Jordan Johnson and Aarias Austin played each other in high school, each a starting guard for their respective Waukegan and Warren basketball teams.
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Last Friday night, they went head-to-head again, this time in the semifinals of the National Junior College Athletic Association championships, and it was Johnson’s John Wood team that got the better of Austin’s Des Moines Community College squad 72-61.
The next night, John Wood’s great tournament run ended with a 65-53 championship game loss to Richard Bland College from Arizona. The champions had a 23-point lead in the first half as John Wood was 7-for-36 from the field. Quincy-based John Wood (24-12) rallied to within five in the second half, but got no closer.
Johnson closed out his junior college career with 14 points and 11 rebounds. He was 4-for-19 from the field.
In the third-place game, Phoenix College beat Des Moines (28-7) 82-73. Austin was 5-for-8 on 3-pointers and had a team-high 19 points.
For the year, Johnson averaged 15.1 points and shot 34 percent on 3-pointers.
Austin averaged 13.7 points and shot 43 percent on 3-pointers.
Next winter, Johnson will play at Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Austin will play at Northern Iowa.
Marquette
Warren grad Kristiyan Trukov picked up his team-best 17th singles win of the season with a victory at No. 4 for Marquette in a 5-2 win over Xavier in Big East Conference play last weekend.
Trukov, a sophomore, is 17-12 in singles while playing at numbers 4, 5 or 6. In doubles, he’s 11-9 and has had five different partners. Marquette is 8-8 in dual meets.
Also on the Golden Eagles is freshman Scott Christian from Lake Forest. He is 2-4 in singles play and 3-3 in doubles.
Texas Christian
The Horned Frogs’ baseball team is 18-3 and starting catcher Evan Skoug is hitting .277 with three homers and 14 RBIs.
The freshman from Libertyville has thrown out two of 11 on attempted steals.
Northwestern
Northwestern’s softball team is 13-10, and senior Olivia Duehr from Antioch has hit four homers and driven in 19 runs in just 34 at-bats. She’s hitting .206.
Virginia
The Cavaliers’ men’s lacrosse team is ranked No. 8 in the county and is 6-2 this season.
Grayslake North grad A.J. Fish comes off the bench for the Cavs, and the sophomore has three goals and two assists this season.
Illinois State
The Redbirds’ baseball team is 10-10 with a roster flush with area graduates.
On the team are redshirt junior Paul DeJong from Antioch, freshman Derek Parola from Mundelein, redshirt freshman Tyler Feece from Vernon Hills, freshman Jeff Barton from Libertyville, and sophomore Danny Jackson from Lakes who played last year at the College of Lake County.
DeJong has started every game and the infielder is hitting .402 with seven homers and 24 RBIs. Those are team highs.
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Jackson has two hits in five at-bats this spring, and Parola has not played.
On the mound, Barton has pitched in relief in five games and has a 5.79 ERA, while Feece has gotten into two games and his ERA is 10.12.
Illinois
Stevenson grad Stephanie Miller is the second-best player this spring on the Illini women’s golf team.
The sophomore has averaged 74.83 for six rounds in two events this spring. Last fall, she averaged a team-best 74.92.
In women’s tennis, Deerfield grad Alexis Casati is 6-4 in singles matches and 7-5 while playing doubles with a variety of partners this spring for the Illini.
The sophomore plays No. 1 singles for Illinois and is 3-0 in league matches.