Muddy River Sports
March 9, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Nick Moore’s high school career can be summed up best by Al Davis’ catchphrase. Just win baby. The Camp Point Central senior, who was named a Class 1A second-team all-stater by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association this week, will graduate with a three-year winning percentage of .787 as the Panthers’ starting shooting guard…
Read Full Article March 9, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Through the first 12 minutes Friday night, the fourth-seeded Western Illinois University men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with top-seeded Little Rock in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinals. The eight minutes that followed is where the Leathernecks lost their edge. Tied at 21 following Drew Cisse’s layin with 8:20 remaining in the…
Read Full Article March 8, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Chad Boudreau chose not to call a timeout. Ryan Myers made it look like a genius move. A free throw by Tennessee State’s Kinyon Hodges with 17 seconds remaining in regulation Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament tied the game at 59 and gave Western…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Lauren Miller’s ability to create scoring opportunities for herself and her Central-Southeastern girls basketball teammates elevated her game to that of a first-team all-stater. The 5-foot-10 junior forward was named to the Class 2A all-state first team by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, one of three CSE players to be honored by the…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
MACOMB, Ill. — Had anyone other than Western Illinois University guard Raegan McCowan been named the Ohio Valley Conference’s women’s basketball Freshman of the Year, it would have been a bigger upset than 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson beating top-seeded Purdue in last year’s NCAA Tournament. McCowan won the OVC Freshman of the Week honor 13 times…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
MACOMB, Ill. — Drew Cisse’s impact on the defensive end of the floor for the Western Illinois University men’s basketball team could not be overstated. He altered shots and cleaned the glass as well as anyone. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound senior center was named the Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team learned just how difficult it can be to score against Williamsville’s ultra-aggressive 1-3-1 zone defense Monday night, getting held to 16 points over the final three quarters of a 36-32 loss in the Class 2A Springfield Super-Sectional at the Bank of Springfield Center. Photographer Andrea Ratermann shared…
Read Full Article March 5, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Here are the scores from the Illinois boys basketball super-sectionals and the pairing for the state tournament: Class 4A DeKalb Super-Sectional Palatine 55, Gurnee Warren 53 Normal Super-Sectional Normal Community 53, Downers Grove North 29 Chicago Super-Sectional Homewood-Flossmoor 60, Chicago Curie 58 Hoffman Estates Super-Sectional New Trier 65, Glenbard North 41 Friday’s games…
Read Full Article March 4, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — The Quincy Junior High School wrestling team crowned one individual champion at last Saturday’s Class AA sectional, finished second as a team and is sending six wrestlers to the state tournament. QJHS eighth grader Brylin Hill won the 145-pound weight class, beating Normal Parkside eighth grader Dayson Williams in the title match.…
Read Full Article March 3, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
HANNIBAL, Mo. — Pickleball is not only the fastest-growing sport, it is also a welcoming sport. Newcomers are always encouraged to join, especially during Drop-in Pickleball, which will be offered Tuesday night at the Admiral Coontz Recreation Center from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on March 5, 12, 19 and 26 and on April 9, 16,…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Ill. — Ian Case didn’t have to concern himself as much with getting in position to snare an offensive rebound as he did with getting back on defense. There weren’t many shots coming off the rim anyway. “Every shot that went up, I had to put a three up,” said Case, a 6-foot-7 senior…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
ABINGDON, Ill. — Size eventually won out, no matter what the Camp Point Central boys basketball team did to negate it. The Panthers neutralized Illini Bluffs’ height advantage — 6-foot-9 Hank Alvey towers above most Class 1A post players — for the better part of the first half Friday night in the Class 1A Abingdon-Avon…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — Welcome home. After enduring a seven-game losing streak on its season-opening road trip and falling out of the NCBWA Division II Top 25, the Quincy University baseball team used Friday’s home opener as a fresh start and took advantage of the comfortable confines of QU Stadium. Junior left-handed starter Griffin Kirn threw 6…
Read Full Article March 2, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team went 1 of 12 from 3-point range in suffering a 36-33 loss to Rockridge in the championship game of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Friday night, in a rematch with the Rockets in the Class 2A Canton Sectional championship game, the Bombers hit every target. Macomb went 9…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUINCY — For the third consecutive year, Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman earned top-10 honors in multiple writing categories in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing and photography contest. The APSE recognizes the best in sports journalism nationwide through its annual contest with more than 2,000 entries this year. The organization announced the top…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
Class 4A Pekin Sectional Championship Quincy High School (31-3) vs. Normal Community (29-5) Where: Dawdy Hawkins Gym, Pekin High School When: 7 p.m. Friday Livestream: Pekin Community High School YouTube page Radio: WGEM 105.1 FM Scouting the Blue Devils: Led by the inside-outside combo of junior forward Keshaun Thomas and junior guard Bradley Longcor III…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
Class 2A Canton Sectional Championship Macomb (27-5) vs. Rockridge (24-6) Where: Alice Ingersoll Gym, Canton High School When: 6 p.m. Friday Livestream: Bomber Sports Network Radio: WRMJ 102.3 FM Scouting the Bombers: Coming off the sectional semifinal upset of title favorite Peoria Manual, the Bombers’ biggest challenge will be to not have a letdown. Facing…
Read Full Article March 1, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
Class 1A Abingdon-Avon Sectional Championship Camp Point Central (25-8) vs. Illini Bluffs (32-3) Where: Abingdon-Avon High School When: 7 p.m. Friday Livestream: Central Illinois Sports on YouTube Scouting the Panthers: This group just knows how to win, whether that’s on the gridiron or the hardwood. The Panthers have won 52 basketball games the last two…
Read Full Article February 29, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team had three players receive postseason honors from the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Senior guard Robert Fry II and junior forward Seth Larson were named to the All-Heart second team, while junior guard Tai Walters-Whitaker received honorable mention. The 6-foot-1 Fry averaged a team-best 14.2 points…
Read Full Article February 28, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CANTON, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team authored a comeback and an upset Wednesday night that will remain part of Bombers’ lore for decades to come. That’s what never losing faith will do. “There’s a little basketball karma that came our way tonight,” Macomb coach Jerremy Anderson said. Down as many as 18 points…
Read Full Article February 28, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
ABINGDON, Ill. — Camp Point Central boys basketball James Barnett had complete faith Nick Moore was going to drain the game-clinching free throws no matter what had happened a minute earlier. “It might seem weird, but I felt more confident he was going to make those two because he had missed the previous two,” Barnett…
Read Full Article February 28, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
LAMONI, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team committed a season-high 18 turnovers in a 77-64 loss to Graceland University on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The sixth-seeded Wildcats end their first season under head coach Dorian Hobbs Jr. with a 14-15 overall record. Third-seeded Graceland…
Read Full Article February 27, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
MACOMB, Ill. — Not a week goes by without Western Illinois University freshman Raegan McCowan earning an Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball honor. This week, she earned two. Coming off a scintillating scoring effort in an overtime loss to Southern Indiana last Saturday, McCowan was named both the OVC Player of the Week and the…
Read Full Article February 27, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
SHELBINA, Mo. — Belle Roush didn’t come out of the locker room at the start of the second half Monday night. Her teammates didn’t let it faze them. The South Shelby girls basketball team’s all-conference junior forward scored 12 points in the first half to stake the Lady Birds to a 27-21 lead over Elsberry…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. — A perfect day with a perfect ending. A perfect place in history accompanied it, too. That’s what the Hannibal wrestling team earned Saturday. The Pirates had eight grapplers earn individual medals — three won championships — at the Class 3 state tournament at Mizzou Arena, enabling them to pile up an insurmountable…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Amber Louderback ended the season with her arm raised. The Camp Point Central sophomore pinned Seneca’s Sammie Griesen in the third period of their fifth-place match at 130 pounds Saturday, earning her second state medal in as many years in the Illinois girls wrestling state tournament at State Farm Center on the…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cody Culp wasn’t making the same mistake twice. A year after finishing as the Class 3 state runner-up at 138 pounds, the Hannibal senior wrestler didn’t allow his emotions to alter his approach before wrestling for the title at 144 pounds Saturday night at Mizzou Arena. “Last year, I was super nervous…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Tristen Essig’s familiarity with his opponent in Saturday night’s 132-pound championship match at the Class 3 state wrestling tournament gave him a blueprint for succes. “He knew I was going to be coming at him in neutral and pressuring forward,” Essig said of North Point’s Kaden Purler, who he had beaten twice…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The experience of battling with seniors daily in the wrestling room continues to pay off for Austin Brown. Now a state champion, he’ll be the one setting the tone in the future. Brown changed the momentum of the 113-pound title match against Carl Junction’s Carter Foglesong by getting a reversal with 18…
Read Full Article February 25, 2024 | By Muddy River Sports
QUEEN CITY, Mo. — Preston Brewer’s 6-foot-7 presence in the lane becomes a focal point for every opponent the Canton boys basketball team faces. Chris Alspaw’s job is to alleviate some of that pressure and force teams to extend their defense. Saturday, Alspaw and Brewer did their duties to perfection. Alspaw softened Schuyler County’s defense…
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