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QUINCY — The home slate didn’t end Saturday for the John Wood Community College men’s and women’s basketball teams. By sweeping a Mid-West Athletic Conference doubleheader from Illinois Central College — the JWCC men won 74-59 and the women won 61-52 — both will play host to quarterfinal games in the Region 24 postseason tournament…
Read Full Article QUINCY — It was a case of déjà vu. The University of Illinois-Springfield men’s basketball team sank its first 11 shots, needed just four minutes to build a 14-point lead and withstood a furious second-half rally by Quincy University on Saturday afternoon to secure a 97-89 victory in the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season finale…
Read Full Article QUINCY — The Quincy University women’s basketball team gained plenty of experience playing in close games this season. The next step is learning how to win them. The University of Illinois-Springfield outscored the Hawks 16-11 over the final 1 minute, 54 seconds Saturday afternoon to grind out a 79-74 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory in…
Read Full Article PEKIN, Ill. — Four seconds was all that separated the Quincy High School boys basketball team from one of its most inspirational and dramatic victories in many seasons. Instead, the Blue Devils walked off the floor at Dawson Hawkins Gymnasium bewildered and shocked moments later. An inbounds pass along the baseline from Tyler Sprick was…
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — Ian Case didn’t have to concern himself as much with getting in position to snare an offensive rebound as he did with getting back on defense. There weren’t many shots coming off the rim anyway. “Every shot that went up, I had to put a three up,” said Case, a 6-foot-7 senior…
Read Full Article ABINGDON, Ill. — Size eventually won out, no matter what the Camp Point Central boys basketball team did to negate it. The Panthers neutralized Illini Bluffs’ height advantage — 6-foot-9 Hank Alvey towers above most Class 1A post players — for the better part of the first half Friday night in the Class 1A Abingdon-Avon…
Read Full Article PEKIN, Ill. — It seemed so simple, right? Get the ball inbounds, let Normal Community foul, make a couple of free throws and force the Ironmen to take a desperation heave at the end. However, the Ironmen didn’t allow for the baseline inbounds play with 4.3 seconds left to be simple for the Quincy High…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Welcome home. After enduring a seven-game losing streak on its season-opening road trip and falling out of the NCBWA Division II Top 25, the Quincy University baseball team used Friday’s home opener as a fresh start and took advantage of the comfortable confines of QU Stadium. Junior left-handed starter Griffin Kirn threw 6…
Read Full Article PEKIN, Ill. — The Quincy High School boys basketball team fell behind 17-8 in the first half but rallied to take the lead on multiple occasions in the second half before losing 44-43 to Normal Community on Friday night in the Class 4A sectional at Dawson Hawkins Gym in Pekin. Quincy turned up the defensive…
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team went 1 of 12 from 3-point range in suffering a 36-33 loss to Rockridge in the championship game of the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament. Friday night, in a rematch with the Rockets in the Class 2A Canton Sectional championship game, the Bombers hit every target. Macomb went 9…
Read Full Article ABINGDON, Ill. — The Camp Point Central boys basketball team knows just how big of a road block Illini Bluffs senior forward Hank Alvey can be. For the second year in a row in a sectional championship game, Alvey and the Tigers ended the Panthers’ season. Friday night, in the Class 1A Abingdon-Avon Sectional title…
Read Full Article AMES, Iowa — Jirehl Brock no longer has to worry what a conviction on a tampering of records charge might entail. Friday, the former Quincy High School all-state running back learned the charges against him and three other former Iowa State University athletes were being dismissed by a Story County judge after evidence showed the…
Read Full Article QUINCY — For the third consecutive year, Muddy River Sports Editor Matt Schuckman earned top-10 honors in multiple writing categories in the Associated Press Sports Editors writing and photography contest. The APSE recognizes the best in sports journalism nationwide through its annual contest with more than 2,000 entries this year. The organization announced the top…
Read Full Article Class 4A Pekin Sectional Championship Quincy High School (31-3) vs. Normal Community (29-5) Where: Dawdy Hawkins Gym, Pekin High School When: 7 p.m. Friday Livestream: Pekin Community High School YouTube page Radio: WGEM 105.1 FM Scouting the Blue Devils: Led by the inside-outside combo of junior forward Keshaun Thomas and junior guard Bradley Longcor III…
Read Full Article Class 2A Canton Sectional Championship Macomb (27-5) vs. Rockridge (24-6) Where: Alice Ingersoll Gym, Canton High School When: 6 p.m. Friday Livestream: Bomber Sports Network Radio: WRMJ 102.3 FM Scouting the Bombers: Coming off the sectional semifinal upset of title favorite Peoria Manual, the Bombers’ biggest challenge will be to not have a letdown. Facing…
Read Full Article Class 1A Abingdon-Avon Sectional Championship Camp Point Central (25-8) vs. Illini Bluffs (32-3) Where: Abingdon-Avon High School When: 7 p.m. Friday Livestream: Central Illinois Sports on YouTube Scouting the Panthers: This group just knows how to win, whether that’s on the gridiron or the hardwood. The Panthers have won 52 basketball games the last two…
Read Full Article JACKSONVILLE, Ill. — Jake Hoyt knew to be ready. With the Illinois College men’s basketball team facing Grinnell in the Midwest Conference Tournament championship last Saturday, it was an all-hands-on-deck mentality. So the freshman point guard from Quincy Notre Dame figured to see an uptick in his minutes. “It’s a different kind of game when…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Lauren Miller’s game is drawing interest from NCAA Division I and II women’s basketball coaches throughout the Midwest. For good reason. The Central-Southeastern junior forward was named a Class 2A second-team all-stater this week by the Illinois Media. She is the only area girls player to be named all-state in any of the…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team had three players receive postseason honors from the Heart of America Athletic Conference. Senior guard Robert Fry II and junior forward Seth Larson were named to the All-Heart second team, while junior guard Tai Walters-Whitaker received honorable mention. The 6-foot-1 Fry averaged a team-best 14.2 points…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Andy Martinez has gone from a cub reporter as a student at Quincy University to a Cubs reporter producing digital content for the Marquee Sports Network. The Chicago native is a 2015 graduate of QU who returned to the Windy City after a stint working at the Quincy Herald-Whig. He landed a job…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Over the past 20 years, the Quincy High School athletic department has been led by four different directors who each previously had been a coach at some level within the school district. Will the next athletic director have a similar background? Wednesday night, the Quincy School Board approved Superintendent Todd Pettit’s recommendation that…
Read Full Article CANTON, Ill. — The Macomb boys basketball team authored a comeback and an upset Wednesday night that will remain part of Bombers’ lore for decades to come. That’s what never losing faith will do. “There’s a little basketball karma that came our way tonight,” Macomb coach Jerremy Anderson said. Down as many as 18 points…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Matt McClelland’s roots are in the dirt. He feels it’s about time he got back to it. After spending more than 20 years teaching and coaching in the Quincy Public Schools, including the past three as the Quincy High School athletic director, McClelland will become the next director of the West Central Region…
Read Full Article O’FALLON, Ill. — Bradley Longcor III believes he and his Quincy High School boys basketball teammates have more quarters in them like the second quarter of Tuesday night’s game. After Belleville West’s Jordan Lacey hit a 10-foot jump shot to tie the score at 16 on the first possession of the second quarter, the Blue…
Read Full Article O’FALLON, Ill. — With four seconds left in the first half and his team leading 42-22, Quincy High School boys basketball coach Andy Douglas took Bradley Longcor III off the floor to prevent him from picking up his second foul. However, after Belleville East had an over-and-back violation, leaving one second on the clock, Douglas…
Read Full Article Photo Gallery: Four Blue Devils score in double figures in dominant performance over Belleville West
O’FALLON, Ill. — Junior guard Bradley Longcor III scored 28 points in a 74-46 victory for the Quincy High School boys basketball team on Tuesday night over Belleville West in the Class 4A sectional semifinal in the Panther Dome at O’Fallon Township High School. Dom Clay scored 11 points, and Ralph Wires and Keshaun Thomas…
Read Full Article ABINGDON, Ill. — Camp Point Central boys basketball James Barnett had complete faith Nick Moore was going to drain the game-clinching free throws no matter what had happened a minute earlier. “It might seem weird, but I felt more confident he was going to make those two because he had missed the previous two,” Barnett…
Read Full Article PALMYRA, Mo. — The St. Louis Priory boys basketball team had not beaten an opponent with a winning record. Until Tuesday night. That’s when Priory stunned heavily favored Palmyra 40-29 in a Class 3 sectional game played before a crowd of about 1,200. Priory, which entered the evening with a rather pedestrian 14-14 record and…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — As they walked to the locker room at halftime trailing by only two points, the Canton boys basketball team found themselves with a legitimate chance to earn a spot in the Class 2 state quarterfinals. Trace Combs put an end to those hopes. Combs, a junior southpaw guard, scored 12 of his…
Read Full Article LAMONI, Iowa — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team committed a season-high 18 turnovers in a 77-64 loss to Graceland University on Tuesday night in the quarterfinals of the Heart of America Athletic Conference Tournament. The sixth-seeded Wildcats end their first season under head coach Dorian Hobbs Jr. with a 14-15 overall record. Third-seeded Graceland…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Not a week goes by without Western Illinois University freshman Raegan McCowan earning an Ohio Valley Conference women’s basketball honor. This week, she earned two. Coming off a scintillating scoring effort in an overtime loss to Southern Indiana last Saturday, McCowan was named both the OVC Player of the Week and the…
Read Full Article SHELBINA, Mo. — Belle Roush didn’t come out of the locker room at the start of the second half Monday night. Her teammates didn’t let it faze them. The South Shelby girls basketball team’s all-conference junior forward scored 12 points in the first half to stake the Lady Birds to a 27-21 lead over Elsberry…
Read Full Article VANDALIA, Ill. — The Central-Southeastern girls basketball team trailed for all but the opening minutes in Monday night’s 41-32 loss to Nashville in the Class 2A super-sectional at Vandalia High School. CSE got within 36-32 with 3:51 to play but didn’t score again, making just three free throws in the final eight minutes. Lauren Miller…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Questions and observations as the march toward high school state basketball tournaments continues in both Illinois and Missouri, with some college teams harboring postseason aspirations in the waning days of February: First-year Illini West boys coach Blaize Kimmel stood outside his team’s locker room giving fist-bumps and hugs while offering words of encouragement…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — A perfect day with a perfect ending. A perfect place in history accompanied it, too. That’s what the Hannibal wrestling team earned Saturday. The Pirates had eight grapplers earn individual medals — three won championships — at the Class 3 state tournament at Mizzou Arena, enabling them to pile up an insurmountable…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Amber Louderback ended the season with her arm raised. The Camp Point Central sophomore pinned Seneca’s Sammie Griesen in the third period of their fifth-place match at 130 pounds Saturday, earning her second state medal in as many years in the Illinois girls wrestling state tournament at State Farm Center on the…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — Cody Culp wasn’t making the same mistake twice. A year after finishing as the Class 3 state runner-up at 138 pounds, the Hannibal senior wrestler didn’t allow his emotions to alter his approach before wrestling for the title at 144 pounds Saturday night at Mizzou Arena. “Last year, I was super nervous…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — Tristen Essig’s familiarity with his opponent in Saturday night’s 132-pound championship match at the Class 3 state wrestling tournament gave him a blueprint for succes. “He knew I was going to be coming at him in neutral and pressuring forward,” Essig said of North Point’s Kaden Purler, who he had beaten twice…
Read Full Article COLUMBIA, Mo. — The experience of battling with seniors daily in the wrestling room continues to pay off for Austin Brown. Now a state champion, he’ll be the one setting the tone in the future. Brown changed the momentum of the 113-pound title match against Carl Junction’s Carter Foglesong by getting a reversal with 18…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — Once the Quincy University women’s basketball team managed to grab the lead, the Hawks weren’t giving it up. Freshman forward Ashlynn Arnsman made back-to-back critical field goals in the final two minutes, junior guard Karsyn Stratton made four straight free throws and point guard Mikayla Huffine capped a career-best scoring effort with…
Read Full Article KIRKSVILLE, Mo. — The Truman State men’s basketball team is one of the best 3-point shooting squads in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season. Quincy University is one of the worst. That’s how it looked Saturday. The Bulldogs shot the ball as efficiently as any QU opponent has this season from the perimeter, knocking…
Read Full Article MACOMB, Ill. — Western Hall feels like home once again. Fighting for a top-four seed in the Ohio Valley Conference postseason tournament, the Western Illinois University men’s basketball team ended a four-game home losing streak Saturday by beating Southern Indiana 82-76 at Western Hall. Western Illinois (18-11, 11-5 OVC) remains in fourth place in the…
Read Full Article PARKVILLE, Mo. — Park University scored the final 10 points of the game to upend the Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball team 77-72 in the regular-season finale Saturday afternoon at the Breckon Sports Center. The Wildcats end the regular season with a 14-14 overall record and a 12-12 mark in the Heart of America Athletic Conference…
Read Full Article PARKVILLE, Mo. — Addison Newbon scored a season-high 26 points to lead the Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team to a 76-72 season-ending victory over Park University on Saturday afternoon at the Breckon Events Center. Newbon was one of four players to score in double figures for the Wildcats, who end the season with an 11-17…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article '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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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:
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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,…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article QUINCY — Is the Illinois High School Association postseason basketball series flawed? You be the judge. While scouring brackets and planning our coverage of this week’s boys basketball regionals, I ran across a number of scenarios that made me question the equitable nature of the setup. Because the Quincy schools are at the heart of…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College men’s basketball program overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to post a 73-71 victory over Baker University on Saturday at Charles Field House and clinch a postseason berth for the first time since the 2018-19 season. After falling behind 58-48 with 9:16 to play in the second half, the Wildcats…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article CANTON, Mo. — The Culver-Stockton College women’s basketball team stayed in the hunt for a postseason berth with a 69-60 victory over Baker in Heart of America Athletic Conference play Saturday afternoon at Charles Field House. With two games remaining in the regular season, the Wildcats are tied with Peru State for the eighth and…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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.…
Read Full Article 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…
Read Full Article 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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