Fieldcrest tops El Paso-Gridley in battle of No. 10 ranked teams; PC upset bid foiled
MINONK — Fieldcrest proved last week's win over El Paso-Gridley in the McLean County Tournament championship was no fluke Friday as the Knights pulled away late for a 50-41 Heart of Illinois Conference victory in a matchup of ranked teams.
Fieldcrest and the Titans came into the contest tied for the 10th spot in the AP Class 2A rankings. The Knights now have the edge after topping EPG for the second time in a week.
Leading by two with 2½ minutes to go in the game, the Knights reeled off nine straight points to go up by 11. Fieldcrest had the edge all night as El Paso-Gridley's only lead came with 1:21 to go in the third period on a Micah Meiss basket that made it 25-24.
Meiss finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds as the Titans fell to 6-1 in league play and 18-4 overall. Jonah Funk chipped in 9 points and 14 rebounds.
Brady Ruestman and Jozia Johnson led Fieldcrest (19-1, 5-0) with 13 points apiece. Connor Reichman tossed in 11 points and Ed Lorton scored 9.
Tolono 60, Prairie Central 56 — At Tolono, Prairie Central head coach Trevin McCulloh got a gutsy performance from his Hawks but it wasn't enough as state-ranked Tolono (Unity) eked out a four-point Illini Prairie Conference victory Friday night.
The Rockets, ranked third in Class 2A, rallied in the final three minutes to squeeze past Prairie Central. The Hawks led 54-51 but managed just two points over the final three minutes.
PC trailed 48-47 entering the final frame but gained the advantage and held it until late. Unity took the lead for good with two minutes to play.
Tyler Curl and Levi Goad each had 16 points for Prairie Central (13-8, 1-3). Gage Steidinger tossed in 11 and Gavin Tredennick scored 7 points.
Henry Thomas led Unity (19-1, 3-0) with 21 points and Andrew Thomas added 13.
Heyworth 57, Flanagan-Cornell 42 — At Flanagan, host Flanagan-Cornell had a dreadful third quarter after Heyworth recorded a strong first half in their Heart of Illinois Conference battle Friday.
The visiting Hornets stung the Falcons with 34 points in the first half, including scoring 19 in the second period, in taking a 12-point lead into the break. Flanagan-Cornell managed just three points in the third quarter in falling behind by a 46-25 count.
Kesler Collins tried to bring the Falcons (14-8) back with 11 points in the fourth quarter. He finished with 19 points for the game in pacing the home team. Connor Reed scored 9 points and Seth Jones had 7.
Putnam County 66, Dwight 60 — At Dwight, Luke Gallet and Conner Telford combined for 47 points but it wasn't enough as host Dwight dropped a first-round Tri-County Conference tournament contest against Putnam County.
Gallet hit for 26 points and Telford threw in 21. Evan Cox checked in with 7 points.
The Trojans led by four at the break but Putnam County outscored DTHS by 11 in the third to take control of the contest.
GIRLS
Tolono 40, Pontiac 33 — At Pontiac, although consistent, Pontiac wasn't able to put up enough points to claim a victory Wednesday. PTHS lost a slim, 26-24 lead after three quarters as Tolono (Unity) rallied in the final frame to leave town with the Illini Prairie Conference girls' basketball decision.
Pontiac was rather balanced with Bailey Masching scoring 10 points to pace the daughters of the Odawa leader. Makyah Hartfield added 8 points, Grace Lanning scored 7 and Morgan Dewald threw in 6 points.
IVC 37, Prairie Central 30 — At Fairbury, Illinois Valley Central opened a halftime lead in the third quarter and scored an Illini Prairie Conference girls' basketball win Wednesday at Prairie Central.
The Hawks trailed by just three at the intermission but fell behind 33-25 after three periods as the Grey Ghosts outscored PC 10-5.
Ali Nimbler paced Prairie Central with 9 points and Kelly Wilkey scored 7 points.
Fieldcrest 50, EPG 43 — At Minonk, Fieldcrest got out of the gate quickly in building a lead it did not relinquish in a Heart of Illinois Conference girls' basketball contest Thursday.
The Knights led 14-3 at one point in the first quarter and was up 29-20 at the half. Kaitlyn White led Fieldcrest (17-7, 3-4) with 25 points.
Myli Ehrhardt led El Paso-Gridley (12-9, 4-4) with 18 points. Abriel Smith added 8 points and Kaylea Randall grabbed 16 rebounds while scoring 5 points.
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Fieldcrest handles EPG in HOIC matchup; Prairie Central misses upset
