Sports Spotlight
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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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.…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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,…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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 —…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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,…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — Bear Bock found himself with what looked to be a breakaway layup in the second half, only to eventually run into some Bowling Green defenders blocking his path to the basket. No problem. Bock fired a behind-the-back pass to trailing teammate Luke Sheppard, who secured the toss and cashed in a layup.…
Read Full Article MOLINE, Ill. — The Quincy High School girls basketball team put a cap on one of the best regular seasons in program history. The Blue Devils limited Moline to 10 first-half points Thursday night and rolled to a 56-33 victory in Western Big 6 Conference play at Wharton Field House. Coupled with Rock Island Alleman’s…
Read Full Article LEBANON, Ill. — Which statistic best sums up why the Quincy University men’s basketball team suffered a 77-68 loss to McKendree on Thursday night? Could it be the 21.4 percent shooting from 3-point range? Or maybe it was allowing the Bearcats to make 11 treys and shoot 50 percent from beyond the arc? The fact…
Read Full Article LEBANON, Ill. — The problem the Quincy University women’s basketball team seemed to have fixed resurfaced Thursday night. Three quarters of quality play were undone by one rocky stretch. The Hawks led McKendree by one point heading to the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s Great Lakes Valley Conference, only to get outscored 11-2 over the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Having spent the past 14 years recruiting the I-55 corridor between Chicago and St. Louis, Quincy University football coach Jason Killday understands there is a wealth of talent between the two metro areas. You just have to look. “You have to be able to dig in the dirt a little bit and find…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — 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. Homewood-Flossmoor (9) 25-3 132 1 2. Curie (4) 25-2 130 2 3. Quincy 25-2 108 4 4. Downers North 22-4 73 6 5. Bolingbrook 21-4 67 8…
Read Full Article CHICAGO — 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. Loyola (7) 31-0 79 1 2. Alton 27-2 65 2 3. Bolingbrook (1) 23-3 63 3 4. Maine South 27-1 48 5 (tie) Nazareth 24-3 48 4…
Read Full Article QUINCY — A perfect season at home is one victory away. The Quincy High School boys basketball team improved to 12-0 at Blue Devil Gym this season with Tuesday night’s 78-33 victory over Rock Island Alleman in Western Big 6 Conference play. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the action.
Read Full Article MONROE CITY, Mo. — Palmyra took another huge step toward the Clarence Cannon Conference boys basketball championship Tuesday night. The storyline was a familiar one. “Defense,” Palmyra coach Brian Rea said. “It’s always defense.” There’s absolutely no arguing that point. The 48-25 victory over arch-rival Monroe City — which, like Palmyra, entered the game unbeaten…
Read Full Article MONROE CITY, Mo. — Palmyra girls basketball coach Kelsey Stuart referred to the rather one-sided 50-28 victory over rival Monroe City as “unfinished business.” There might have been a wink in her eye when she said that. At the very least, there was the distinct hint of a wry smile. Palmyra made no secret of…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Charles Dickens famously opened his historic novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” with the line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” During the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s 78-66 victory over Unity Tuesday night, both coaches felt those emotions — in the opposite order. In the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team improved to 14-9 with a 78-66 victory over Unity on Tuesday night at the Pit. The Raiders were paced by sophomores Jackson Connoyer with a career-high 16 points and Jace Allensworth with 14 points. Unity (13-12) placed three players in double figures — Melvin McMillen with…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — Culver-Stockton College guard Robert Fry II is the WinWon Heart of America Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week; the league announced Monday. Fry, a 6-foot-1 junior from Indianapolis, registered 20 points or more in all three Wildcat victories last week. He averaged 20.7 points, two rebounds and 2.3 assists per…
Read Full Article EAST PEORIA, Ill. — The Augusta Southeastern Junior High School seventh-grade boys basketball team will play for third place on Thursday night in the Illinois Elementary School Association Class 7-1A state tournament at East Peoria Central Junior High School. The Suns (19-5) will play Sigel St. Michael at 6 p.m. Thursday. Lincoln West Lincoln-Broadwell (26-2)…
Read Full Article Joining Owen Uppinghouse as a regional champion on Saturday were Quincy High School’s Bryor Newbold at 175 pounds and Eli Roberts at 150 pounds. Also advancing to the Class 3A sectional, to be held at Blue Devil Gym next weekend, was Hugh Sharrow (third at 113 pounds), Wyatt Boeing (second at 120 pounds), Evan Wakefield…
Read Full Article MACOMB – On this week’s two-game stretch through Missouri, the Western Illinois University men’s basketball showed everyone it is for real. After a victory over Lindenwood on Thursday night, the Leathernecks rolled past Southeast Missouri 76-55 on Saturday afternoon. The win was the largest conference victory for the Leathernecks (15-8 overall, 8-2 in Ohio Valley…
Read Full Article NORMAL, Ill. — Nothing is going to keep Keshaun Thomas down. With 1 minute, 55 seconds remaining in the first half of Saturday’s game against East St. Louis in the Midwest Crossroads Shootout, the Quincy High School boys basketball team’s junior forward was knocked to the floor, forcing a pause in the action and the…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — Brian Rea offered a hint late Friday night as to why the Palmyra boys basketball team enjoys playing defense so much. “It’s a mindset, and it’s a testament to our guys who have totally bought into it,” said Rea, the second-year coach whose club is now 19-1 following a 47-25 Clarence Cannon…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The final play was designed to go to Gage Scott, but when the ball eventually went into the hands of Lewis Siegfried, West Hancock coach Jeff Dahl knew his team was in good hands. Siegfried scored on a driving layup with two seconds to play, giving the Titans a 58-56 victory over the…
Read Full Article West Hancock’s comeback 58-56 victory over KIPP Academy of St. Louis on Friday night at the Pit was led by 6-foot-6 sophomore Cooper Knowles. He scored four points during a 12-4 run that got West Hancock within 44-42 at the end of the quarter, then scored the first three baskets in the fourth quarter —…
Read Full Article Bradley Longcor III scored 17 points to lead the Quincy high School boys basketball team to a 65-32 Western Big 6 Conference victory over United Township on Friday night. Junior guard Kamren Wires came off the bench in the second quarter to provide an offensive spark. He tipped in a missed shot, drilled a 3-pointer…
Read Full Article Here are the Associated Press boys prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points, and previous ranking. Class 4ASchoolW-LPtsPrv1. Homewood-Flossmoor (10)22-211722. Curie (1)23-210913. Waubonsie Valley (1)22-09144. Quincy22-27735. Lisle (Benet Academy)20-36576. Downers North20-44887. Normal Community22-44458. Bolingbrook18-33899. Collinsville23-330610. Gurnee Warren22-413NR Others receiving votes: Kenwood 9. Glenbrook North 8. Moline 5. New Trier 3. Rock…
Read Full Article Here are the Associated Press girls prep basketball polls with rank, team, first-place votes, record, total points, and previous ranking. Class 4A School W-L Pts Prv 1. Loyola (4) 29-0 66 1 2. Alton (3) 25-1 64 2 3. Bolingbrook 21-2 55 3 4. Nazareth 21-3 38 5 5. Maine South 25-1 37 4 6.…
Read Full Article During a 10½-minute stretch in the second half, Rockhurst made 15 of 20 shots from the field (including nine out of 11 from 3-point range) to turn a tie score into a 23-point lead on its way to a 100-79 victory in Pepsi Arena in a Great Lakes Valley Conference game. Quincy now sits in…
Read Full Article Cymirah Williams grabbed a season-high 18 rebounds and scored 16 points in Quincy University’s 62-55 victory over Rockhurst in a women’s college basketball game on Thursday night in Pepsi Arena. The double-double is the eighth of the season for Williams. The 18 rebounds are the fourth most in a single game in QU history. MRN…
Read Full Article PITTSFIELD, Ill. — The Quincy Catholic eighth grade boys basketball team won the Class 8-3A regional at Pittsfield on Thursday, defeating Athens 28-18 at Pikeland Community School. The Crusaders (16-3) will play at 6:30 p.m. Monday against Williamsville (17-8) in the sectional at Williamsville. The winner of that game will play in the IESA Class…
Read Full Article ST. CHARLES, Mo. – With the defense taking the majority of the headlines this season, it was the offense’s turn Thursday as the Western Illinois men’s basketball team topped Lindenwood 79-71 to improve to 14-8 overall and 7-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play, good enough for second place. The Leathernecks also improved to 5-1 on…
Read Full Article DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team gave nationally-ranked and defending NAIA national champion Clarke University all it could handle Wednesday night before losing 73-70 in overtime in a Heart of America Athletic Conference game at the Kehl Center. The Wildcats led 52-43 entering the fourth quarter. However, the fifth-ranked Pride outscored the…
Read Full Article DUBUQUE, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team outscored Clarke University 17-6 in overtime to post a 94-83 Heart of America Athletic Conference victory Wednesday night at the Kehl Center. The Wildcats, who have three of their last four games, improve to 10-11 overall and 8-9 in the Heart. They are in sixth place…
Read Full Article The Quincy Notre Dame girls basketball team earned a much-needed victory Wednesday night with a 55-37 decision over Pittsfield at the Pit. The Raiders rebounded 24 hours after getting thumped by crosstown rival Quincy High School 47-24. Notre Dame led 34-10 halftime and 43-19 after three quarters. Pittsfield (10-11) rebounded with a strong fourth quarter,…
Read Full Article MACOMB. Ill. — For the fourth time this season, the Western Illinois men’s basketball team will be on a nationally televised broadcast. For the second time this season, the Leathernecks will be on ESPNU. But for the first time this season and a first in program history, the broadcast will originate from Western Hall on…
Read Full Article Three consecutive 3-pointers by Bradley Longcor III created separation in the second quarter, giving the Quincy High School boys basketball team at 24-9 lead in its way to a 54-37 victory over Moline Tuesday night in Blue Devil Gym. Longcor finished with 19 points. MRN Editor David Adam captured some of the action from the…
Read Full Article The Quincy High School girls basketball team, ranked No. 8 in Class 4A, led wire-to-wire in a 47-24 victory on Tuesday night at the Pit. The Blue Devils held Quincy Notre Dame, ranked No. 3 in Class 3A, to its lowest offensive output in 97 games, dating to late in the 2020-21 season when the…
Read Full Article VIRGINIA, Ill. — The Southeastern Junior High School seventh-grade boys basketball team from Augusta punched its ticket to the Illinois Elementary School Association state tournament with a 57-24 victory over Bunker Hill Wolf Ridge in the Class 7-1A sectional at Virginia on Monday night. The Suns (18-4) advance to the Class 7-1A state tournament at…
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