By Bill Lidinsky
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
SOMONAUK - Up until Friday night, Newark junior John Avery’s 2009-10 basketball year
could be realistically described as frustrating.
Throughout the regular season and in to the playoffs, the 6’4” forward has battled scoring
inconsistency and defensive lapses.
Add to that, growing frustration lately on the court that has manifested into some sticky
foul trouble and Avery’s game has grown increasingly spotty.
But his huge fourth quarter against Dwight, where he tallied 11 of his 13 points on 4-of-4
shooting and 5-of-6 from the line, seemed to wash away all of the recent struggles and
help propel the Norsemen into their second consecutive Class 1A Supersectional. That
will be next Tuesday night against Eastland at Northern Illinois University.
Avery’s standout period along with a solid stanza from freshman Brett Anderson (seven of
his nine points) couldn’t have come at a better time as the Trojans were keying
defensively on leading scorer Kyle Anderson. But it was Avery’s refusal to let his past
troubles plague him, while summoning the strength to put the team on his back in the
biggest of contests which paid huge dividends.
“I’ve had my ups and downs this season. When something like this happens you just
forget all about that. When you get a win like this, it just changes everything,” Avery said.
“In this past season so far, I’ve been struggling. It’s been frustrating, but you’ve got to
come out and play. You can’t lie down and be down on yourself. You’ve got to do it for
your teammates and that’s what I did tonight.”
Avery’s evening started off very reminiscent in terms of overall offensive frustration as of
late. He missed his first four shots before finally connecting on a lay in at 7:35 to open the
second period and a 13-8 Newark lead.
But it was Kyle Anderson’s show in the first half with 15 points and Avery seemed content
to bide his time.
No points again in the third quarter for Avery as Dwight inched closer to within 32-27 after
three periods. That’s when Avery took over in the final eight minutes. With Newark up 37-
33 at the five minute mark, the junior tallied nine of his team's next 12 points to put the
Norsemen in command 46-36 with 2:25 to go.
“I struggled with my shot in the first half, but coach (Rick Tollefson) told me to keep
shooting and in the fourth quarter, I really felt good,” Avery said. “In a game like this you
can’t hold anything back. You’ve got to do what you can do to win. So in the fourth
quarter, I just stepped up and played my game and did whatever I could to help us win.”
“In the fourth quarter we were right there in the ballgame within four points. That’s when
the Avery kid hit some key buckets and we really never recovered after that,” said Dwight
head coach Chris Gibson. “He (Avery) really did take over and the good players are going
to do that. They’re really going to shine. He’s only a junior, so he’s got a lot of shinning
moments ahead of him.”
Moments that have led Avery and company to another shot at a Class 1A Supersectional
where they were unsuccessful in 2009.
But after Avery’s renewed performance on Friday and the continually strong play from
Kyle and Brett Anderson, Newark’s goal of a Class 1A final four appearance in Peoria next
weekend isn’t too far fetched.
“I’m so proud of Johnny tonight,” said Newark head coach Rick Tollefson. “He came up so
big in the fourth quarter after struggling with consistency all season and into the playoffs.
If he plays like he did tonight in the fourth period, there might be no stopping us.”
“I’m so happy tonight, but we want to go back to NIU next week and win,” Avery said. “Last
year losing there, we knew this year that that’s where we wanted to be again. We want to
play there and win. We don’t just want to go there. We want to go there and win.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Contributor
SOMONAUK - Up until Friday night, Newark junior John Avery’s 2009-10 basketball year
could be realistically described as frustrating.
Throughout the regular season and in to the playoffs, the 6’4” forward has battled scoring
inconsistency and defensive lapses.
Add to that, growing frustration lately on the court that has manifested into some sticky
foul trouble and Avery’s game has grown increasingly spotty.
But his huge fourth quarter against Dwight, where he tallied 11 of his 13 points on 4-of-4
shooting and 5-of-6 from the line, seemed to wash away all of the recent struggles and
help propel the Norsemen into their second consecutive Class 1A Supersectional. That
will be next Tuesday night against Eastland at Northern Illinois University.
Avery’s standout period along with a solid stanza from freshman Brett Anderson (seven of
his nine points) couldn’t have come at a better time as the Trojans were keying
defensively on leading scorer Kyle Anderson. But it was Avery’s refusal to let his past
troubles plague him, while summoning the strength to put the team on his back in the
biggest of contests which paid huge dividends.
“I’ve had my ups and downs this season. When something like this happens you just
forget all about that. When you get a win like this, it just changes everything,” Avery said.
“In this past season so far, I’ve been struggling. It’s been frustrating, but you’ve got to
come out and play. You can’t lie down and be down on yourself. You’ve got to do it for
your teammates and that’s what I did tonight.”
Avery’s evening started off very reminiscent in terms of overall offensive frustration as of
late. He missed his first four shots before finally connecting on a lay in at 7:35 to open the
second period and a 13-8 Newark lead.
But it was Kyle Anderson’s show in the first half with 15 points and Avery seemed content
to bide his time.
No points again in the third quarter for Avery as Dwight inched closer to within 32-27 after
three periods. That’s when Avery took over in the final eight minutes. With Newark up 37-
33 at the five minute mark, the junior tallied nine of his team's next 12 points to put the
Norsemen in command 46-36 with 2:25 to go.
“I struggled with my shot in the first half, but coach (Rick Tollefson) told me to keep
shooting and in the fourth quarter, I really felt good,” Avery said. “In a game like this you
can’t hold anything back. You’ve got to do what you can do to win. So in the fourth
quarter, I just stepped up and played my game and did whatever I could to help us win.”
“In the fourth quarter we were right there in the ballgame within four points. That’s when
the Avery kid hit some key buckets and we really never recovered after that,” said Dwight
head coach Chris Gibson. “He (Avery) really did take over and the good players are going
to do that. They’re really going to shine. He’s only a junior, so he’s got a lot of shinning
moments ahead of him.”
Moments that have led Avery and company to another shot at a Class 1A Supersectional
where they were unsuccessful in 2009.
But after Avery’s renewed performance on Friday and the continually strong play from
Kyle and Brett Anderson, Newark’s goal of a Class 1A final four appearance in Peoria next
weekend isn’t too far fetched.
“I’m so proud of Johnny tonight,” said Newark head coach Rick Tollefson. “He came up so
big in the fourth quarter after struggling with consistency all season and into the playoffs.
If he plays like he did tonight in the fourth period, there might be no stopping us.”
“I’m so happy tonight, but we want to go back to NIU next week and win,” Avery said. “Last
year losing there, we knew this year that that’s where we wanted to be again. We want to
play there and win. We don’t just want to go there. We want to go there and win.”
Bill Lidinsky is a Northern Illinois Sports Beat contributor. He can be reached in care of
NISB at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com. --- Talk about what's written on our
Message Boards!
| Northern Illinois Sports Beat http://www.northernillinoissportsbeat.com |
After Up and Down Year, Avery
Came Up Big For Newark
Came Up Big For Newark
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