Tale of two Tigers

PRINCETON — There is a reason why the Byron Tigers (20-0) are the fourth ranked team in the state of Illinois so far. They controlled every aspect of the game Saturday night against the Princeton Tigers in a 79-35 win.

“You know why they’re ranked fourth in the state and 20-0 after watching that game.  They have great shooters and are good defensively all the way around,” Princeton coach Jesse Brandt said.

The Byron Tigers came out hot immediately in the game, making their first five shots to take a quick 12-2 lead. The Princeton Tigers only managed to score four points in the first quarter, while allowing 24. 

The hot shooting by Byron continued in the second quarter as well, scoring a total 42 points at half. Princeton (10-12) did manage to score 15 points by half, but were still trailing by 27 points.

Byron’s lead got bigger in the third quarter, closing out the third quarter on an 11-3 run to give them their biggest lead of the game, which was 30 points.

In the fourth quarter, Byron cleared their bench, but continued to make shots from all around the court. Six different players scored for Byron in the fourth quarter, eventually winning 79-35.

“We won’t see a whole lot of teams better than them, that’s for sure,” said Brandt. “I thought our effort was better than it was, even though it didn’t show up on the scoreboard.”

Princeton’s leading scorer was senior forward Lance Jensen with 8 points.

Byron, who had 12 total players score, was led by 6-foot-6 standout guard, Collin Russell, who scored a game-high 18 points, and Ryan Hopkins (11).

• Princeton’s next game is against former NCIC rival, Rock Falls at home Friday. Varsity tips at 7:30 p.m. ... Byron won the sophomore game, 46-41.