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PALMYRA, Mo. — Different day, same approach. And more importantly, the same result. Just ask Jeremiah Edwards. “Defense is always our top priority,” Edwards said. “We know our offense will always pick up.” Edwards, a 6-foot-1 block-of-granite power forward for the Palmyra boys basketball team, was one of several Panthers extolling the virtues of their…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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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DANVILLE, Ill. — Trailing by 18 points with 16 minutes remaining in one of those must-have games, the John Wood Community College men’s basketball team didn’t do anything drastic or dramatic. “We just plugged away and plugged away,” JWCC coach Brad Hoyt said. The Trail Blazers avoided mistakes, too. JWCC limited Danville to 22 second-half…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — To win the Class 3 state championship, the Hannibal wrestling team needed more than its three individual titleists to separate itself from the field. That’s where the depth in the Pirates’ lineup paid off. Senior Koen Ramage finished second at 157 pounds and four others navigated the wrestlebacks to reach the podium…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Hannibal wrestling team made history Saturday night, winning the Class 3 state championship to become just the second boys team in school history to hoist a crown. The Pirates join the 1930 boys indoor track team as state champions. The Pirates had three individual champions — sophomore Austin Brown at 113…
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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — A hand injury has limited Ralph Wires’ ability to shoot the ball, but that didn’t stop the Quincy High School point guard from producing two of the biggest baskets Friday night. Wires made a pair of slashing drives to the lane on back-to-back possessions to ignite a game-closing 14-3 run for the…
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AUGUSTA, Ill. — With missed shots piling up and the loss of a halftime lead, the Camp Point Central boys basketball team needed to hit the reset button. Midway through the third quarter, Central coach James Barnett called a timeout and didn’t use the friendliest voice his team has heard this season in delivering his…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — While the regular season matchups belonged to Palmyra, the South Shelby girls basketball team still owns the postseason. The second-seeded Lady Birds outscored the top-seeded Panthers 21-2 during a 6 1/2-minute stretch beginning late in the third quarter Friday night to erase a six-point deficit and pull away for a 63-50 victory…
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WARSAW, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team was facing near-certain defeat when it trailed by nine points with 56 seconds remaining. Thirty-six seconds later, the Titans had a chance at a miracle. Pleasant Plains’ Owen Johnson missed two free throws with 33.8 seconds, and the Wildcats had the ball trailing 60-57. Gavin Grothaus…
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FARMINGTON, Ill. — A three-point halftime deficit wasn’t cause for alarm, but Macomb boys basketball coach Jeremy Anderson knew everyone needed to take a deep breath. The first half of Friday night’s Class 2A Farmington Regional championship against Sherrard had been too frantic. “The first thing we had to do was be poised and be…
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QUINCY — Here are the results of the Illinois boys regional championship and Missouri girls district championships and the sectional matchups from both sides of the Mississippi River. The Missouri boys district championships will be decided Saturday. Illinois girls Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional Tuesday, February 20 Game 1 — Quincy Notre Dame 63, Mahomet-Seymour…
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WARSAW, Ill. — After racing to an 11-3 lead in the first quarter, the West Hancock boys basketball team missed 11 straight 3-pointers to fall behind by as many as 15 points. A late comeback failed in a 64-60 loss to Pleasant Plains in the Class 2A regional championship game Friday night at Warsaw High…
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Pirates' pursuit of state wrestling championship off to solid start with eight grapplers still alive
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The title pursuit is in full swing. The Hannibal wrestling team had six grapplers each win twice Thursday and reach the semifinal round of the Class 3 state tournament, while two others rebounded from losses to remain alive in the wrestlebacks to give the Pirates a shot at the team title. Hannibal…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Camp Point Central’s Amber Louderback is chasing another state medal. The sophomore wrestler, who finished fourth last season at 125 pounds in the Illinois girls state wrestling tournament, is one victory away from earning a spot on the podium and a top-six finish at 130 pounds. Louderback opened by pinning Edwardsville’s Olive…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — There were quite a few blue T-shirts with white lettering scattered across the Central-Southeastern stands Thursday night. The message the shirts carried was a simple one: “Trust the Process.” CSE girls basketball coach Matt Long’s explanation of that phrase was not particularly complicated, but still rather poignant — even more so following…
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'I feel heartbreak for the kids': Bid for sectional title falls one point short for Notre Dame girls
DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team couldn’t have asked for a better player to step to the free-throw line. Sophomore Ari Buehler, who had scored eight points in the fourth quarter and expertly handled Chatham Glenwood’s unrelenting defensive pressure to keep the Raiders close, was fouled near mid-court with eight-tenths of…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — The loss that sent Palmyra junior wrestler Brayden Pillars to the blood round and jeopardized a spot on the podium wasn’t easy to shake. “It was a little stressful at first,” said Pillars, who suffered a quarterfinal loss to Maysville senior Brendan Barton in the 165-pound weight class in the Class 1…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Elly Lorenson finished on a high note. Back-to-back losses Thursday in the Class 1 girls state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena sent the Palmyra junior into the fifth-place match at 170 pounds, but Lorenson responded by pinning Lexington’s Karalena Steinhauser to punctuate her spot on the podium. Lorenson dominated Steinhauser, building a…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball players never lost faith in each other or the belief the sectional championship would be theirs, fending off Pleasant Plains 43-37 to win the Class 2A Beardstown Sectional on Thursday night. Photographer Mike Pritchard shared this photo gallery of the Panthers’ victory:
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PALMYRA, Mo. — The state-ranked Palmyra boys basketball team didn’t waste any time living up to the No. 1 district seed. Hudson Bock buried five 3-pointers in the first quarter Thursday night as the Panthers rolled to a 58-25 victory over Clark County in the Class 3 District 6 semifinals. Palmyra (25-1) will face third-seeded…
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DECATUR, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team didn’t score a field goal in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half, but it rallied to take the lead in the third quarter and several times in the fourth quarter in a 44-43 loss to Chatham…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are the updated Illinois and Missouri postseason basketball brackets: Illinois girls Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional Tuesday, February 20 Game 1 — Quincy Notre Dame 63, Mahomet-Seymour 46 Game 2 — Chatham Glenwood 51, Mt. Zion 34 Thursday, February 22 Game 3 — Chatham Glenwood 44, Quincy Notre Dame 43 Effingham Sectional…
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FAYETTE, Iowa — The opportunity for a late-season road victory that could propel the Quincy University men’s basketball team into the offseason presented itself Thursday night. The Hawks ended up one play away. Zion Richardson had his shot blocked by Upper Iowa’s Nick Reid with less than four seconds remaining in regulation and the Hawks…
Read Full Article FAYETTE, Iowa — The Quincy University women’s basketball team’s performance in Thursday night’s 81-57 loss to Upper Iowa mirrored how the season has transpired. It’s a second-half struggle. The Hawks trailed by seven points with seven minutes remaining in the third quarter of the Great Lakes Valley Conference contest at Dorman Memorial Gym before the…
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QUINCY — Bradley Longcor III’s performance in the final two games of the Western Big 6 Conference boys basketball title chase elevated Quincy High School to its 25th league crown and pushed the junior guard to the forefront as the league’s top player. Thursday, the WB6 coaches confirmed that. Longcor was named the conference MVP…
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EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — It wasn’t exactly how the Quincy High School boys basketball team drew up the final seconds of the Class 4A Edwardsville Regional semifinal against Alton, but it worked. Ralph Wires found a wide-open Keshaun Thomas in the post for the go-ahead basket with 1.8 seconds remaining in regulation to send the second-seeded…
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WARSAW, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team could never quite find its shooting touch from the perimeter in the season’s rubber match against Illini West. Fortunately, its defense showed up when it mattered most. Hunter Froman’s steal and layup with five minutes remaining gave the Titans their first lead since late in the…
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WARSAW, Ill. — Too many empty possessions. It was a recurring theme for the Pittsfield boys basketball team this season. The Saukees failed to score during the final five minutes of the first half and were unable to keep pace with Pleasant Plains after closing within four points early in the fourth quarter Wednesday night…
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WARSAW, Ill. — A pair of Hancock County rivals made their third meeting of the season a memorable one. The West Hancock boys basketball team outlasted Illini West 44-39 in the semifinals of the Class 2A Warsaw Regional on Wednesday night. It gave the Titans a 2-1 edge in the season series. MRN Editor David…
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ATHENS, Ill. — The snowball effect turned into a full-blown avalanche. It carried the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team right out of the postseason. Trailing Williamsville 10-0 less than four minutes into Wednesday night’s Class 2A Athens Regional semifinal, Raiders coach Kevin Meyer burned a timeout in hopes of settling down his time and…
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NEW BERLIN, Ill. — The Griggsville-Perry boys basketball team had opportunities to avoid a second and a third overtime. Jacksonville Routt made sure there wasn’t a fourth. The sixth-seeded Rockets took the lead for good with two minutes remaining in the third overtime and finished off a 55-53 victory over the second-seeded Tornadoes in the…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — Sydney Compton and Clare Williams each scored five first-quarter points as the Palmyra girls basketball team built a 10-point advantage and rolled to a 49-38 victory over Macon in Wednesday night’s Class 3 District 6 semifinals. The Tigerettes scored 15 second-quarter points to trim the deficit to six at halftime, but the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are the updated brackets for Illinois and Missouri postseason basketball tournaments. Illinois girls Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional Tuesday, February 20 Game 1 — Quincy Notre Dame 63, Mahomet-Seymour 46 Game 2 — Chatham Glenwood 51, Mt. Zion 34 Thursday, February 22 Game 3 — Quincy Notre Dame vs. Chatham Glenwood, 6…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Elly Lorenson is halfway to a state championship. The Palmyra junior won her first two matches at the Missouri Class 1 girls wrestling state tournament at Mizzou Arena on Wednesday to reach the semifinals at 170 pounds. Two victories Thursday will make her the first girls state champion from this area. Lorenson,…
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COLUMBIA, Mo. — Palmyra junior Brayden Pillars is one victory away from the podium. Pillars went 2-1 on Wednesday’s opening day of the Missouri Class 1 boys state wrestling tournament at Mizzou Arena and will need to win a blood round match Thursday morning to guarantee himself a top-six finish. Pillars (37-10) will face Tipton’s…
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LAMONI, Iowa — Graceland University outscored the Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team 41-32 in the second half to post a 75-66 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory Wednesday night at the Morden Center in Lamoni, Iowa. The Wildcats remain in a tie for fifth place with Peru State in the league standings after the Bobcats…
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LAMONI, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team suffered a fatal blow to its postseason chances with a 66-65 loss to Graceland University Wednesday night at the Morden Center. The loss, coupled with Peru State’s victory at Baker University, all but ended the Wildcats’ hope for a berth in the Heart of America Athletic…
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DECATUR, Ill. — Survive and advance. That’s all. “It was not our best game obviously,” Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne said after the Raiders eliminated Mahomet-Seymour with Tuesday night’s 63-46 victory in the semifinals of the Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional. “But you know at this time of year, you got to…
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Peters' free throws help CSE hold off Staunton's fourth-quarter surge and reach sectional title game
BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — Lauren Miller’s assessment was spot on. “We have to do better Thursday,” the Central-Southeastern junior forward said. The CSE girls basketball team escaped Tuesday night’s Class 2 sectional semifinal game with a hard-earned 56-50 victory over Staunton in front of about 600 fans at Beardstown High School. Central-Southeastern (28-2) advances to face…
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BEARDSTOWN, Ill. — The fourth quarter may have gotten a little too close for comfort, but the Central-Southeastern girls basketball team withstood Staunton’s late surge to secure a 56-50 victory in the semifinals of the Class 2A Beardstown Sectional on Tuesday night. Photographer Mike Pritchard shared this photo gallery from the game:
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at what transpired Tuesday night with Illinois girls sectionals and Missouri boys districts and a schedule for Wednesday’s action. Illinois girls Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional Tuesday, February 20 Game 1 — Quincy Notre Dame 63, Mahomet-Seymour 46 Game 2 — Chatham Glenwood 51, Mt. Zion 34 Thursday, February…
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QUINCY — Let the gauntlet commence. Wednesday night, regional play begins in the Class 4A Pekin Sectional, which is arguably one of the toughest boys basketball postseason paths from top to bottom. Of the 16 teams split into two sub-sectionals, 14 have winning records and every team has at least 11 victories. There are seven…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here is a look at the scores and schedules for postseason play throughout West Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri: Illinois girls Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional Tuesday, February 20 Game 1 — Quincy Notre Dame vs. Mahomet-Seymour, 6 p.m. Game 2 — Mt. Zion vs. Chatham Glenwood, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 22 Game…
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QUINCY — The one thing Tom Lepper promised ahead of his acceptance speech after being inducted into the Quincy University Sports Hall of Fame was that it would be brief. “I’m not a guy that tries to draw attention to himself, you know,” said the man who never openly sought the spotlight but couldn’t escape…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Elly Lorenson has no quit in her. The field assembled for this week’s Missouri Class 1 girls state wrestling tournament better realize that. The Palmyra junior is making her third consecutive state appearance beginning Wednesday at Mizzou Arena, having won a district championship at 170 pounds. It is her second district title…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Owen Uppinghouse admitted the sting wasn’t easy to shake. The Quincy High School 165-pound senior wrestler went to the Class 3A state tournament undefeated with his sights set squarely on becoming the fifth state champion in program history. A quarterfinal loss Friday morning to LaGrange Lyons’ Gunnar Garelli ruined that. Although he…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Now the real fun begins. The Palmyra boys basketball team capped a perfect run through the Clarence Cannon Conference on Saturday afternoon en route to securing its 19th straight victory — a 54-30 vanquishing of Highland. Next on the Panthers’ to-do list is to make a strong run in the Class 3…
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QUINCY — After six consecutive losses, the Quincy University men’s basketball team would have settled for any kind of victory. Registering a “team” win proved to be especially satisfying. Zion Richardson scored 22 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and the Hawks received valuable contributions from all 10 players who saw action…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — The Highland girls basketball team’s play in the second half Saturday afternoon bordered on the inexplicable. The Cougars, who at one point in the first quarter appeared to be on life support, completely overwhelmed Palmyra over the closing two periods to take a 47-38 Clarence Cannon Conference victory in the regular-season finale.…
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QUINCY — It wasn’t a slow start that that did in the Quincy University women’s basketball team this time. Instead, it was an erratic finish. Less than 48 hours after erasing a 29-point deficit to nearly upset the University of Indianapolis, the Hawks scored the opening 12 points and led Great Lakes Valley Conference co-leader…
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WENTZVILLE, Mo. — The Hannibal boys wrestling team is taking a strong contingent of grapplers, a district championship and the hope for more to the Class 3 state tournament. The Pirates had five grapplers win district titles Saturday, while five others finished in the top four as they all qualified for the Class 3 state…
Read Full Article MARCELINE, Mo. — The Palmyra boys wrestling team is sending two grapplers to the Class 1 state tournament. Brayden Pillars, a junior, finished second at 165 pounds Saturday in the Class 1 District 3 tournament, while sophomore Tyler Spicknall finished third at 132 pounds. They will wrestle in the two-day state tournament beginning Wednesday at…
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QUINCY — Kevin Meyer felt the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team was about to turn the “juice” loose. Alas, there was no juice. Only squeezing. And it was the Raiders who wound up getting squeezed over the final eight minutes Friday night in a 55-45 loss to Keokuk in front of a Senior Night…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Owen Uppinghouse’s dream of becoming just the fifth Illinois High School Association state wrestling champion in Quincy High School history was dashed Friday morning. Yet his chance to make history still exists. The senior who entered the Class 3A state tournament undefeated and ranked No. 1 at 165 pounds suffered a 5-1…
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DAHLONEGA, Ga. — The big hit the Quincy University baseball team is known for coming up with eluded the Hawks on Friday afternoon. One swing by North Georgia made that hurt even more. After Quincy, ranked 13th in the NCBWA Division II national poll, stranded the bases loaded in the eighth inning and left two…
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Stratton clamps down on another top scorer, leads QND girls to 31st regional title in school history
JERSEYVILLE, Ill. — When Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball coach Eric Orne walked into the gym for practice on Tuesday afternoon, he noticed junior guard Sage Stratton was already shooting around. When Orne made eye contact with Stratton, he flashed the number two with his hand twice. Stratton quietly nodded and said, “I know.” Stratton…
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ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Nobody can say Quincy High School didn’t earn the 2023-24 Western Big 6 Conference boys basketball championship. The state’s Class 4A fifth-ranked Blue Devils beat Rock Island for the second time in three days on Thursday evening, using a similar script to Tuesday’s home victory. Getting enough offense at the right…
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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Owen Uppinghouse’s title pursuit started with a flourish. Bryor Newbold’s began with a tussle. Both still have a shot at glory. The Quincy High School wrestlers opened the Class 3A state tournament at State Farm Center with first-round victories and will grapple in the quarterfinals Friday morning. Meanwhile, Quincy Notre Dame wrestlers…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — Karly Peters’ response was both euphoric and prophetic. “This feeling is amazing, and we’re not done yet,” said Peters, a 5-foot-9 junior forward for Central-Southeastern’s No. 6-ranked Class 2A girls basketball team. Peters was one of several Panthers who figured prominently in the CSE’s 44-41 victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin during…
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O’FALLON, Ill. — Brad Dance could feel how much the missed opportunities hurt. The Quincy High School girls basketball team trailed defending state champion O’Fallon 15-10 in the first quarter of Thursday night’s Class 4A regional championship, but had it not been for squandering a couple of offensive chances, the Blue Devils could have been…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team took advantage of the friendly confines of its home gym Thursday night, earning a 44-41 victory over Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin in the Class 2A regional championship in front of a standing room-only crowd. The Panthers went 14-0 at home this season while advancing to the Beardstown…
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JERSEYVILLE, Ill. — The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team went a 19-2 run, punctuated by four 3-pointers, in the second quarter and went on to win 49-30 over Jerseyville on Thursday night in the Class 3A regional championship game. Tristan Pieper and Marie Eversman had one 3-pointer in the run and Sage Stratton made two…
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O’FALLON, Ill. — The Class 4A sub-sectional the Quincy High School girls basketball team was assigned proved to be as challening as expected. The third-seeded Blue Devils suffered a 55-40 loss to second-seeded O’Fallon in Thursday night’s regional championship, ending Quincy’s season with a 25-7 record. Freelance photographer Paul Baillargeon put together this photo gallery…
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QUINCY — While the opponent changes, the story doesn’t. The Quincy University men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with Great Lakes Valley Conference leader Indianapolis for 30 minutes Thursday night, only to be outmuscled down the stretch in absorbing a 75-68 loss at Pepsi Arena. Back-to-back 3-pointers by David Ejah culminated a quick 8-0 run midway…
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QUINCY — It was nearly a comeback for the ages. After playing arguably its worst half of the season and trailing by 29 points two minutes into the third quarter Thursday night, the Quincy University women’s basketball team appeared headed toward a lopsided defeat at the hands of the University of Indianapolis. Instead, the Hawks…
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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Jesiah West carried the Western Illinois men’s basketball team in the final minutes Thursday night in a 62-55 victory at Tennessee Tech. The victory sees WIU improve to 16-10 overall and 9-4 in the Ohio Valley Conference, remaining in a tie for second place. The Leathernecks led most of the way, but…
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QUINCY — The Illinois state wrestling tournament begins at noon Thursday with five area wrestlers having qualified to grapple at State Farm Center on the University of Illinois campus in Champaign. Wednesday, they had the opportunity to visit the Illini wrestling facility in Huff Hall, get a workout in and prepare for the pursuit of…
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QUINCY — The outside doors to the Student Activity Center had been locked and a few of the inside lights dimmed by the time John Wood Community College men’s basketball coach Brad Hoyt emerged from the locker room after meeting with his team. “We’re just soul-searching a little bit,” he said. “We’re just trying to…
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QUINCY — The Saturday Morning Breakfast Club is ready to trade its name for something more meaningful and permanent. Something like “World Series champion.” That’s why 20 or more Quincy University baseball players gathered around 9 a.m. each Saturday during the offseason at the QU Health and Fitness Center to lift weights, do cardiovascular exercises…
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QUINCY — Winning at home has been a struggle for the John Wood Community College women’s basketball team this season. Until Wednesday night. The Trail Blazers scored the opening 12 points and 23 of the first 25 to coast to an 87-31 victory over winless Spoon River College in a Mid-West Athletic Conference game at…
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QUINCY — Griffin Kirn understands the expectation and the challenge. “It’s all about giving the guys a chance to win,” he said. The No. 1 starter in the Quincy University baseball team’s rotation has a history of doing just that. Over the past four seasons — the first two with left-hander Riley Martin as the…
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QUINCY — To take advantage of the switching man-to-man defense used by the Quincy High School boys basketball team, Rock Island tried to isolate K.J. Lamonte, its top scorer, on Keshaun Thomas, the Blue Devils’ 6-foot-5 junior forward. Every time Lamonte tried to slash to the basket in the first half, Thomas forced him to…
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WARSAW, Ill. — Fittingly, it was Jace Allensworth who sealed the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s 68-64 victory Tuesday night over West Hancock. Allensworth, a 6-foot sophomore guard, swished a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to cap a brilliant offensive night for himself and punctuate an impressive turnaround for the Raiders.…
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HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Palmyra boys and girls basketball teams, both ranked in Class 3 in the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association polls, continued to show Tuesday night why they are considered among the state’s elite. The Palmyra girls used a fourth-quarter surge to put away Hannibal 51-36 at Korf Gym. The Panthers, ranked seventh, limited…
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O’FALLON, Ill. — The Quincy High School girls basketball players didn’t get caught up in the scouting report or overly concern themselves with how Belleville East would attack. “They just want to go out and play and do what’s expected of them,” Quincy coach Brad Dance said. And they expected to earn a spot in…
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JERSEYVILLE, Ill. — A minute into Monday night’s Class 3A Jerseyville Regional semifinal, Jacksonville led the top-seeded Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team 4-2 and maybe saw a glimmer of hope it could pull off an upset. That faded fast. The Raiders went on a 9-0 run to take the lead and then held the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are the pairings for the Illinois girls basketball postseason tournaments: Class 1A Mendon Regional Saturday, February 10 Game 1 — Rushville-Industry 51, Payson Seymour 38 Game 2 — Liberty 58, West Prairie 7 Monday, February 12 Game 3 — Illini Bluffs 60, Rushville-Industry 25 Game 4 — Mendon Unity 48, Liberty 30…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — From Matt Long’s perspective, Monday night was a borderline disappointment — except for the final score. From the way Lauren Miller saw things, there’s room for improvement but a win’s still a win. The bottom line? The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team’s 18th straight victory was a little rough around the edges,…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The West Hancock girls basketball team opened Monday night’s Class 2A regional semifinal game with an impressive 16-point first quarter against Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin. Unfortunately, the Titans only scored 16 more points the rest of the game. Sacred Heart-Griffin’s defense and a ball-control offense in the fourth quarter combined to eliminate…
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O’FALLON, Ill. — The Quincy High School girls basketball team scored the game’s first 17 points and rolled to a 68-30 victory over Belleville East in Monday night’s semifinals of the Class 4A O’Fallon Regional. The Blue Devils (25-6) will face O’Fallon at 7 p.m. Thursday for the regional championship. Photographer Paul Baillargeon of Archview…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — The top-seeded Central-Southeastern girls basketball team and fourth-seeded Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin remained on a collision course as both won Class 2A regional semifinals Monday night at Central High School. The Panthers beat Pittsfield 51-28 and the Cyclones upended West Hancock 42-32. Freelance photographer Mike Pritchard shared this photo gallery from semifinal…
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CAMP POINT, Ill. — During the 25-2 regular-season record the state-ranked Central-Southeastern girls basketball team compiled, a milestone moment occurred that allowed current and former Panthers to celebrate the impact of their coach. Matt Long, who has been at the helm since the 1993-94 season, won the 600th game of his career, becoming just the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Here are the pairings for the Illinois girls basketball postseason tournaments: Class 1A Mendon Regional Saturday, February 10 Game 1 — Rushville-Industry 51, Payson Seymour 38 Game 2 — Liberty 58, West Prairie 7 Monday, February 12 Game 3 — No. 1 Illini Bluffs vs. No. 9 Rushville-Industry, 6 p.m. Game 4 —…
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The eighth-grade boys basketball teams from Quincy Catholic and Brown County will play for state championships on Thursday night after both won two games on Saturday. Quincy Catholic (19-3) will play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Tolono Unity High School against Metamora (27-1) for the Class 8-3A title. The same teams met last year in…
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QUINCY — To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Owen Uppinghouse believes he’s the man to beat at 165 pounds in Illinois. Uppinghouse won three matches this weekend in the Class 3A sectional in Blue Devil Gym to remain undefeated after 54 matches. The most important victory was a 3-0 decision over…
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JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — How easy was it for the Quincy High School boys basketball team to score against a porous Jacksonville defense on Saturday night? One play in the second quarter provided a perfect example. Blue Devils guard Kamren Wires was about to be trapped by two Jacksonville defenders in front of the Quincy bench,…
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STANFORD, Ill. — The appropriate response to a setback earned Quincy Notre Dame wrestlers Taylin Scott and Bradi Lahr spots in the Class 1A state tournament field. Scott won twice after losing in the semifinals of the Class 1A Stanford Olympia Sectional to finish third at 215 pounds, while Lahr won four consecutive matches in…
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QUINCY — The game featured all the ingredients of a blowout. The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team used full-court defensive pressure to hold Rushville-Industry without a field goal attempt during the opening four minutes Saturday night and created more turnovers (11) than points allowed (10) in the first half. The Raiders stretched their 21-point…
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ST. LOUIS — Another drought, another loss. It’s a trend the Quincy University men’s basketball team cannot shake. The Hawks were tied with Missouri-St. Louis at 42 with 13 minutes remaining in regulation of Saturday’s Great Lakes Valley Conference game when the offense went south. Quincy managed just two free throws over an eight-minute stretch,…
Read Full Article ST. LOUIS — Scoring just one field goal in the first six minutes of the second quarter Saturday put the Quincy University women’s basketball team in catch-up mode. The Hawks just couldn’t ever catch up. QU’s second-quarter drought enabled Missouri-St. Louis to build a 12-point advantage that, despite being whittled to four at one point…
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MOLINE, Ill. — How a game of such magnitude elicited such minimal energy from his players left Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas as dumbfounded as it did irritated. “There was just a different look on their face than we’ve seen out of the group,” he said. It wasn’t a good look. Facing…
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PAYSON, Ill. — The last two days of practice for the Griggsville-Perry boys basketball team were not much fun. Tornadoes coach Garrett White thought his team needed a lesson on toughness after it suffered a 54-50 loss on Tuesday to South County, snapping an eight-game winning streak. It was only the fourth time this season…
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PAYSON, Ill. — Michael Myers made four 3-pointers and finished with 19 points to lead Griggsville-Perry to a 60-32 victory over Payson Seymour on Friday night. The Tornadoes made 10 3-pointers in 17 attempts, while the Indians missed on 14 of their 16 3-point tries. MRN Editor David Adam took photos of some of the…
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LIBERTY, Ill. – Quincy Notre Dame forward Jackson Connoyer had to refocus after receiving a technical foul following a scramble for a rebound under his own basket midway through the second quarter Friday night. His actions resulted in two free throws that gave Liberty a seven-point lead. “I said things I shouldn’t have said,” Connoyer…
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KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The reaction to Friday’s news that Truman State football coach Gregg Nesbitt is retiring spoke volumes about the legacy he leaves. It’s one of respect, admiration and praise. Nesbitt has earned all of that. A native of Hannibal, Mo., who played football at Truman State (then known as Northeast Missouri State) in…
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PALMYRA, Mo. — Enough was enough. About halfway through the first quarter Thursday night, Palmyra girls basketball coach Kelsey Stuart had witnessed her club commit too many turnovers, miss way too many free throws and play a generally ineffective brand of basketball. She called for a timeout. What was actually said during that break in…
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