Illinois
CARTHAGE, Ill. — It all started with a piece of paper. Shawn Watkins Sr. will never forget the day his then 5-year-old son, Shawn Watkins Jr., returned home from Dallas City Elementary School with a flyer advertising the Little Chargers wrestling club — a youth wrestling organization in Carthage — and showed it to his…
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CHICAGO — Here are the latest Illinois Associated Press boys basketball state rankings, as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Kenwood (10) 25-1 109 1 2. Quincy (1) 25-2 95 3 3. Homewood-Flossmoor 25-2 89 2 4. Hinsdale Central 27-2…
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CHICAGO — Here are the latest Associated Press Illinois girls basketball state rankings, as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes are in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Kenwood (5) 27-2 78 3 2. Lisle Benet (2) 26-2 68 2 3. Lyons 28-2 63 1 (tie) Nazareth…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Sure, they played a game Tuesday night. But wrapped around what was registering on the scoreboard was a celebration, for both an unequaled senior class of players and a retiring coach whose 32-year mark with the Central-Southeastern program may never be matched. For the record, CSE turned back West Hancock 66-41…
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MENDON, Ill. — As the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball players prepared to take the floor Tuesday night, they had a little extra pep to their step. Credit, in part, goes to Mother Nature. “After we heard there’s a snow day (Wednesday), that just got us excited and we got after it,” Raiders junior guard…
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QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Tuesday, February 11: Boys basketball Quincy High School 76, Alleman 33 Quincy Notre Dame 80, Mendon Unity 39 Winchester West Central 69, Payson Seymour 63 Illini West 42, Camp Point Central 23 Brown County 55, Western 37 Beardstown 54, Pittsfield 43 Monroe City 68, Palmyra 44 South…
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QUINCY — Each week during Muddy Night Hoops powered by Farm & Home Supply — a 90-minute talk show centered on prep basketball — the Starry Star of the Week will be presented to one area student-athlete. Sponsored by Refreshment Services Pepsi, the Starry Star of the Week looks to highlight someone who did something…
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MENDON, Ill. — Yes, Kenzie Kassing was aware she had set the record. And yes, she remembered — with an obvious wince — how close she came a year ago before coming up one point shy. The Brown County girls basketball team’s sensational sophomore guard continued to rewrite the Hornets’ record book Monday night, scoring…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — Balanced and connected. When the West Hancock boys basketball team is both of those things — like it was on Monday — Titans senior guard Lewis Siegfried would hate to play against them. “It’s scary just thinking about it,” Siegfried said. The Titans put four players in double figures and clamped down…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Junior High School eighth grade boys basketball team is headed to the Illinois Elementary School Association state tournament. Camp Point Central and Augusta Southeastern are, too. The three squads won sectional championships in their respective classes Monday night, advancing to the state quarterfinals on Saturday. Quincy defeated Mt. Zion 32-23 at…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard from Monday, Feb. 10: Boys basketball West Hancock 64, Liberty 35 Payson Seymour 58, Beardstown 52 (OT) North Mac 49, Pittsfield 40 Southeastern 67, Pleasant Hill 53 Girls basketball Brown County 72, Mendon Unity 57 Pittsfield 65, Greenfield/Northwestern 36 Macomb 68, Illini West 49 Men’s basketball Clarke University…
Read Full Article MACON, Ill. — The Carthage Junior High School boys basketball team will play for third place in the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 2A seventh grade state tournament on Thursday night at Meridian High School. Carthage won its quarterfinal game 42-31 over Decatur Robertson on Saturday morning, then lost 37-27 to Stewardson-Strasburg in Saturday night’s…
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QUINCY — Eric Orne summed up what the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team faced Saturday night quite succinctly. “I don’t think we’ll see a team that good unless we make the final four,” he said. The QND head coach has won enough games and been to enough state tournaments to be able to gauge…
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QUINCY — The Quincy High School wrestling team qualified six grapplers for sectionals, while Quincy Notre Dame will be sending five wrestlers forward after top-three finishes Saturday as the postseason got started with regional action. Overall, five area wrestlers won individual regional titles and 24 advanced to sectionals. The Blue Devils, competing in the Class…
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QUINCY — Lauren Miller stood in the middle of the lane before an inbounds play with her hand cupped covering her mouth as she continually coughed. Moments later, she drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key that extended the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team’s first half lead over Palmyra on Saturday to eight points,…
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QUINCY — Hudson Bock’s surprise turned to delight in a blink. With the Palmyra boys basketball team leading Jacksonville Routt 58-57 in overtime, Bock turned a steal into a fastbreak which he figured he’d finish with a left-handed layup. The ball had other ideas, rolling off the right side of the rim. “I saw it…
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QUINCY — As his teammates moved the ball up the floor, Trey Smyser gravitated to one of his favorite spots on the floor. “I like shooting on the wing,” he said. Apparently so. The Monroe City senior guard buried a 3-pointer from the right wing in front of the Panthers’ bench with 49.1 seconds remaining…
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QUINCY — Lewis Siegfried, Gavin Grothaus and the West Hancock boys basketball team went on the attack. Trailing Clopton (Mo.) 13-12 with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter Saturday in the KHQA/American Family Insurance Superfan Shootout, the Titans went on a 15-0 run while holding the Hawks without a field goal for…
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QUINCY — An 18-point halftime lead steadily dwindled to four points by the start of the fourth quarter. Yet, the Pittsfield girls basketball team never panicked. “I like how we never felt like, ‘Oh, my gosh, they’re coming back,’” senior forward Madison Frieden said. “I felt we were pretty level-headed.” A Frieden layin with four…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Vince Cramsey is one of the premier guards in West-Central Illinois, and he’s just a sophomore. Cramsey punctuated the Liberty boys basketball team’s 49-42 victory Friday night over Payson Seymour, scoring seven of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Eagles to their fourth straight victory in front…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Friday, Feb. 7: Boys basketball Quincy High School 53, United Township 43 Jefferson City Helias 57, Quincy Notre Dame 45 Liberty 49, Payson Seymour 42 Camp Point Central 56, Rushville-Industry 36 Mendon Unity 76, Southeastern 62 Macomb 67, South Fulton 42 Brown County 69, Pittsfield 36 Pawnee…
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QUINCY — Brad Dance may not have seemed overly excited when the final buzzer sounded or when he got recognized following his 100th career win as the Quincy High School girls basketball coach on Thursday, but the fashion in which the Blue Devils helped Dance reach the century mark made him proud. The Blue Devils…
Read Full Article LIBERTY, Ill. — Any worries about a potential letdown were quickly extinguished. Two nights after posting an emotional victory over crosstown rival Quincy High School, the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team wasted little time in taking control in a West Central Conference matchup with Liberty. The state-ranked Raiders forced 16 turnovers and limited the…
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CHICAGO — Here are the latest Illinois Associated Press boys basketball state rankings, as voted on by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Kenwood (11) 23-1 119 1 2. Homewood-Flossmoor 23-2 106 3 3. Quincy (1) 22-2 103 2 4. Bolingbrook (1)…
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CHICAGO — Here are this week’s Illinois Associated Press girls basketball state rankings, as voted on by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes are in parenthesis: Class 4A Rank School Total Points Previous 1. Lyons (7) 27-1 95 2 2. Benet (1) 24-2 73 1 3. Kenwood 25-2 72 T3 4. Alton…
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QUINCY — Jamie Toole could feel the buzz. “It’s the energy, the smiles, the baseball stories,” Toole said. All are signs the Quincy Baseball Club, which will play its inaugural season in the Prospect League this summer, is on its way to a successful, fun-filled first season. The franchise hosted its first-ever event Tuesday —…
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HAMILTON, Ill. — West Hancock boys basketball coach Jeff Dahl tried his best to wrap his arms around what had just transpired. “This … was a grinder,” he said. West Hancock survived an overtime struggle with Fort Madison (Iowa), winning 74-67 Tuesday night to extend its win streak to nine in front of a crowd…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Tuesday, Feb. 4: Boys basketball West Hancock 74, Fort Madison (Iowa) 67 Liberty 59, Western 51 Payson Seymour 66, Pittsfield 50 Brown County 57, Southeastern 40 Monroe City 57, South Shelby 55 Canton 69, Putnam County 50 Moberly 66, Hannibal 42 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 66,…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Lauren Miller did not make any excuses, even after she vomited at halftime of the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team’s game against Pittsfield on Monday. “It was just from all the hacking and coughing,” she said. “It seems like that’s just going around.” Miller, like several of her teammates, felt under the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Monday, Feb. 3: Boys basketball Liberty 65, West Prairie 47 North Callaway 64, Highland 41 Wright City 61, Mark Twain 37 Marion County 51, Knox County 39 Girls basketball Central-Southeastern 60, Pittsfield 37 Brown County 52, Macomb 48 Highland 62, North Callaway 36 Canton 78, Atlanta 31…
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Hunters in Illinois harvested a preliminary total of 170,758 deer during all 2024-2025 archery and firearm seasons, which concluded Jan. 19. The preliminary total for 2024-2025 compares with a total harvest of 160,313 deer for all seasons in 2023-2024. During the 2024-2025 deer seasons, hunters took 46.27 percent females and 53.72 percent…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Saturday, Feb. 1: Boys basketball Quincy High School 49, Chaminade 44 Quincy Notre Dame 66, Monroe City 57 Illini West 50, Abingdon-Avon 42 Hale Bosworth 63, North Shelby 42 Girls basketball Sterling 42, Quincy High School 40 Quincy Notre Dame 57, Monroe City 27 Central-Southeastern 63, Cissna…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Friday, January 31: Boys basketball Quincy High School 84, Sterling 45 West Hancock 61, Camp Point Central 31 Liberty 63, Brown County 51 Payson Seymour 66, Southeastern 57 (OT) Macomb 56, Havana 22 South Shelby 72, Highland 44 Palmyra 64, Macon 45 Kirksville 43, Hannibal 31 Monroe…
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Sweet 16: Kassing scores 30 on her birthday as Hornets gain measure of revenge with win over Saukees
MT. STERLING, Ill. — Brown County sophomore Kenzie Kassing could have gotten her driver’s license on Thursday, but she chose to wait until Friday. She wanted as few distractions as possible from what awaited her Thursday night — a third crack at Pittsfield. “I had to lock in for the game today,” Kassing said. On…
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MT. STERLING, Ill. — The Brown County girls basketball team gained a measure of revenge Thursday night, beating Pittsfield 65-54. The Saukees won two previous meetings with the Hornets this season. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey was on hand and put together this photo gallery:
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CHICAGO — Here are this week’s Illinois Associated Press boys basketball state rankings, as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Kenwood (11) 22-1 135 2 2. Quincy (2) 20-2 118 1 3. Homewood-Flossmoor (1) 22-2 108 7 4. Bolingbrook 22-3…
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CHICAGO — Here are this week’s Illinois Associated Press girls basketball state rankings, as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Benet (10) 22-1 109 1 2. Lyons (1) 24-1 96 2 3. Alton 23-1 79 3 (tie) Kenwood 23-2 79…
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WARSAW, Ill. — Hunter Froman did a double take from the bench. Gavin Grothaus ran back on defense with his hands on his head and mouth wide open in disbelief. They were in awe of what Cooper Knowles had just done. It was just the cherry on top of a dominant sundae whipped up by…
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QUINCY — With a chance to leave zero doubt, the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team instead gave its opponent a slither of hope. It nearly erased the best stretch of basketball the Raiders had played in quite some time. “We got complacent,” Raiders junior forward Jackson Connoyer said. “Took our foot off the gas.”…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team scored eight of the game’s first 10 points Tuesday night and never trailed in a 61-48 victory over Illini West at The Pit. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman sat courtside and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard from Tuesday, Jan. 28: Boys basketball Quincy High School 90, Galesburg 35 Quincy Notre Dame 61, Illini West 48 West Hancock 72, Keokuk (Iowa) 28 Brown County 65, Payson Seymour 58 Pittsfield 40, Camp Point Central 37 Jacksonville Routt 62, Liberty 49 Macomb 55, Bushnell-Prairie City 29 Monroe…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Tucker Cook and Bodine Marable heard Pittsfield wrestling coach Johnathon Peterson’s plea loud and clear. Nearing the end of the final dual Monday night at the Camp Point Central quadrangular, the Saukees needed to rack up as many team points as they did individual victories to make a clean sweep. So…
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WARSAW, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team proved Friday night its victory over Macomb in late December was no fluke. The Titans controlled every aspect of the return engagement, ending with a 54-40 triumph Friday night at Warsaw High School. West Hancock is now 19-4 and within one win of a third straight…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Wednesday, Jan. 22: Boys basketball Greenfield-Northwestern 56, Pittsfield 39 Tony Lenzini Invitational Palmyra 69, Van-Far 39 Highland 55, Hannibal 45 North Shelby Tournament North Shelby 70, Schuyler County 68 (OT) Marion County 67, Knox County 50 Girls basketball Mendon Unity 51, Liberty 41 Tony Lenzini Invitational Hannibal…
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CHICAGO — Here are the latest Illinois Associated Press girls basketball state rankings, as compiled by a panel of sportswriters and sportscasters from across the state. First-place votes are in parenthesis. Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Benet (8) 20-1 125 1 2. Lyons (4) 22-1 114 2 3. Alton (1) 20-1 93…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Tuesday, Jan. 21: Boys basketball Payson Seymour 45, Camp Point Central 34 Illini West 60, Liberty 47 Jacksonville Routt 50, Griggsville-Perry 36 Tony Lenzini Invitational Canton 69, Brookfield 47 Monroe City 54, Clark County 33 North Shelby Tournament South Shelby 71, la Plata 51 Scotland County 89,…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — The Brown County girls basketball team could see the light at the end of the tunnel, but whenever the Hornets approached it Monday, it seemed to vanish. The Hornets only trailed by more than six points for 30 seconds in the final 10 minutes and were never down by more than eight…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — There was no letdown for the Macomb girls basketball team on Monday. Instead, the effort the Bombers put forth in the Jerry Logan Shootout against Mendon Unity was what Bombers coach Jackson Kane called “as close to a complete 32 minutes as we’ve had all year.” “We were making shots, defending at…
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CARTHAGE, Ill. — Monmouth-Roseville girls basketball coach Scott Weber knew how dangerous Reagan Reed — Illini West’s career points leader — would be. It was a matter of stopping everyone else. “Reed is going to get her points,” Weber said. “She’s a really good player who knows how to score. We knew she would get…
Read Full Article WARSAW, Ill. — Hunter Froman did not mince any words. “We thought it was going to be a cakewalk,” said the 6-foot-3 West Hancock sophomore, who was openly relieved once his club had managed to escape Saturday night with a hard-earned victory. West Hancock’s 47-39 win over Illini West in the game that decided the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Saturday, Jan. 18: Boys basketball Quincy High School 44, Lincoln 21 Tolono Unity 57, Quincy Notre Dame 54 Macomb 50, Monmouth-Roseville 33 Hancock County Tournament West Hancock 47, Illini West 39 Southeastern 63, West Prairie 53 Winchester Invitational Consolation Championship Payson Seymour 58, North Greene 55 Fifth-place…
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QUINCY — Two senior wrestlers entered Friday’s Quincy Invitational at 99 career wins and it did not take long for either of them to reach the century mark. Quincy High School’s Gunnar Derhake and Palmyra’s Luke Lawson each won their first-round matches to reach the 100-win plateau. At 165 pounds, Derhake defeated Pekin’s Trace Holmes…
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WARSAW, Ill. — Lewis Siegfried’s body language is obvious, and the confidence practically oozes from his fingertips with each release beyond the 3-point arc. “I can just feel it,” Siegfried said. “I know when I’m on.” The long-range senior assassin was certainly on Friday night. Siegfried poured through a game-best 21 points, including five 3-point…
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WARSAW, Ill. — Nothing has changed in the past week. Saturday night’s matchup between the Illini West and West Hancock boys basketball teams will decide the championship of the 104th Hancock County Invitational Tournament at Warsaw High School. From the start, that was the most anticipated pairing of the week-long, round-robin event. Both schools won…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Invitational brought a gym full of wrestlers to the Gem City and produced some epic matches on Friday’s first night of competition. The championship matches will take place Saturday afternoon at the QHS gym. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey spent his evening matside and put together this photo gallery:
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Friday, Jan. 17: Boys basketball Quincy High School 56, Rock Island 44 Palmyra 72, Centralia 58 Canton 56, North Shelby 49 Wellsville-Middletown 53, Mark Twain 41 Hancock County Tournament West Hancock 96, Southeastern 40 Illini West 65, Mendon Unity 63 Winchester Invitational Brown County 54, Liberty 47…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Thursday, Jan. 16: Boys basketball Marion County 75, Madison 16 South Shelby 64, Louisiana 49 Bowling Green 74, Mark Twain 24 Winchester Invitational Payson Seymour 59, Carrollton 48 North Greene 65, Griggsville-Perry 62 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 66, Rochester 31 Rock Island 45, Quincy High School…
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QUINCY — Playing at home for the first time since Dec. 20, the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team looked comfortable in familiar surroundings, running away from Pittsfield in a 69-40 victory Wednesday night at The Pit. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman was courtside and put together this photo gallery.
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CHICAGO — Here are this week’s Illinois Associated Press boys basketball state rankings as voted on by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Quincy (4) 16-1 80 1 2. Kenwood (2) 17-1 75 T2 3. Rich Township (2) 12-4 74 T2 4.…
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CHICAGO — Here are this week’s Illinois Associated Press girls basketball state rankings as voted on by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A School Record Total Points Previous 1. Benet (3) 17-1 48 1 2. Lyons (1) 19-1 43 2 3. Kenwood (1) 18-1 40 3 4. Alton…
Read Full Article WARSAW, Ill. — Mendon Unity boys basketball coach Keith Carothers was brutally honest Tuesday night when he was breaking down his club’s 91-42 loss to West Hancock. “They could have scored 120,” Carothers said. He meant the observation as both a compliment of West Hancock’s performance, which was accented by repeated end-to-end mercurial runs by…
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WARSAW, Ill. — The Illini West boys basketball team was missing its leading scorer and rebounder Tuesday night, but did not miss a beat. The Chargers kept their record spotless in the 104th Hancock County Tournament, turning back West Prairie 61-42 at Warsaw High School. Wesley Robertson, a 6-foot-1 junior guard averaging team highs of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Tuesday, Jan. 14: Boys basketball Quincy High School 71, Moline 56 Monroe City 66, Hannibal 49 Palmyra 70, Kirksville 65 Canton 67, Highland 43 South Shelby 66, Van-Far 34 Marion County 80, Bucklin/Macon County 46 North Shelby 60, Schuyler County 44 Hancock County Tournament Illini West 61,…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Ari Buehler knew the Pittsfield girls basketball team would not go away. “They’ll fight,” said Buehler, Quincy Notre Dame’s junior point guard. “They’ll keep coming back.” So will the Raiders. “We’re not going to step down when things get hard,” Buehler said. So when the Saukees erased an 11-point third quarter deficit…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — Pittsfield girls basketball coach Noah Mendenhall knows one result does not define a season. But in the Saukees’ case, one game could provide a snapshot of a team’s potential. On Monday, the state-ranked Saukees rallied from a 41-30 third quarter deficit against Quincy Notre Dame, the No. 2 team Class 3A, to…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A matchup of state-ranked teams turned out to be a nail-biter for the second week in a row. And the Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team found a way to come out on a top again. One week after beating fifth-ranked Central-Southeastern by a point, the Raiders knocked off Pittsfield, ranked ninth…
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QUINCY — The top-ranked Quincy High School boys basketball team heads a week that could define the Western Big 6 Conference title chase. The Blue Devils go to third-place Moline on Tuesday and play host to Rock Island on Friday. The Rocks and the Blue Devils are tied for the league lead at 5-0 and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Monday, Jan. 13: Boys basketball Marion County 67, Wellsville 37 Hancock County Tournament Mendon Unity 70, Southeastern 56 West Hancock 74, West Prairie 25 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 54, Pittsfield 49 Central-Southeastern 72, Payson Seymour 21 Brown County 61, South Fulton 27 Macomb 56, North Fulton…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Saturday, Jan. 11: Boys basketball Quincy High School 80, Springfield 56 Hancock County Tournament Illini West 54, Southeastern 46 Mendon Unity 80, West Prairie 72 (OT) Winchester Invitational Jacksonville Routt 42, Griggsville-Perry 35 Triopia 60, Western 26 Calhoun 62, Carlinville 46 Petersburg PORTA 45, North Greene 23…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Friday, Jan. 10: Boys basketball Quincy High School 90, Rock Island Alleman 34 Payson Seymour 56, Illini West 55 Williamsville 68, West Hancock 60 Rushville-Industry 61, Southeastern 43 Highland Tournament Third-place game Palmyra 62, Kirksville 57 Girls basketball Highland Tournament Third-place game Highland 31, Canton 29
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Thursday, Jan. 9: Boys basketball Brown County 63, Rushville-Industry 58 Triopia 75, Pleasant Hill 71 Calhoun 59, Payson Seymour 42 Cairo 59, South Shelby 56 Highland Tournament Canton 66, Palmyra 52 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 73, Beardstown 11 Quincy High School 61, Moline 58 Pittsfield 69,…
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HAMILTON, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team’s second-half plan was quite simple — put Mercer County away. The Titans went on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half and outscored the Golden Eagles 26-11 in the third quarter to run away with a 69-31 victory Wednesday night at…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Wednesday, Jan. 8: Boys basketball West Hancock 69, Mercer County 31 Liberty 78, Mendon Unity 76 Griggsville-Perry 39, North Greene 31 Girls basketball Illini West 47, Mendon Unity 40 South Shelby 78, Meadville 22 Highland Tournament Palmyra 54, Canton 34 Keokuk 54, Highland 44 Men’s basketball Central…
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HAMILTON, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team tuned up for a showdown with second-ranked Williamsville by whitewashing Mercer County 69-31 on Wednesday night at Red Rogers Gymnasium. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey was there and put together this photo gallery:
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CHICAGO — Here are the Associated Press boys basketball state rankings as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A Rank School Total Points Previous 1. Quincy (6) (13-1) 90 T2 2. Kenwood (3) (14-1) 80 1 (tie) Rich Township (1) (9-4) 80 NR 4. Bolingbrook (15-2) 74…
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CHICAGO — Here are the Associated Press girls basketball state rankings as compiled by a statewide panel of sportswriters and sportscasters. First-place votes in parenthesis: Class 4A Rank School Total Points Previous 1. Benet (4) (15-1) 72 2 2. Lyons (2) (16-1) 68 1 3. Kenwood (1) (16-1) 64 3 4. Alton (1) (16-1) 53…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Karly Peters diplomatically handled the question of whether Tristan Pieper fouled her. “I don’t know,” said Peters, a senior guard on the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team. “I mean, I think so, but it doesn’t really matter now.” With Quincy Notre Dame leading CSE 37-34 and three seconds left in Tuesday’s West…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — A battle of state-ranked teams unfolded the way you might expect — no breathing room for either. The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team, ranked sixth in Class 3A, outlasted Central-Southeastern, receiving votes in the Class 2A poll, 37-36 Tuesday night in Central’s North Gym. Muddy River Sports Photographer Addi Zanger…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Tuesday, Jan. 7: Boys basketball West Hancock 64, Beardstown 19 Illini West 54, Western 31 Macomb 60, Mercer County 31 Pleasant Plains 54, Pittsfield 30 Greenfield-Northwestern 66, Brown County 52 Highland Tournament Canton 56, Clark County 42 Kirksville 72, Highland 34 Keokuk 60, Macon 20 Girls basketball…
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BREESE, Ill. — How do you combat a 6-foot-6 presence looming in the middle of the lane who is 8 inches taller than anyone else on the court? Bury enough 3-pointers to make her wingspan inconsequential. That’s exactly what the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team did Saturday afternoon. The Panthers made six 3-pointers in the first…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is the area scoreboard for Saturday, Jan. 4: Boys basketball Jacksonville Routt 69, Payson Seymour 60 Griggsville-Perry 55, Illini West 43 Highland Shootout St. Louis Vashon 59, Quincy High School 56 Carl Sandburg Shootout West Hancock 57, Sherrard 47 Girls basketball Quincy High School 63, Springfield Southeast 42 Quincy Notre Dame 58,…
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SPRINGFIELD – Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 82,496 deer during the seven-day 2024 Illinois firearm deer season that concluded Dec. 8. Comparatively, hunters harvested 76,494 deer during the 2023 firearm season. The preliminary harvest for the second segment of the 2024 firearm season Dec. 5-8 was 27,835 compared with 22,883 deer harvested…
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QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team’s mission on Friday was simple — set the tone, not only for their West Central Conference game against Mendon Unity, but for the new calendar year and the grueling schedule that lies ahead. The Raiders did just that in dispatching the Mustangs 67-20. “You can’t be…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at the area scoreboard from Friday, Jan. 3: Boys basketball Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 58, Quincy Notre Dame 55 Mendon Unity 62, Griggsville-Perry 61 Calhoun 70, Brown County 55 South Shelby 73, North Shelby 60 Palmyra 60, Elsberry 52 Canton 68, Schuyler County 41 Clopton 73, Highland 26 Girls basketball…
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MENDON, Ill. — Everyone in the gymnasium knew sharp-shooter Blake Schwartz was going to take the shot with the Payson Seymour boys basketball team down three points in the final seconds of regulation, but it was up to his teammate, Nick Boone, to get him the ball. “Boone did a great job of being there…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — When Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long burned a timeout 2 minutes, 13 seconds into the second half Monday, his players fully understood why. “We had some dumb turnovers and silly decisions,” senior forward Lauren Miller said. A 14-point halftime advantage had been sliced in half as Bloomington Central Catholic opened the…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — For the first 41 years of the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic, the Pittsfield girls basketball team had never so much as reached the championship game. Now, in the 42nd edition, the Saukees have a tournament title to their name, and they will ring in the new year with a zero still in…
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MENDON, Ill. — The finish to the MVIT championship game was as exciting as any title game of any holiday tournament around. The Payson Seymour boys basketball team forced overtime with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from Blake Schwartz and then outlasted Mendon Unity 64-62 to win the title. Southeastern took third place with a 55-52 victory…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Pittsfield girls basketball team won the championship of the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic for the first time in the 42-year history of the event, beating West Hancock 53-40 Monday night to complete a four-game run through the tourney field. Muddy River Sports Writer Shane Hulsey was on site for the title…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Sure, winning a third consecutive championship at the State Farm Holiday Classic would be nice. The top-seeded Central-Southeastern girls basketball team received celebratory hugs and pats on the back after Saturday night’s 56-42 victory over Paris in the semifinals of the small school girls bracket. The Panthers earned a spot in Monday’s…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team took Rockridge’s punches. The Titans’ counterpunches came too late. The Titans could not crawl out of a 20-point deficit, and the Rockets won their second consecutive Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament title by defeating the Titans 66-59 on Saturday night at Western Hall. “We woke up a little…
Read Full Article BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Pittsfield girls basketball team better be aware of what West Hancock is doing. The Titans are chopping seeded opponents down to size. West Hancock, seeded 10th in the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic, upended a higher seeded opponent for the third straight game Saturday night, knocking off sixth-seeded Carrollton 48-47 in overtime…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The Brown County boys basketball team got accustomed to the early wakeup call. It resulted in the Hornets bringing home some hardware. After playing at 9 a.m. all three days of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament, the Hornets finally got to play an afternoon game Saturday, winning the consolation championship by defeating defeating…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Macomb senior guard Braden Holthaus was unusually tired after the first quarter of Saturday’s Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament third place game against No. 2 seed Peoria Christian. “I was exhausted,” Holthaus said. “That usually doesn’t happen.” The fourth-seeded Bombers playing their fourth game in 48 hours likely had something to do with that…
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MACOMB, Ill. — It was only fitting that Ethan Carlisle stepped to the free-throw line in the final seconds of overtime and put the finishing touches on a fifth-place finish for the Illini West boys basketball team at the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. His heroics at the end of regulation were the reason the Chargers were…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The play actually proved to be meaningless … which is why it was emblematic as well. The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team already had built a 30-point lead late in the third quarter Friday night and was on its way to a 56-25 victory over Winnebago in a quarterfinal game in the small…
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MACOMB, Ill. — West Hancock boys basketball coach Jeff Dahl barely recognized his team over the first quarter and change of Friday’s Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament quarterfinal game against Eureka. “It looked like we were disinterested, and I don’t know why because we have to win this to go on,” Dahl said. “It was really irritating.”…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Some of the area’s top underclass talent will go head-to-head Saturday with a berth in the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic championship game on the line. But don’t count out the old guard from having a say in which team advances. The top-seeded Pittsfield girls basketball team reached the semifinals with a 58-45…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Locked in. Those were the first words Macomb boys basketball coach Jeremy Anderson used to describe his team’s defensive performance against Mercer County in Friday’s Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament quarterfinal game at Western Hall. “I thought the effort defensively was outstanding,” Anderson said. After Mercer County shot 72.7 percent from the field in…
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MACOMB, Ill. — As the shots kept falling, all Tre Niederman could do was tip his cap. “There’s really nothing you can do when they don’t miss,” said Niederman, a senior guard on the Illini West boys basketball team. Rockridge put on a shooting clinic in the third quarter of Friday’s second round matchup with…
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