Victory of Titan-ic proportions: West Hancock wins West Central Conference title, beats QND at The Pit

West Hancock junior center Cooper Knowles, right, blocks a shot by Quincy Notre Dame's Jace Allensworth during the first half of Tuesday night's West Central Conference game at The Pit. | Matt Schuckman photo

QUINCY — As he dribbled from one side of the court to the other, West Hancock senior guard Gavin Grothaus found himself dangerously close to a five-second violation.  A turnover could have changed the outcome of the game. Instead, Grothaus avoided the mishap and made the biggest pass of Tuesday’s showdown with Quincy Notre Dame,…

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Knowles’ triple-double helps Titans grind out overtime victory over Bloodhounds

West Hancock junior center Cooper Knowles scored 16 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 12 shots in Tuesday night's victory over Fort Madison (Iowa) in overtime in Hamilton, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

HAMILTON, Ill. — West Hancock boys basketball coach Jeff Dahl tried his best to wrap his arms around what had just transpired. “This … was a grinder,” he said. West Hancock survived an overtime struggle with Fort Madison (Iowa), winning 74-67 Tuesday night to extend its win streak to nine in front of a crowd…

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‘What did I just watch?’ Knowles’ reverse slam, Titans’ first quarter blitz highlight blowout of Chiefs

West Hancock senior point guard Gavin Grothaus drives to the basket during the Titans' 74-28 victory over Keokuk on Tuesday in Warsaw, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

WARSAW, Ill. — Hunter Froman did a double take from the bench. Gavin Grothaus ran back on defense with his hands on his head and mouth wide open in disbelief. They were in awe of what Cooper Knowles had just done. It was just the cherry on top of a dominant sundae whipped up by…

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Titans use third-quarter blitz to bury Golden Eagles, gain momentum for matchup with Bullets

West Hancock forward Nolan Gooding puts up a shot over a Mercer County defender during Wednesday night's game at Red Rogers Gymnasium in Hamilton, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

HAMILTON, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team’s second-half plan was quite simple — put Mercer County away. The Titans went on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half and outscored the Golden Eagles 26-11 in the third quarter to run away with a 69-31 victory Wednesday night at…

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Titans unable to get to heart of the matter until it was too late in title game loss to Rockets

West Hancock sophomore guard Hunter Froman drives to the basket during Saturday's Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament championship game against Rockridge in Macomb, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

MACOMB, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team took Rockridge’s punches. The Titans’ counterpunches came too late. The Titans could not crawl out of a 20-point deficit, and the Rockets won their second consecutive Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament title by defeating the Titans 66-59 on Saturday night at Western Hall. “We woke up a little…

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Titans trade salvos with top-ranked Rams, prove they belong in conversation among Class 2A’s best

West Hancock senior guard Lewis Siegfried spins around Peoria Manual's Reginald Postlewaite during Saturday's game in the Great Western Shootout in Abingdon, Ill. | Shane Hulsey photo

ABINGDON, Ill. — The West Hancock boys basketball team proved something to Titans coach Jeff Dahl and the rest of Illinois on Saturday. The Titans belong in the upper echelon of Class 2A. “This game should inspire them to think that we can get to the top,” Dahl said. The Titans went toe-to-toe with Peoria…

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