Valentine’s loving on the Hilltop hardwood

There’s going to be a little love shared on the court on Valentine’s Day when two former Princeton Tiger teammates meet at Illinois Valley Community College.

IVCC freshman Michael Murray will welcome former Tiger teammate Ryne Vrana and the Sauk Valley Skyhawks to the Hilltop hardwood. Tip-off is 7:30 p.m.

“Wish I could play with him, but I’ll enjoy playing against him,” Murray said.

“It should be fun,” Vrana said, a sophomore post for Sauk. “It’s a big conference game. We gotta revenge from last year’s loss at IVCC.”

The Skyhawks won the first meeting this year in Dixon, 86-68. Vrana had 18 points and 11 rebounds with Murray netting 11 points with 8 rebounds for IVCC.

At Princeton, Murray and Vrana teamed up for a regional championship in Vrana’s senior season. Both won two regionals at PHS.

The Eagles are coming off a 72-58 win over the Eureka JV on Saturday. St. Bede product Alec Schwab led the Eagles with 19 points and Murray added 12.

• Senior Jen Andes (Ladd/Hall) scored seven points for St. Francis University in a 110-73 loss to Olivet Nazarene Saturday in Joliet. She is averaging 5.4 points and 3.2 rebounds for the Saints (14-13).

• LaMoille’s Chelsea Gross, a sophomore guard, has played five games with one start for Monmouth, averaging 1.2 ppg for the Fighting Scots (12-9).

Ryan Nett, a senior captain from Spring Valley, has played in eight games for Gustavus Adolphus College (17-5) in St. Peter, Minn. He played, but did not score in the Gusties’ 68-52 win over Macalester Saturday.