Illinois
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central’s Amber Louderback and Macomb’s Kelly Ladd are each a victory away from reaching the podium at the Illinois girls state wrestling tournament. Louderback, at 125 pounds, and Ladd, at 135 pounds, both lost in the quarterfinals of their respective weight classes Friday, but rebounded for a victory in the wrestlebacks and…
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ABINGDON, Ill. — Dave Phelps tried to highlight the Brown County girls basketball team’s laundry list of accomplishments this season during his postgame speech Thursday night. Those aren’t easy to see through tears. A record-setting 31-win season and the second Sweet 16 appearance in program history came to an end in the Class 1A Abingdon…
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ABINGDON, Ill. — The physical play of the Havana girls basketball team kept Brown County from finding any offensive rhythm Thursday night and resulted in a 40-34 loss in the Class 1A Abingdon Sectional championship game. The Hornets end their historic season with a 31-4 record. Mount Sterling photographer Scott Bemis captured the action in…
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QUINCY — A combination of size and experience can carry a team. It’s what helped lift the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team to a sectional championship appearance a year ago. Wednesday night’s start to the postseason showed the Raiders are banking on it again. Senior post players Jake Wallingford and Alex Connoyer dominated on…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Lane Barker was not designed to take the last shot. Fortunately, he did. Barker, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, buried a 3-point field goal from the left corner with 2.4 seconds to play Wednesday night, sending Payson Seymour to a 41-38 upset of New Berlin in the Class 1A regional semifinals. New Berlin…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — A highly anticipated postseason matchup between the state’s preseason No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A and the area’s most consistently successful squad isn’t going to happen. Bushnell-Prairie City and a nagging injury saw to that. After the top-seeded Central boys basketball team pushed its way into Friday’s regional championship with a…
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QUINCY — Eight nights ago, Gavin Grothaus walked off the floor at The Pit with a bitter taste in his mouth. “That one kind of hurt,” the West Hancock sophomore said of the Titans’ 17-point loss to Quincy Notre Dame on Valentine’s Day at The Pit. Grothaus made sure he wouldn’t feel the same disappointment…
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PAYSON, Ill. — There’s always next season. That’s what Griggsville-Perry boys basketball coach Garrett White will be telling himself in the coming weeks and months. However, that likely won’t help soften the blow of Wednesday’s 56-53 overtime loss to Triopia in the Class 1A regional semifinals at Payson Seymour High School. The Tornadoes (24-9), who…
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QUINCY — A little more than a week after the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team secured its 20th victory of the season by beating West Hancock, the Raiders will have to do so again to keep their season alive. QND advanced to the championship game of the Class 2A QND Regional with a 75-47…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Central boys basketball team is taking advantage of playing the Class 1A regional on its home floor, knocking off Unity 63-47 in Wednesday’s semifinals. The Panthers will face Bushnell-Prairie City at 7 p.m. Friday in the championship. Camp Point photographer Mike Pritchard shared this photo gallery of the Panthers’ victory:
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PAYSON, Ill. — Lane Barker’s 3-pointer from the corner with 2.4 seconds remaining in the game gave the Payson Seymour boys basketball team a 41-38 victory over state-ranked New Berlin in the semifinals of the Class 1A Payson Regional on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Griggsville-Perry won 24 games during the regular season, but the Tornadoes’ season…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — Well, that didn’t take very long. Central-Southeastern had all but secured a Class 2A girls basketball sectional semifinal victory over Staunton before some patrons had found their seats Tuesday night at Pleasant Plains High School. CSE scored the first 18 points of the game, which quickly turned the contest into a…
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ABINGDON, Ill. — No one actually reached for the panic button. “We kind of hovered over it a little bit,” Brown County girls basketball coach Dave Phelps said. What kept the Hornets from hitting it is what made Tuesday night’s second-half rally possible. They never lost faith in each other. A nine-minute scoring drought in…
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PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team scored the game’s first 18 points and cruised to a 62-26 victory over Staunton in the Class 2A girls basketball sectional semifinals at Pleasant Plains High School. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the images from the game.
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ABINGDON, Ill. — The Brown County girls basketball team overcome a rough first half offensively by scoring 19 points in the third quarter and pulling away from Elmwood for a 47-35 victory in Tuesday night’s semifinals of the Class 1A Abingdon Sectional. Mount Sterling-based photographer Scott Bemis captured action and shared this photo gallery with…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Two Macomb wrestlers placed in the top five in Class 1A at the Illinois High School Association individual state wrestling meet at State Farm Center for the highest finishes by the Bombers since 2013. Max Ryner placed fourth in the 195-pound division after he was pinned by Coal City’s Joey Breneman in…
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MOUNT STERLING, Ill — Brown County’s record-breaking girls basketball season continues. Friday night’s 69-41 victory over Biggsville West Central marked the first time in program history the No. 3-ranked Hornets had won back-to-back Class 1A regional championships. The regional title further accents a season that has produced the most victories — 30 and counting —…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A sizeable crowd and a chance to win the first regional since 2009 created an atmosphere of excitement for the Pittsfield girls basketball team. All of that, combined with Hillsboro’s defensive pressure, led to shaky start to Friday night’s Class 2A regional championship game at Voshall Gym. The Saukees turned the ball…
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Friday night’s 69-41 victory over Biggsville West Central marked the first time in program history the No. 3-ranked Brown County girls basketball team had won back-to-back Class 1A regional championships. The regional title further accents a season that has produced the most victories — 29 and counting — since girls started playing organized basketball in…
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The season for the Pittsfield girls basketball team ended Friday night with a 56-39 loss to Hillsboro. The Hilltoppers (20-11) advance to the sectional at Pleasant Plains and will meet No. 1-ranked Quincy Notre Dame (31-1), the defending Class 2A state champions, at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the semifinals. Pittsfield finishes with an 18-14 record.…
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PETERSBURG, Ill. — Matt Long admittedly ran the full gamut of emotions Thursday night. “I felt like I went from about being ready to black out to relaxing on a yacht,” said Long, the girls basketball coach at Central-Southeastern. More than 15 minutes after CSE’s 31-28 nail-biting victory in the Class 2A regional championship over…
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HAVANA, Ill. — The style the Unity girls basketball team prefers to play was a mirror image of how they were defended on Thursday. “We speed people up a lot, and tonight, we got sped up,” Mustangs coach Brad Begeman said. Havana, ranked No. 9 in the final Associated Press Class 1A poll, forced 15…
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Central-Southeastern rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Petersburg PORTA 31-28 in the Class 2A regional championship game at Petersburg on Thursday night. CSE, which has won 10 of its last 11 games, moves on to play Staunton (26-6) at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Pleasant Plains in the sectional semifinals. Mike Pritchard provided Muddy River…
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Here are the Associated Press boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Lisle (Benet Academy) (14) 28-1 149 1 2. Moline (1) 28-3 134 2 3. Joliet West 25-5 115 3 4. Kenwood 24-6 101 4 5. Hinsdale Central 28-3 88 5…
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QUINCY — The Kroc Center is expanding its basketball league offerings to include a new youth learning league along with its men’s basketball leagues. The youth learning league will be offered on Saturday mornings from March 18-April 29. The men’s basketball leagues will take place on Tuesdays (Recreational-Silver) March 21-May 23 and Thursdays (Competitive-Gold) March…
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PITTSFIELD, Ill. — A last-second game-tying shot rolled off the rim, allowing the Pittsfield girls basketball team to survive a comeback by North Mac and win 48-46 in the semifinals of the Class 2A regional tournament on Tuesday night at Voshall Gym. The third-seeded Saukees (18-13) advanced to Friday night’s championship game against second-seeded Hillsboro,…
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Abbey McMillen’s free throw with no time left on the clock gave the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team a 36-35 victory over Pleasant Plains on Monday night in the Class 2A regional semifinal at Petersburg PORTA High School. Pleasant Plains tied the score at 35 when freshman Anna Weber scored from inside the lane with 27.9…
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An upset bid by Illini West slipped away in the closing four minutes of its 34-26 loss to Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the Class 2A regional semifinals Monday night at The Pit. The Chargers had closed within 26-24 but were outscored 8-2 down the stretch. MRN Editor David Adam captured images from the game.
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MENDON, Ill. — The Mustang Football Boosters will hold their annual spring dinner and auction from 5 p.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday, April 1, at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon. Admission is $10 person, which includes a pork chop dinner served from 5-7p.m. A silent auction will run throughout the night, with a live auction…
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GENESEO, Ill. — A pair of local wrestlers finished third in their respective weight class at the Geneseo Sectional and will grapple at the girls state wrestling tournament. Macomb’s Kelly Ladd and Camp Point Central’s Amber Louderback both rebounded from semifinal losses by winning their final two matches. Ladd, a sophomore at 135 pounds who…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — In a perfect world for Nick Moore, he would be playing run-and-gun, playground-style basketball. And defense? That would be little more than an afterthought. Realistically, however, Moore knows that’s not how it works for a successful high school team. “Yeah,” Moore said, trying to wipe away the expected grin. “I’d probably…
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The Quincy Catholic and Brown County seventh-grade boys basketball teams both captured third place at their respective Illinois Elementary School Association state tournaments on Thursday night. Quincy Catholic led from the start and rolled to a 42-22 victory over Abingdon-Avon in the third-place game of the Class 3A tournament at El Paso-Gridley High School. The…
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Here are the girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Fremd (4) 27-2 65 1 2. Bolingbrook (1) 24-3 62 2 3. Alton (1) 27-1 56 4 4. Geneva (1) 24-3 55 3 5. Kenwood 25-4 39 5 6. O’Fallon 27-4 33…
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Here are the boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Lisle (Benet Academy) (12) 26-1 120 1 2. Moline 25-3 106 2 3. Joliet West 23-5 94 3 4. Kenwood 22-5 85 4 5. Hinsdale Central 25-3 57 7 6. Brother Rice…
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QUINCY — Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent Saturday inside Quincy Notre Dame’s The Pit watching the KHQA-American Family Insurance Superfan Shootout unfold. Here are some of the images he captured throughout the day:
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MACOMB, Ill. — Macomb will be the host of the American Drug Free Powerlifting Federation (ADFPF) Single Event National Championships beginning at 9 a.m. March 4 in Brophy Hall on the campus of Western Illinois University. Macomb won the bid to host the 2020 meet but COVID-19 events forced the cancelation of the championship. Winning…
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MACOMB, Ill. — A pair of Macomb wrestlers won Class 1A regional titles and led a brigade of area wrestlers who qualified for the Clinton Sectional. Bombers senior Max Ryner improved to 45-2 with his championship at 195 pounds, while Macomb senior Carter Hoge will take a 42-6 record to sectionals after winning the title…
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The Quincy Catholic and Brown County seventh grade boys basketball teams will play for third place in their respective Illinois Elementary School Association state tournaments on Thursday. Quincy Catholic won its quarterfinal game on Saturday morning in the Class 3A tournament at El Paso-Gridley High School by the score of 33-25 over previously undefeated Crest…
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QUINCY — Matt Long is quick to point out his Central-Southeastern girls basketball team is still quite young with two sophomores and a junior in the starting lineup. “They haven’t been in the big wars,” he said. “Even if they were last year as freshmen, they don’t really understand what the big game is.” Still,…
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QUINCY — Just give Danny the ball. “That’s pretty much what we did,” Southeastern boys basketball coach Brett Ufkes said. “He usually makes me look good.” Sure, Ufkes was having a little bit of postgame fun Saturday when discussing senior Danny Stephens’ performance in the KHQA-American Family Insurance Superfan Shootout at Quincy Notre Dame’s The…
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QUINCY — Unity girls basketball coach Brad Begeman was paying senior Kylee Barry a compliment. Honest, he was. “I like to call her our Rodman, after Dennis Rodman,” Begeman said. Rodman was the controversial, but oh-so-effective part of three NBA championship teams with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. Barry is hardly a controversial figure…
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QUINCY — Gavin Grothaus has gladly accepted his role as the West Hancock boys basketball team’s sixth man. In fact, the sophomore guard relishes the role of being first player off the bench. “I’ve been the sixth man all year,” Grothaus said. “I like it because it gives me a little time to watch and…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — The 2022 prep cross country season was a true coming-of-age party for Arianna Neisen of Liberty. Following a super sophomore track campaign that ended with a state medal in the 3,200-meter run at the IHSA Class 1A state track and field championships in Charleston, one would think big things would be on…
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LIBERTY, Ill. — It’s no surprise Bowling Green’s Ben Chance showed up on the local and state scene in the fall of 2022 in an impressive fashion. The son of Bobcats coach Matt Chance, Ben has running in his blood, and it was only a matter of time before he made the big jump and…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A pair of area eighth grade boys basketball teams won Illinois Elementary School Association regional championships Thursday night. Brown County captured a Class 2A regional crown with a 47-34 victory over Liberty at Mendon. The Hornets (26-1) advance to Monday’s sectional against Colchester West Prairie (21-5) in Colchester. Griggsville-Perry won a Class 1A…
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Illinois boys basketball state rankings: Quincy sits No. 8 in Class 4A ahead of showdown with Moline
Here are the Illinois boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points and previous ranking. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Lisle (Benet Academy) (11) 24-1 110 1 2. Moline 22-3 97 2 3. Joliet West 20-5 83 3 4. Kenwood 19-5 74 4 5. Brother Rice 23-3 64 6…
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Here are the Illinois girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points and previous ranking. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Fremd (3) 24-2 55 2 2. Bolingbrook (2) 22-3 51 4 3. Geneva (1) 21-3 50 3 4. Alton 25-1 48 1 5. Kenwood 23-4 33 8 6. O’Fallon…
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QUINCY — Palmyra highly touted wrestler Collin Arch barely broke a sweat Saturday en route to winning the 152-pound class in the 31st annual Quincy Notre Dame Invitational. Arch, a three-time defending state champion who is ranked No. 1 in his weight class and No. 2 overall in Missouri, pinned all four opponents he faced.…
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QUINCY — Collin Arch did what Collin Arch always does. He wins. And a number of area wrestlers followed the Palmyra senior’s lead and built momentum for the postseason with successful endeavors Saturday during the Quincy Notre Dame Invitational at The Pit. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman sat matside during the finals and captured…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Central boys basketball coach James Barnett had a difficult decision to make. With his team obviously laboring in the midst of a third-quarter meltdown, Barnett opted to pull senior Isaac Genenbacher from the lineup. Often the heart and soul of the Panthers at both ends of the floor, Genenbacher was struggling…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Central boys basketball team used a fourth-quarter run to pull ahead and stay ahead in a 61-48 victory Friday night over West Hancock. It’s the third time this season the Panthers have beaten the Titans. Freelance photographer Mike Pritchard shared action photos from Friday’s game. Here is a gallery of…
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Boys basketball Quincy High School 57, Sterling 45 Central 61, West Hancock 48 Southeastern 60, Payson Seymour 51 Brown County 56, Liberty 40 Macomb 59, Havana 24 Griggsville-Perry 54, Beardstown 39 Pleasant Hill 60, Western 39 Kirksville 60, Hannibal 45 Macon 65, Palmyra 54 Mark Twain 60, Marion County 41 Girls basketball Hannibal 49, Kirksville…
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Okay, so it’s not Andy Reid, but publisher Bob Gough chats with Jerry Nall of Camp Point, who shares a striking resemblance to a certain football coach for a professional team in Missouri.
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Here are the boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points and previous ranking. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Lisle (Benet Academy) (12) 22-1 120 3 2. Moline 20-3 94 4 3. Joliet West 18-5 84 T8 4. Kenwood 17-5 83 1 5. Whitney Young 18-5 79 2 6.…
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Here are the girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points and previous ranking. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Alton (7) 24-0 79 2 2. Fremd 22-2 69 3 3. Geneva (1) 19-3 59 4 4. Bolingbrook 21-3 58 1 5. Normal Community 23-2 37 6 6. Whitney Young…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Quincy High School 80, Rock Island Alleman 35 Quincy Notre Dame 58, Illini West 44 Brown County 65, Payson Seymour 64 (OT) Central 48, Pittsfield 29 Macomb 71, Bushnell-Prairie City 41 Jacksonville Routt 49, Liberty 18 Palmyra 65, Brookfield 28 Highland 57, Monroe City 51 Canton 68, Mark Twain 66 Atlanta 69, Marion…
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QUINCY — Caleb Johnson listened to what others were saying. The Elsberry boys basketball coach wasn’t going to allow Southeastern all-stater Danny Stephens to alone beat the Indians. “I talked to coaches around the area and they said if you can contain him and make others beat you then you have a chance,” Johnson said. …
Read Full Article Boys basketball Unity 53, Rushville-Industry 46 Louisiana 64, Pittsfield 54 Tony Lenzini Tournament Van-Far 40, Monroe City 38 Hannibal 45, Clark County 35 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 44, Illini West 24 Quincy High School 31, Rock Island Alleman 29 Havana 37, Central-Southeastern 25 Louisiana 49, Pittsfield 44 La Plata 33, Marion County 25 Tony…
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PAYSON, Ill. — All of those running backs who were stopped dead in their tracks the past couple of seasons by Unity-Payson linebacker Bryan Dieker might find this funny. Five years ago, he didn’t know how to tackle. Those trying to defend Dieker on the basketball court might find this funny, too. Three years ago,…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Central 63, Payson Seymour 53 Illini West 42, Southeastern 41 Brown County 56, Triopia 47 Auburn 60, Pittsfield 52 (OT) West Hancock 87, Unity 36 80th annual Tony Lenzini Tournament Monroe City 42, Hannibal 41 Van-Far 49, Clark County 43 Girls basketball Quincy High School 56, Springfield 47 Unity 59, Pittsfield 27 North…
Read Full Article Boys basketball MLK Shootout at Bloomington Central Catholic Bloomington Central Catholic 79, Quincy Notre Dame 71 Eastbay Shootout Macomb 47, Rockridge 39 80th annual Tony Lenzini Tournament Palmyra 79, Highland 34 Canton 67, Mark Twain 47 Girls basketball Pittsfield 31, Beardstown 14 Jerry Logan Shootout Quincy High School 53, Abingdon-Avon 27 Unity 58, Macomb 26…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — It’s never over til it’s over. Somehow, the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team emerged Saturday night with the championship of the 30th Lady Panther Classic. CSE’s 36-32 victory over Brown County was fueled by a frantic final 1 minute, 47 seconds that saw the Panthers score 10 of the game’s closing 13…
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QUINCY — Area wrestlers staked their claim to the individual titles during Saturday’s Quincy Invitational at the QHS gym. Eight grapplers — four from Quincy High School and one each from Camp Point Central, Macomb, Palmyra and Quincy Notre Dame — won crowns, while the Blue Devils won the team championship. Muddy River Sports Editor…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Ashlynn Arnsmann felt Saturday night’s mission was simple. “We knew we had to bounce back,” the Unity senior center said. And bounce back the Mustangs did. Rather impressively, too. Arnsmann scored 17 points, reeled in seven rebounds and blocked two shots to help power the Unity girls basketball team to an…
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QUINCY — It’s rare to find a wrestling bracket with Collin Arch in the field and not see the Palmyra senior’s name on the top line. Yet, Saturday during the Quincy Invitational at the QHS gym, the three-time defending state champion and arguably the most accomplished high school wrestler this area has ever produced had…
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QUINCY — The strength of area wrestling programs was put on display Saturday during the Quincy Invitational at the QHS gym. Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman spent his afternoon matside and captured these images for a photo gallery:
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Similar script, different ending. Much, much different. The Brown County girls basketball team put the brakes on a five-game losing streak to Unity when the Hornets pulled off a surprising 47-43 come-from-behind victory Thursday night in the semifinals of the 30th Lady Panther Classic at Central High School. Brown County, ranked…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — If given an option, Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long likes his team to get up and down the floor as quickly as possible. But that personal preference is not any sort of prerequisite for the Panthers to win. Case in point: CSE’s 37-26 victory over Illini West in Thursday night’s…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Brown County girls basketball team handed Unity consecutive losses for the first time this season, while Central-Southeastern continued its winning ways as both teams battled their way into the championship game of the CSE Lady Panther Classic. Brown County, ranked fifth in Class 1A, knocked off second-ranked Unity 47-43 in…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Pittsfield 54, Rushville-Industry 51 Marion County 58, Madison 25 Winchester Invitational Tournament Jacksonville Routt 47, Central 43 Liberty 44, Calhoun 38 Girls basketball Quincy Notre Dame 51, Rochester 41 Marion County 48, Madison 22 CSE Lady Panther Classic Brown County 47, Unity 43 Central-Southeastern 37, Illini West 26 North Greene Lady Spartan Classic…
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Here are the Illinois girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points: Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Geneva (5) 14-2 72 2 2. Fremd (2) 17-1 67 1 3. Bolingbrook (1) 14-1 62 4 4. Alton 17-0 61 6 5. Normal Community 18-0 38 5 6. Maine South…
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Here are the Illinois boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points: Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Kenwood (8) 14-2 116 2 2. Whitney Young (4) 14-4 110 1 3. Lisle (Benet Academy) 18-1 93 3 4. Moline 15-2 83 5 5. Joliet West 15-4 67 6 6.…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Hancock County Tournament Southeastern 48, Unity 43 West Hancock 59, Illini West 38 Winchester Invitational Tournament Griggsville-Perry 52, Winchester West Central 49 Liberty 49, Carlinville 34 Girls basketball Quincy High School 46, Geneseo 44 (OT) CSE Lady Panther Classic South Fulton 48, Liberty 33 Lewistown 57, Rushville-Industry 23 Men’s basketball John Wood Community…
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CAMP POINT, Ill — Lauren Miller never broke a sweat, let alone panicked. “We knew it was going to be a long game,” the Central-Southeastern sophomore said. Long and grueling. Miller and her CSE girls basketball teammates were not rattled when Unity bolted to a sizable advantage in the first quarter of Tuesday night’s showdown…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Quincy High School 71, Geneseo 26 Canton 72, Highland 51 Kirksville 49, Palmyra 37 Monroe City 50, Hannibal 39 Marion County 47, Bucklin 32 Winchester Invitational Tournament Carrollton 53, Western 45 Triopia 65, Pleasant Hill 38 Girls basketball Palmyra 48, Kirksville 41 Canton 56, Highland 30 Bucklin 36, Marion County 34 Keokuk 48,…
Read Full Article Boys basketball Marion County 58, Wellsville-Middletown 53 Hancock County Tournament Southeastern 55, Illini West 37 West Hancock 72, Unity 50 Winchester Invitational Tournament Jacksonville Routt 76, Payson Seymour 70 (OT) Central 49, Brown County 40 Girls basketball Macomb 46, North Fulton 31 Centralia 62, Hannibal 37 Wellsville-Middletown 52, Marion County 42 CSE Classic Lewistown 44,…
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QUINCY — The countdown to the start of the 2023 dirt-track racing season is officially underway. Adams County Speedway operators Jim and Tammy Lieurance have announced opening night is scheduled for Sunday, April 2, which is now less than three months away. “We learned a lot last year and are anxious for year two,” Jim…
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Here are the boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Whitney Young (14) 12-4 140 4 2. Kenwood (1) 12-2 134 1 3. Lisle (Benet Academy) 16-1 110 8 4. Rolling Meadows 16-1 103 6 5. Moline 12-2 90 2 6. Joliet…
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Here are the girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record and total points. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Fremd (1) 15-1 91 3 2. Geneva (5) 12-2 89 10 3. Hersey 15-3 78 1 4. Bolingbrook (2) 13-1 77 4 5. Normal Community (2) 16-0 54 8 6. Alton (1)…
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AUGUSTA, Ill. — Second verse, same as the first. For the second time in less than a week, the Central boys basketball team dispatched rival Southeastern and on the same day both teams ended up in the Class 1A state poll nonetheless. Central’s 39-33 victory Wednesday night came in a grueling chest-to-chest contest where defensive…
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QUINCY — Joella Baker wasted no time leaving a lasting impression. Not long after the veteran triathlete was named the head coach of Duquesne University’s fledgling women’s triathlon program, she received an email from Quincy High School senior Alexandria Meyers expressing interest in competing for the Dukes. “When I heard who the coach was at…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach Matt Long referred to top-seeded Paris as “a monster.” Consider his squad the beast slayers then. The Panthers completed a remarkable run to the State Farm Holiday Classic championship Friday afternoon, making 5 of 6 free throws in the final 18.2 seconds to hand the Tigers their first…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The Central boys basketball team rebounded from a crushing last-second loss in Friday afternoon’s semifinals and defeated Southeastern 51-43 in the third-place game at the 76th annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Breyhar Wiskirchen led the Panthers (10-3) with 18 points. Isaac Genenbacher scored 12 for Central, and Drew Paben added 10. Danny Stephens scored 30…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Unity’s Kyra Carothers would have rather been anywhere else this week than the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic. “If I’m really honest with you, I dread this tournament,” she said. “It’s right after Christmas, and I just I want my break and blah, blah, blah.” Carothers also knows how much Unity coach Brad…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Because of the widespread success of the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players across all sports, it’s easy to forget how youthful the Panthers are. “I know,” C-SE coach Matt Long said. Still, a majority of the time, C-SE has three sophomores, sometimes four, on the floor. That makes this week’s run to the…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Muddy River News Editor David Adam provides a look at the title game of the Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic, which Unity won 55-46 over Brown County, through his camera lens:
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MENDON, Ill. — Maybe it was the tournament championship his team had just won. Or the appreciative response he was hearing from those who packed the gym at Unity High School. Or just possibly it was him soaking in all that is good about high school athletics on a warm December night. “This is what…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Al Davis would have been proud. Most of the players on the Southeastern boys basketball team likely have never heard of the former owner of the NFL’s Oakland/Los Angeles (now Las Vegas) Raiders, but their “Just win, baby” mentality showed Wednesday night in a 30-27 victory over Macomb in the quarterfinals of…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — This time, the roles were reversed. When the Unity girls basketball team defeated Illini West 50-35 in Wednesday night’s semifinals of the 40th Lady Tiger Classic at Beardstown High School, the victory helped exorcise at least some of the memories from a year ago. “(Illini West) beat us three times last season,…
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MACOMB, Ill. — It’s a good thing Central’s Nick Moore has a short memory. His 3-pointer with 3:10 remaining in the fourth quarter cut West Hancock’s lead to 47-45. Thirty seconds later, Moore launched what could have been the go-ahead shot from the corner. Instead, the ball hit the support behind the backboard. “That wasn’t…
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Matt Long made it sound so simple. “In the second half, I thought we had a lot of energy and effort and it turned the game for us,” the veteran Central-Southeastern girls basketball coach said. The tenaciousness defensively brought about by playing with more energy and effort certainly did that. A five-point…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Obviously, the victory itself was important for the Brown County girls basketball team. The 50-29 win Wednesday night over Havana moved the Hornets into the finals of the 40th Lady Tiger Classic at Beardstown High School while improving their record to 14-1. But of equal significance was how Brown County’s victory materialized.…
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NORMAL, Ill. — Having watched a nine-point advantage dwindle to three, the Central-Southeastern girls basketball players simply refused to let Kankakee Bishop McNamara draw any closer. The Panthers made their free throws, too. Central-Southeastern outscored Bishop McNamara 8-2 over the final 2 minutes, 40 seconds of regulation Tuesday night and earned a 36-27 victory in…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — A dynamic defensive effort pushed the Illini West girls basketball team back to the semifinals of the 40th Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic. The fifth-seeded Chargers held fourth-seeded Lewistown to two points in the second quarter and 10 points overall in the first half Tuesday, winning the quarterfinal matchup 42-26. Illini West (11-4)…
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MACOMB, Ill. — The top seeds held serve in each of the eight first-round games Tuesday in the 76th annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. The Illini West boys basketball team had the best shot at pulling off an upset. The Chargers led No. 3 seed Eureka 15-4 after one quarter and by as many as 14 points…
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MACOMB, Ill. — Muddy River News Editor David Adam provides photos from six games during the first round of the 76th annual Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Illini West vs. Eureka West Hancock vs. Canton (Ill.) Pittsfield vs. Macomb Southeastern vs. Abingdon Central vs. Lewistown Brown County vs. Farmington
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Tuesday’s Games Boys State Farm Holiday Classic At Normal West A Gym, Normal, Ill. No. 8 El Paso-Gridley 55, No. 9 East Dubuque 41 No. 1 St. Joseph-Ogden 78, No. 16 Annawan 28 No. 4 Rockford Lutheran 78, No. 13 Stanford Olympia 46 No. 5 Quincy Notre Dame 73, No. 12 Providence St. Mel 42…
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Monday’s games Boys MVIT At Mendon, Ill. Unity 63, Bushnell-Prairie City 40 Payson Seymour 53, Rushville-Industry 33 Girls Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic At Beardstown, Ill. Unity 59, Beardstown 27 Beardstown 48, South Fulton 41 Jacksonville Routt 55, North Greene 19 Macomb 63, Jacksonville Routt 56 Lewistown 62, West Hancock 40 West Hancock 51, Liberty 25…
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MENDON, Ill. — The Unity Athletic Hall of Fame added three members Monday night as the Class of 2022 was inducted during ceremonies between games of the Mississippi Valley Invitational Tournament. The induction class includes: Brian and Julie McAllister, athlete and supporters; Ken Ellerbrock, athlete and supporter; and Mike Myers, athlete. The Unity Athletic Hall…
Read Full Article Here is a look at the brackets for the high school basketball holiday tournaments involving area teams: Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic State Farm Holiday Classic — Small School Boys Bracket Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament US Bank Holiday Tournament Dixon-KSB Holiday Classic Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic State Farm Holiday Classic — Small School Girls Bracket
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