David Adam, MRN Editor
VANDALIA, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team trailed for all but the opening minutes in Monday night’s 41-32 loss to Nashville in the Class 2A super-sectional at Vandalia High School. CSE got within 36-32 with 3:51 to play but didn’t score again, making just three free throws in the final eight minutes. Lauren Miller…
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WARSAW, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team was facing near-certain defeat when it trailed by nine points with 56 seconds remaining. Thirty-six seconds later, the Titans had a chance at a miracle. Pleasant Plains’ Owen Johnson missed two free throws with 33.8 seconds, and the Wildcats had the ball trailing 60-57. Gavin Grothaus…
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WARSAW, Ill. — After racing to an 11-3 lead in the first quarter, the West Hancock boys basketball team missed 11 straight 3-pointers to fall behind by as many as 15 points. A late comeback failed in a 64-60 loss to Pleasant Plains in the Class 2A regional championship game Friday night at Warsaw High…
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'I feel heartbreak for the kids': Bid for sectional title falls one point short for Notre Dame girls
DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better player to step to the free-throw line. Sophomore Ari Buehler, who had scored eight points in the fourth quarter and expertly handled Chatham Glenwood’s unrelenting defensive pressure to keep the Raiders close, was fouled near mid-court with eight-tenths of…
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DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team didn’t score a field goal in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but it rallied to take the lead in the third quarter and several times in the fourth quarter in a 44-43 loss to Chatham…
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WARSAW, Ill. — A pair of Hancock County rivals made their third meeting of the season a memorable one. The West Hancock boys basketball team outlasted Illini West 44-39 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Warsaw Regional on Wednesday night. It gave the Titans a 2-1 edge in the season series. MRN Editor David…
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Stratton clamps down on another top scorer, leads QND girls to 31st regional title in school history
JERSEYVILLE, Ill. — When Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne walked into the gym for practice on Tuesday afternoon, he noticed junior guard Sage Stratton was already shooting around. When Orne made eye contact with Stratton, he flashed the number two with his hand twice. Stratton quietly nodded and said, “I know.” Stratton…
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JERSEYVILLE, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team went a 19-2 run, punctuated by four 3-pointers, in the second quarter and went on to win 49-30 over Jerseyville on Thursday night in the Class 3A regional championship game. Tristan Pieper and Marie Eversman had one 3-pointer in the run and Sage Stratton made two…
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QUINCY — To take advantage of the switching man-to-man defense used by the Quincy High School boys basketball team, Rock Island tried to isolate K.J. Lamonte, its top scorer, on Keshaun Thomas, the Blue Devils’ 6-foot-5 junior forward. Every time Lamonte tried to slash to the basket in the first half, Thomas forced him to…
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QUINCY — To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Owen Uppinghouse believes he’s the man to beat at 165 pounds in Illinois. Uppinghouse won three matches this weekend in the Class 3A sectional in Blue Devil Gym to remain undefeated after 54 matches. The most important victory was a 3-0 decision over…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — How easy was it for the Quincy High School boys basketball team to score against a porous Jacksonville defense on Saturday night? One play in the second quarter provided a perfect example. Blue Devils guard Kamren Wires was about to be trapped by two Jacksonville defenders in front of the Quincy bench,…
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PAYSON, Ill. — The last two days of practice for the Griggsville-Perry boys basketball team were not much fun. Tornadoes coach Garrett White thought his team needed a lesson on toughness after it suffered a 54-50 loss on Tuesday to South County, snapping an eight-game winning streak. It was only the fourth time this season…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Michael Myers made four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points to lead Griggsville-Perry to a 60-32 victory over Payson Seymour on Friday night. The Tornadoes made 10 3-pointers in 17 attempts, while the Indians missed on 14 of their 16 3-point tries. MRN Editor David Adam took photos of some of the…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School girls basketball team led 21-3 after the opening eight minutes and went on to defeat Hannibal 56-26 at the QHS gymnasium. The game had a celebratory feel to it, despite the Blue Devils (23-6) coming off a loss on Saturday in Blue Devil Gym to United Township. QHS coach…
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'Owen's just a special kid': Uppinghouse clears first hurdle to state tournament with regional title
QUINCY — Phil Neally has worked with many successful teams and wrestlers during his 20 years as the head coach at Quincy High School, but as the 2023-24 season winds down, he knows his time to witness true greatness is dwindling. Neally has had a ringside seat for Owen Uppinghouse’s dominating senior season. The QHS…
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Joining Owen Uppinghouse as a regional champion on Saturday were Quincy High School’s Bryor Newbold at 175 pounds and Eli Roberts at 150 pounds. Also advancing to the Class 3A sectional, to be held at Blue Devil Gym next weekend, was Hugh Sharrow (third at 113 pounds), Wyatt Boeing (second at 120 pounds), Evan Wakefield…
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QUINCY — The final play was designed to go to Gage Scott, but when the ball eventually went into the hands of Lewis Siegfried, West Hancock coach Jeff Dahl knew his team was in good hands. Siegfried scored on a driving layup with two seconds to play, giving the Titans a 58-56 victory over the…
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Eight straight points, capped off by two 3-pointers, pulled Clopton within 40-37 with 6:40 to play in the game, but a driving layup by Raiders guard Ari Buehler broke Clopton’s momentum, and the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team held on for 44-37 victory on Friday night at the Pit. Junior Sage Stratton and sophomore…
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The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team held an explosive Madison (11-10) squad well below its season-average point total in a 54-47 victory on Friday night at the Pit. The Raiders kept the Trojans’ leading scorer Elijah Williams relatively in check. Williams averages 22 points a game and was limited to 13. QND has won…
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West Hancock’s comeback 58-56 victory over KIPP Academy of St. Louis on Friday night at the Pit was led by 6-foot-6 sophomore Cooper Knowles. He scored four points during a 12-4 run that got West Hancock within 44-42 at the end of the quarter, then scored the first three baskets in the fourth quarter —…
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Bradley Longcor III scored 17 points to lead the Quincy high School boys basketball team to a 65-32 Western Big 6 Conference victory over United Township on Friday night. Junior guard Kamren Wires came off the bench in the second quarter to provide an offensive spark. He tipped in a missed shot, drilled a 3-pointer…
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QUINCY — The Quincy University men’s basketball team traded punches (figuratively), verbal barbs and physical play (literally) during the first half of Thursday night’s game with Rockhurst. It appeared the trend would continue during the first two minutes of the second half, but Rockhurst took over with an overwhelming shooting performance. During a 10½-minute stretch…
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QUINCY — When she caught the pass from Karsyn Stratton at the top of the key, Taya Stevenson swears she never hesitated. Even though she hadn’t taken a 3-point shot the entire game. Even though she was only a 27 percent 3-point shooter this season. “I think I have confidence in myself, and my teammates…
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During a 10½-minute stretch in the second half, Rockhurst made 15 of 20 shots from the field (including nine out of 11 from 3-point range) to turn a tie score into a 23-point lead on its way to a 100-79 victory in Pepsi Arena in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game. Quincy now sits in…
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Cymirah Williams grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds and scored 16 points in Quincy University’s 62-55 victory over Rockhurst in a women’s college basketball game on Thursday night in Pepsi Arena. The double-double is the eighth of the season for Williams. The 18 rebounds are the fourth most in a single game in QU history. MRN…
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QUINCY — After 43 years of officiating football and 31 years of umpiring baseball, Fred Steinway hasn’t lost his enthusiasm for sports. “I’m basically out here for the kids and the love of the game,” he said. “I still feel as if I can do a good job, and all the friendships I’ve developed are…
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The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team earned a much-needed victory Wednesday night with a 55-37 decision over Pittsfield at the Pit. The Raiders rebounded 24 hours after getting thumped by crosstown rival Quincy High School 47-24. Notre Dame led 34-10 halftime and 43-19 after three quarters. Pittsfield (10-11) rebounded with a strong fourth quarter,…
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Three consecutive 3-pointers by Bradley Longcor III created separation in the second quarter, giving the Quincy High School boys basketball team at 24-9 lead in its way to a 54-37 victory over Moline Tuesday night in Blue Devil Gym. Longcor finished with 19 points. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the action from the…
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The Quincy High School girls basketball team, ranked No. 8 in Class 4A, led wire-to-wire in a 47-24 victory on Tuesday night at the Pit. The Blue Devils held Quincy Notre Dame, ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, to its lowest offensive output in 97 games, dating to late in the 2020-21 season when the…
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QUINCY — The longest road trip in the Western Big Six Conference seemed to last forever Friday night after a surprising loss to Sterling. “Man, that hurt,” Quincy High School junior Dom Clay said. “It was really quiet (on the bus).” The Blue Devils lost for only the second time in 22 games on a…
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