Sobos take Break from Basketball

By Chris Johnson, REPORTER

 In a little over two weeks, the annual MLK Memorial Invitational at South Beloit High School will begin. The first matches will take to the court on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. South Beloit, along with teams from across northern Illinois, will battle with the pool. With the championship being decided on Monday, Jan. 17.

South Beloit had won two of its last three matches heading into the annual Milk Can Game with Clinton, Wis., on Saturday, Dec. 17. A loss to Big Northern competitor, Rockford Christian, slowed the recent two-game win streak the Sobos had found themselves on since a Dec. 13, 35-point win over Keith Country Day in Rockford.

The Royal Lions were too strong, too early as they nearly doubled-up on South Beloit in the first period of play. The 24 points Rockford Christian put up equaled the total scored by South Beloit in the entire first half. After the first 16 minutes of play, the Royal Lions were in front by 19, 43-24. The game played fairly even into the third period as Rockford Christian added to its lead, but only by one point. After three, the Sobos were 20 points back, 53-33. South Beloit’s offense struggled to find open looks in the final frame, as Rockford Christian nearly finished the match the way they started, nearly doubling up on the losing Sobos. Rockford Christian won the game 64-39.

In the win over the Keith Country Day, the Sobos waited until the start of the second half before a lot of the pieces began to come together. It was building slightly after the first eight minutes of play as the Sobos had established the two-point advantage, 16-14. South Beloit scored 14 in the second period as its offense began to find a smoother rhythm. At the half, the Sobos were in front of their host by ten, 30-20. The third quarter was explosive for South Beloit, as the team came together and pushed Keith Country Day away from consideration. The 20-point edge in the third quarter gave South Beloit the 57-27 lead after three. The Sobos stretched the lead by five in the final frame, as they ran away with the 68-33 win. The season took a quick break for the Christmas holiday, before action resumed in Eastland. South Beloit had scheduled meetings with Galena, Prophetstown and Polo beginning Monday, Dec. 26 and running through Dec. 28 in the Eastland Shootout. Details of those contests will be available in an upcoming edition of the Herald.

Following the annual MLK Memorial Tournament, South Beloit heads out on the road for a Northeastern Athletic Conference meeting at Harvest Christian Academy on Jan. 20. They will return home for a one-game stand with Chicago Luther North a day later, on Saturday, Jan. 21. Additional conference matches include back-to-back engagements at Christian Liberty in Arlington Heights on Jan. 27 and against Westminster Christian on the road, Jan. 28.

Alden-Hebron will be waiting at South Beloit when the Sobos prepare to take advantage of an advantageous schedule. On Jan. 31, the Little Giants play. South Beloit stays home until departing on a one-game visit to Oregon on Feb. 14. Aurora Christian plays at South Beloit on Feb. 17 to close the 2016-2017 winter sports, regular season.