Matt Schuckman, Sports Editor
QUINCY — Braden Sheffield set his sights on the rim. Unfortunately, the Quincy Notre Dame junior guard never got the chance to get his hands on it. “Some things aren’t meant to be,” he said with a wry smile. Teaming with the Raiders’ Alex Connoyer and Jackson Stratton to create chaos each time the Western…
Read Full Article Boys Basketball At Ewing, Mo. Highland Tournament Palmyra 49, Knox County 42: The fourth-seeded Panthers outscored the fifth-seeded Eagles 20-9 in the second quarter and used it as a springboard to the semifinals. Bear Bock led the Panthers with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Laydin Lochman added 13 points as Palmyra coach Brian Rea…
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Here are the state rankings of Illinois high school girls basketball teams in each class for Jan. 5, 2022, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters. Class 4A School W-L Pts 1. Lisle Benet 14-2 59 5 2. Lincolnshire Stevenson (2) 17-1 57 NR 3. Arlington Heights Hersey (3) 14-3 54 1 4. Chicago…
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Here are the state rankings of Illinois high school boys basketball teams in each class for Jan. 5, 2022, according to an Associated Press panel of sportswriters. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Glen Ellyn Glenbard West (10) 14-0 100 1 2. Chicago Kenwood 12-2 87 3 3. Glenview Glenbrook South 13-1 72 T4…
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Boys Basketball At Mendon, Ill. Liberty 60, Unity 42: The Eagles got back on track following consecutive losses to end the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament with a dynamic defensive effort. Breiton Klingele led Liberty with 16 points, while Melvin McMillen led Unity with 12 points. At Barry, Ill. Illini West 74, Western 37: Trayton Anders scored…
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QUINCY — Ryan Hellenthal chose an apt description for how the final 30 seconds played out for the Quincy University men’s basketball team Tuesday night at Pepsi Arena. “Devastating,” the fifth-year coach said. Jeff Horner knew what caused the Hawks’ heartache. “Patience,” the Truman State coach said. Trailing by two points coming out of timeout…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Caydee Kirkham saved her best for last. The three efforts preceding her championship game performance at the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic weren’t too shabby either. The senior point guard on the Illini West girls basketball team nearly put together a triple double in a 66-51 victory over top-seeded Unity in the title…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Jake Wallingford’s ability to play above the rim changes how the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team attacks. It also allows him to go get the basketball whenever he chooses. In the opening round of the State Farm Holiday Classic against Rock Falls, the 6-foot-8 Wallingford rose above everyone else to grab…
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QUINCY — A 15-day layoff and a shortened bench proved to be too much for the Quincy University women’s basketball team to overcome once fatigue took hold. The Hawks trailed Truman State by five points at halftime in Tuesday night’s Great Lakes Valley Conference game at Pepsi Arena before allowing 21 points in the third…
Read Full Article Boys Basketball At Camp Point, Ill. Central 41, West Hancock 39: Nick Moore scored five of the Panthers’ seven points in the fourth quarter and helped them hold on down the stretch. Isaac Genenbacher led the Panthers with 18 points, while Colin LeMaire scored a game-high 20 points for the TItans. At Ewing, Mo. Highland…
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FOWLER, Ill. — Jennifer Taylor’s timing couldn’t have been better. To celebrate the new year and wash away what had been a misadventurous 2021, she decided to spend the afternoon and early evening of December 31 enjoying a wine tasting with a couple of friends. That allowed her husband, Brad, the freedom to do whatever…
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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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ST. LOUIS — Quincy University men’s basketball coach Ryan Hellenthal understood the toughness and grit of his players was being questioned following last Thursday’s loss to Missouri Valley College. “A lot of people were writing us off,” Hellenthal said. Pencil the Hawks back in. Forced to make a crucial basket with less than 15 seconds…
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QUINCY — With the deer hunting season in Illinois heading into its final weeks, harvest totals remain significantly lower than previous seasons. The archery deer season will run through January 16 and the late-winter antlerless-only and Chronic Wasting Disease seasons in designated counties will have three more days — January 14-16. The seven-day firearms season,…
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Matt Powers grew up in Quincy and was a senior on the 1996-97 Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team, which was the first coached by Scott Douglas in his legendary career. Now, aside from running his own financial planning and investment firm, Powers is the organizer of the Highland Shootout, one of the premier one-day…
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QUINCY — There is no time for the Quincy University men’s basketball players to dwell on defeat or lick their wounds. The Hawks have two days to regroup, regain their focus and rally together. Four Great Lakes Valley Conference games in eight days await, and the schedule is not kind. Following Thursday night’s 84-81 loss…
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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 37th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic At Collinsville, Ill. Wednesday’s Games At Auxiliary Gym Alton 61, Wasilla 31 At Vergil Fletcher Gym Troy Triad 46, Edwardsville 42 Belleville East 72. Oakville 45 Madison 38, Mundelein 28 Lincoln 51, Granite City 38 (fifth place) Rockford East 77, Belleville Althoff 55 (consolation championship) Collinsville 49, Quincy 34…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — A trend developed in the three days the Quincy High School boys basketball team spent at the 37th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic that has Blue Devils coach Andy Douglas legitimately concerned. His team keeps stumbling out of the blocks. It happened again Wednesday night in the third-place game against Collinsville. The…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball coach Kevin Meyer never saw the absence of two starters as a ready-made excuse for any setback. He viewed it more as a chance to grow. Having split two games Wednesday in the small-school bracket of the State Farm Holiday Classic, the Raiders showed considerable growth and…
Read Full Article Boys Basketball 37th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic At Collinsville, Ill. Tuesday’s Games At Vergil Fletcher Gym Afternoon session Decatur MacArthur 58, Madison 29 Quincy High School 33, Lincoln 30 Collinsville 60, Mundelein 36 O’Fallon 55, Granite City 24 Evening session Lincoln 24, Madison 19 Decatur MacArthur 58, Quincy 53 O’Fallon 50, Collinsville 49 Granite…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Faced with a setback for only the second time this season and denied a shot at a tournament championship for the first time, Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas both understood and appreciated the Blue Devils’ reaction. They were disappointed, not despondent. The Blue Devils squandered a two-point lead with…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Whew. That was the collective reaction from the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s bench and the throng of Blue Devil backers inside Vergil Fletcher Gym on Tuesday afternoon. The Blue Devils were held scoreless the first four minutes of the second half of the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic semifinal against…
Read Full Article Boys Basketball 37th Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic At Vergil Fletcher Gym At Collinsville, Ill. Monday’s Games Madison 55, Belleville East 48 Decatur MacArthur 53, Edwardsville 44 Quincy High School 73, Belleville Althoff 54 Lincoln 35, Alton 17 Mundelein 48, Oakville 29 Collinsville 82, Wasilla 49 O’Fallon 48, Troy Triad 31 Granite City 62, Rockford…
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COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — Sam Mulherin understands good things happen if you put yourself in the right position. Necessary things happen, too. Mulherin’s energetic pursuit of offensive rebounds helped the Quincy High School boys basketball team shake its first-half slumber and ignited a 31-point third quarter against Belleville Althoff on Monday afternoon at Vergil Fletcher Gym.…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Brad Tomhave’s birthday wish was quite simple. All he wanted was a victory. Five minutes into Monday’s first-round game of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament against Monmouth-Roseville, the Pittsfield boys basketball team didn’t look like it had anything gift-wrapped for the veteran coach. The Saukees allowed the Titans to score the game’s first…
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QUINCY — Anyone associated with the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball program understands how on-point a team is going to have to be to win the State Farm Holiday Classic small-school bracket. The Raiders have seen the top-seeded team at its best. QND lost to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 66-42 at the Pit on December 3…
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QUINCY — Which team is considered the favorite in the 37th annual Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic? Take your pick. “There are a lot of really good teams in the field,” Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas said. “I don’t know if there is a team that is head and shoulders better than…
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Often my wife, Michelle, laughs at my quirkiness. Other times she just rolls her eyes. It all depends on how off-color or out-of-bounds I get. When we’re taking a road trip together — our goal each summer or fall is to visit a different national park — the radio is constantly tuned to music. My…
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