a football focus," the tennis coaching father said. "He did not hit tennis balls in the winter. It's interesting.

He just matured physically and has a good attitude. Sean will be fine. He will be on a solid level, I think. He Sea TENNIS, B3 Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, left, forward LeBron James, center, the first half of an NBA basketball game In Chicago on Wednesday. eye vacated spot atop Apollo tennis 1 Ti A and Chicago Bulls forward Luol On new 2013 Ram Quad-Cab Submitted photo Charleston's 2013 boys' tennis team includes, front row: Samridh Gupta, Quinn Miller, Ross Oster-day and Euan Freeman; middle Randall, Mitchel Reuter, Kendall Oliver, Jordan Fuller, Payton Davis and Chris Czarneckl; and back row: Jaz Monahan, Max Gubblns, Spencer Jones, Cordy Horn, Brandon Howrey, Anthony Beavers, Jessie Wilson-Brown and coach Kevin Hussey.

from the Apollo to the Little With limited court time in tive weather, Hussey for now Illini Conference. this preseason of uncoopera- has to go largely on last year Biglity Selection. f7 uz Now Announcing! 084 Months Financing Oh new 2013 Chrysler 200 Models Models "SAVINGS MMzj Sea NIELSEN, B3 to elct modela. pictured. Pra-Owned Center Corner of Rt.

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