Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — The jersey slipped on perfectly. It was trim and tight where it needed to be so Mike Staff had the sleek look of a basketball player, but it was loose enough for him to be able to twist, turn and attack without feeling constricted. He only wished he could do those things, but…
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WAVERLY, Ill. — The attention opposing defenses pay Abbey Schreacke is warranted. But if Blair Eftink and the rest of the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s starting five attack the basket with the kind of vengeance they did Tuesday night, opponents will find it harder and harder to double- or triple-team Schreacke. Stopping the…
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WAVERLY, Ill. — The team with a penchant for fourth-quarter magic needed to drum up another miracle moment. Shots have to fall for that to happen. Tuesday night, in the semifinals of the Class 2A Waverly Sectional, the Illini West girls basketball team couldn’t make a field goal to start a rally until the deficit…
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QUINCY — His voice quivered. His eyes glistened. And the words Andy Dougals felt best described the agony and ecstasy that bookended the past year were difficult to utter. “Damn, I didn’t know I’d get this emotional,” he said. So Douglas took off his glasses, dabbed at the corner of his eyes and took a…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Family YMCA is partnering with Kelly’s Tavern for the 30th annual Kelly’s Fun Run at 9:30 a.m. March 13. The race will take place primarily on Maine Street, which features a relatively flat track with slight hills. Participants registering by Feb. 28 are guaranteed a T-shirt. The cost to register is…
Read Full Article Boys basketball At The Pit, Quincy Class 2A Beardstown Regional Quincy Notre Dame 64, Rushville-Industry 25. Click here for the story and photos. At Carthage, Ill. Class 2A Beardstown Regional Illini West 69, Beardstown 50: Max Richardson scored 28 points and Nolan Deitrich added 14 as the Chargers advanced to the semifinals to face Quincy…
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QUINCY — Adam Moore’s description of Jalen Stamps’ offensive rebound in the waning seconds of Saturday’s game probably wouldn’t be fit for print and likely would draw an NC-17 rating if it were to go public. “If I was on live TV, I’d have to say, ‘Oh, I’m sorry,’” Moore said with a smile. But…
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QUINCY — Not once in Maddie Spagnola’s five seasons with the Quincy University women’s basketball program had the Hawks swept a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference games on the same weekend. So it’s easy to say she saved the best for last. With Dami Adeyinka scoring a career-high 19 points and Spagnola recording consecutive…
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QUINCY — At halftime of Saturday’s Class 2A Beardstown Regional quarterfinal at The Pit, the Rushville-Industry boys basketball team had as many turnovers as points. Quincy Notre Dame coach Kevin Meyer likes that ratio. “We got after it defensively and turned it back into offense,” Meyer said. “I was pretty happy with it. That’s a…
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QUINCY — Enough was enough. The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball players needed to address the reasons why they lost to West Hancock on the road Tuesday night and what was contributing to the Raiders’ recent slump. So when the coaching staff gathered them for practice at the Pit, the Raiders seized the opportunity to…
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QUINCY — Cameron Bergman knew what was potentially transpiring as Jeremiah Talton chatted with University of New Orleans assistant basketball coach Kris Arkenberg following Tuesday night’s game against Galesburg. So Bergman, a senior on the Quincy High School boys basketball team, waited around to find out if there was any news. “Did you get it?”…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
Read Full Article Men’s basketball At Pepsi Arena, Quincy Quincy University 86, Rockhurst 80. Click here for the story. Women’s basketball At Pepsi Arena, Quincy Quincy University 60, Rockhurst 53. Click here for the story.
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QUINCY — The extraneous noise that could have disrupted the Quincy University men’s basketball team’s season dissipated by the time Thursday night’s game rolled around. The Hawks weren’t going to listen anymore anyway. “Once the ball was rolled out there tonight, it was just play,” junior forward Adam Moore said. “It was just basketball. It’s…
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QUINCY — With her opportunities to play in Pepsi Arena dwindling and determined to put the Quincy University women’s basketball program on the right course to respectability before she leaves, Maddie Spagnola is playing with a chip on her shoulder. It’s bringing out the best in the punky senior guard. Spagnola spearheaded a spirited effort…
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QUINCY — Trying to find the right footing during the regular season finale against Galesburg on Tuesday night at Blue Devil Gym, the Quincy High School boys basketball team needed a jolt. Jeremiah Talton provided it. Trailing 11-9 with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter, Talton contested a shot by the Silver…
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The Show-Me Spotlight will appear each week to highlight Missouri area student-athletes. COLUMBIA, Mo. — For Collin Arch and Trevor Wilson, the goal is to repeat. For the rest of the area wrestlers competing this weekend at the Missouri state wrestling tournament, the goal is to join them on the podium. Arch, the Palmyra junior…
Read Full Article Boys basketball At Liberty, Ill. Liberty 62, Pittsfield 34: The Eagles, ranked fourth in Class 1A, finished off the regular season with a dominant defensive effort. Liberty led 18-4 at the end of the first quarter after allowing just one field goal, and the Eagles allowed no more than 11 points in any quarter. Balanced…
Read Full Article Boys basketball At Blue Devil Gym, Quincy Quincy High School 65, Galesburg 57. Click here for the story and photos. At Hamilton, Ill. West Hancock 68, Quincy Notre Dame 58. Click here for the story. At Camp Point, Ill. Central 50, Winchester West Central 43: The Panthers limited the Cougars to two field goals and…
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The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock…
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QUINCY — If you want to learn about a coach’s character in a cut-throat profession such as college basketball, look beyond the wins and losses. Take stock in what they say and how they say it when adversity threatens to bring them to their knees. Upon learning last Friday morning he was being fired immediately…
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QUINCY — Jeremiah Talton decided to act a little devilish. Envious of those who made winning a Western Big 6 Conference championship a point of pride within the Quincy High School boys basketball program and greedy enough to want to win the first WB6 crown of his career outright, Talton took that as inspiration and…
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QUINCY — Thirty-one minutes is all it took. The news of Ryan Hellenthal’s dismissal as the Quincy University men’s basketball coach broke at 10 a.m. Friday, and 31 minutes after that news hit social media, the first mention of a possible successor was posted. A plethora of posts followed. Fans in this basketball savvy community…
Read Full Article Boys basketball At Blue Devil Gym, Quincy Quincy High School 49, Rock Island 47. Click here for the story and photos. At Liberty, Ill. Liberty 57, Quincy Notre Dame 43. Click here for the story and photos. At Voshall Gym, Pittsfield, Ill. Pittsfield 56, Western 34: TJ Reel hit a pair of 3-pointers in the…
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QUINCY — To leave a legacy within Quincy High School’s tradition-rich boys basketball program, you have to put a number on the wall. Jeremiah Talton finally gets that opportunity. Bradley Longcor III and his classmates may end up doing it multiple times. Friday night, these Blue Devils earned the right to be part of history…
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QUINCY — Josh Rabe didn’t want to fall any further behind. So as the Quincy University athletic director debated when the appropriate time to dismiss Ryan Hellenthal as men’s basketball coach might be, he kept coming back to the same question. Why wait? “This is a matter of timing,” Rabe said Friday afternoon. “It’s just…
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The Prairie State Profile will appear each week to highlight an Illinois area student-athlete. PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Mason Davis refuses to get caught daydreaming. Sure, his goal is clear cut: Become a state wrestling qualifier. After that, there’s the hope of wrestling well enough to earn a medal and a spot on the podium at…
Read Full Article Boys basketball At Rushville, Ill. Central 79, Rushville-Industry 57: Panthers junior forward Isaac Genenbacher proved unstoppable in the post, scoring nine points in the pivotal second quarter. Central outscored Rushville 21-9 in the second quarter and maintained the double digit lead the remainder of the game. Genenbacher finished with a career-high 33 points without a…
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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — As Kaci Bailey entered the Quincy University women’s basketball team’s locker room following Thursday night’s game, the first-year coach sensed the Hawks expected her to be upset or discouraged. Instead, Bailey walked in clapping. “I was like, ‘Hell of a game,’” Bailey said as her depleted troops battled Truman State to the…
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CARROLLTON, Ill. — Football is in Cody Leonard’s blood. Try as he might to turn the page to the next chapter of his life, the former Quincy University All-American linebacker couldn’t ditch the itch to continue playing. Now, he has that opportunity. Leonard has signed a professional contract to play with the Kuopio Steelers in…
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