USI Basketball

A Happy Homecoming

Saturday was an exciting day for the USI Screaming Eagles. Not only did the school crown a homecoming king and queen, but they also defeated a ranked University of Missouri-Saint Louis team in the final seconds. It was a very intense game for the 3,000 people in attendance at Screaming Eagles Arena.

USI came out strong and showed their power in the first half. At the 17-minute mark, the Eagles went on a 12-3 run that was led by forward Emmanuel Little and guard Kobe Caldwell. With a little over 2 minutes left, they had a comfortable 30-18 lead. Heading into halftime, Eagles were leading the Tritons with a score of 34-24.

The second half was not nearly as one-sided in favor of the Eagles as the first. The Tritons came out hot with an 11-2 run that gave them the 44-43 lead with less than 14 minutes to play. They quickly extended this lead to 10 points and were up 62-52 with only 5 minutes left in the game. But, this game wasn’t over in the eyes of the Eagles.

Emmanuel Little went on a 9-point burst to begin a 15-4 run to tie the game 66-66 with less than one minute left on the clock. The Eagles held the Tritons scoreless and got the rebound with 33 seconds left. Junior, Mateo Rivera, charged to the basket and got fouled with four seconds remaining. Rivera missed the first free throw but drained the second one. The Eagles were able to hold the Tritons scoreless in the final seconds. Eagles win. Free throws matter.

Being led by Emmanuel Little with 21 points, Mateo Rivers with 15 points, and Kobe Caldwell with 11 points, the Eagles were able to pull off a great upset that put them at 19-5 for the season and 11-5 in the GLVC.

The Eagles have four GLVC matchups remaining and are currently tied for third in the conference and play at Screaming Eagles Arena on Saturday against another GLVC opponent, the Lewis Flyers.

Super Bowl LIV

The Comeback that Lead to a Championship

The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers met at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida on February 2, 2020 to fight for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

The game ended in a 31-20 win by the Kansas City Chiefs to give them their first Super Bowl win since 1969. But, the game was not as straightforward as that score would imply. The Chiefs had to battle in the fourth quarter in order to become the champions.

In the first and second quarters, it was a very even game. The first half ended in a 10-10 tie between the opposing teams. However, in the third quarter, the 49ers began their run. Featuring a rushing touchdown by Raheem Mostert, San Francisco ended the third quarter with a 20-10 lead. It did not look like it was going to be a good outcome for the Chiefs… until the fourth quarter began.

In the last six minutes of the game, Patrick Mahomes and his offense took over. They had three touchdown drives in these final minutes. This included two completed touchdown passes to Travis Kelce and Damien Williams which put the Chiefs in the lead with about two minutes left. The 49ers were unsuccessful in their last chance drive, being stopped by a very determined Chief’s defense. Finally, a completed rushing touchdown by the Chief’s Damien Williams sealed the 31-20 win for Kansas City.

After leading his team through a great season and a Super Bowl win, Patrick Mahomes won the title of Super Bowl MVP. He set a record of being the youngest player, at 24 years old, to win this award. Mahomes joins Tom Brady as the only two quarterbacks to be crowned the MVP before they turned twenty-five.

This win ended a long, frustrating 50-year Super Bowl drought for the Chiefs and their loyal fans.

2020 NHL All-Star Weekend

An Action-Packed Weekend of an Action-Packed Sport

Ever since 1947, hockey fans look forward to the star studded, action-packed, hockey-filled weekend, the NHL All-Star Weekend. It is filled with crazy skills competition, everyone’s favorite players, and of course, the All-Star Game. The 2020 NHL All-Star Weekend took place in St. Louis at the Enterprise Center, which is home to the St. Louis Blues.

The weekend started with a Skills Competition on January 24, 2020, the night before the all-star game. The five events in this competition are “Fastest Skater”, “Save Streak”, “Accuracy Shooting”, “Hardest Shot”, and “Shooting Stars”. In the “Fastest Skater” competition, New York Islander forward, Mathew Barzel, took the win with a 13.175 second finish. The “Save Streak” title was taken by Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues even though Thomas Hertl tried to distract him with a Justin Bieber head cutout during his shot on Binnington. Carolina Hurricanes defenseman won the “Accuracy Shooting” competition after knocking down all five targets in 9.505 seconds. The “Hardest Shot” crown was taken by Shea Weber of the Montreal Canadiens with this 106.5 mph shot at the target. Lastly, in the new competition titled “Shooting Stars“, the players are places on a lifted platform behind the goal and must shoot at targets out on the ice. This competition was won by Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks.

When it came to the All-Star game, the players were split into four teams; Metropolitan, Central, Atlantic, and Pacific. Atlantic took on Metropolitan in the first semifinal game. Atlantic ended up getting the win, 9-5, led by captain David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins. Pacific then defeated Central in a 10-5 win in the second semifinal game. They were led by captain Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers. In the final game of the All-Star bracket, Atlantic took on Pacific in a very competitive matchup. It ended with a 5-4 Pacific win!

Click here to watch the best moments of the NHL 2020 All-Star Weekend!