Judson men earn some national attention
Judson University point guard Justen Boyd couldn't tell you the first thing about Branson, Mo.
Eagles senior Dewayne Robinson hadn't heard the first thing about the family-friendly tourist attraction until about a week ago.
JU coach Jim Cook only know one thing about it: "We're going there to win."
For the first time in 43 years, Judson will make the historic trip to the NAIA national tournament -- which is held in Branson.
The Eagles devoured Cardinal Stritch 97-79 in the CCAC championship game at the Linder Fitness Center in Elgin on Saturday night.
Judson, which has won seven straight games, will learn tonight its seed and first-round opponent
Robinson led the Eagles with 30 points, and Boyd finished with 22.
With the victory, the Eagles (19-8) completed their worst-to-first turnaround from last season.
"The biggest thing that was the difference was we were able to stay together the whole year," said Robinson, who was named CCAC Player of the Year. "We just kept playing and we didn't get down on ourselves."
Cardinal Stritch (19-14) came within 50-49 in the first two minutes of the second half.
Judson, which never trailed in the game, answered back on a layup by Ilija Bojanic (21 points, 6 assists).
The Eagles engineered a 19-6 run over the next 5:52 minutes, culminating when Chris Oates' 3-pointer put them ahead 69-55.
"We just had to tell the guys to settle down," said Cook, who is in his final season as Judson men's coach. "We knew if we shared the ball and found the openings, we were going to score."
Oates finished with 10 points. Bojanic scored 15 points in the second half, going 7 of 11 from the field.
Robinson did the majority of his scoring in the first half, scoring 17 points before intermission as the Eagles led 48-39 at the break.
Robinson shot 75 percent (9 of 12) from the floor and 11 of 11 from the free-throw line in the game.
Judson hit 54.7 percent (35 of 64).
Boyd, a Batavia native who has played four years at Judson, scored 12 points in the second half
"A lot of the teams recruiting me asked me why I was coming to Judson," Boyd said. "I wanted to get Judson to nationals. I wanted to leave a winning mark here."
Trey Tripplet scored 38 points for Cardinal Stritch.
Women's basketball
Carl Sandburg 71, ECC 40: The Elgin Community College women's basketball team lost in the NJCAA Region IV semifinals at Triton College for the fourth straight year.
"We just couldn't score," said Spartans coach Jerry McLaughlin. "We just didn't stop their transition as well in the second half."
Arianna Topps led ECC (16-15) with 18 points. The Spartans were 14-of-46 shooting from the field and 10 of 20 from the free-throw line, just 7 of 17 in the second half.