BCR basketball Notebook: LaMoille’s Tyler Billhorn, Princeton’s Noah LaPorte off to fast starts

Two area boys got off to fast starts to the 2023-24 basketball season.

LaMoille’s Tyler Billhorn led the Lions to a 2-2 record and a fifth-place finish at the AFC Thanksgiving Tournament, averaging 21.3 points, with a high of 29 points, and 11.0 rebounds a game.

He had double-doubles of 18 points and 13 rebounds and 24 points and 14 rebounds.

LaMoille coach Chance Blumhorst said Billhorn “worked his tail off this past offseason.”

Princeton junior Noah LaPorte came on strong for the Tigers at the Dean Riley Shootin’ the Rock Thanksgiving Tournament at Ottawa. After sitting out the first game, resting up from football, LaPorte had 41 points and 11 rebounds against Marengo and scored 32 points against Plano, both Tiger victories.

PHS coach Jason Smith said it’s LaPorte’s time to shine having played behind senior all-staters Grady Thompson, the program’s all-time leading scorer, and Teegan Davis.

“Honestly, his role changed. So is it a breakout? I think he got snubbed out of all conference and was underrated as a sophomore last year and was one of the better players on our team,” Smith said. “For him to come and do what he did, I don’t think it’s a breakout by any means. I think people expected it. Sometimes it’s harder to do what he did when it’s expected, not when it’s not expected.

“I think he’d be the first one to say he benefited from (having Thompson and Davis last year). I think a lot of attention was given to Grady and Teegan last year, so Noah got to come along on his own pace. But he belonged there from the get-go as a sophomore. For a kid that never played sophomore ball, went right from freshmen to varsity, that’s saying something about him.”

The Tiger coach said LaPorte is so much stronger this year “that it’s not even funny.”

Both Billhorn and LaPorte are up for NewsTribune Athlete of the Week honors, which can be voted for at https://newstrib.secondstreetapp.com/NewsTribune-Athlete-of-the-Week-Week-14-2023-24/

Bureau Valley used the play of senior guard Corban Chhim (14 ppg) and junior big man Landon Hulsing (12.4 ppg) to claim second place in Wally Keller Invite at Wethersfield.

Catch them while you can: If you’re planning on catching the Princeton boys basketball team at home this year, be sure to mark your calendar. The Tigers will only play at home seven times out of 32 games scheduled this year, starting with Tuesday’s game with Newman.

They will play more games at neutral sites (10), including the Ottawa Thanksgiving Tournament (4) and the Colmone Classic (4), which starts Saturday, than they will at home.

They will play what is the near equivalent of half (3) of their home games in Bloomington-Normal with a date at Normal U-High on Dec. 22 and a two-game set (Jan. 13, 15) in the Bloomington Central Catholic Martin Luther King Day Shootout.

Three home games will fall in one week - Jan. 8 (Kewanee), Jan. 9 (Ottawa) and Jan. 12 (Rock Falls).

Other home dates are Nov. 28 (Newman), Dec. 15 (Hall), Jan. 30 (Bureau Valley) and Feb. 2 (Mendota).

Their last six games will all be on the road leading into the postseason.

Princeton played 13 of their 28 regular-season games at home last year, including eight straight.

Another fallen Tiger: Injuries continue to plague the Princeton boys. Senior Jimmy Starkey, who had ACL surgery on his left knee in the spring of his freshmen year in 2021, tore his ACL and MCL on his right knee in the second game of the season on Monday, Nov. 20 at Ottawa and is lost for the season.

Junior Jordan Reinhardt is sidelined for 4-6 weeks with knee and ankle injuries from the same quarterfinal football game.

Senior post Bennett Williams tore his ACL in Week 5 of the football season and missed the rest of that campaign as well as basketball.

Last second shots: LaPorte’s 41 point-game is one of the best in school history. Rick Allen holds the school record with 46 points against St. Bede on Feb, 7, 1970, in a 93-73 Tiger victory. Other single-game highs are 44 by Roger Angel (December, 1960 at Pontiac Tournament) and 7-footer Rick “Huge” Larson (1968 at Morris) and 41 by Matt Wright (December, 2001 vs. Rochelle) and 40 by the legendary Joe Ruklick (January 1955 at Sterling).