Jacksonville's Burries, Springfield's Wade highlight top takeaways in area hoops

Boys basketball: Jacksonville, Glenwood grab key CS8 wins

Here are the top takeaways from boys and girls high school basketball games on Friday and Saturday around Springfield.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Jacksonville's Burries, Springfield's Wade electrify in CS8 clash

Jacksonville junior guard Amaree Burries and Springfield High freshman guard Noah Wade dueled it out at The Bowl on Saturday.

Burries ultimately prevailed with 25 points in a 64-50 victory to lift the Crimsons to 6-3 overall and 3-0 in the Central State Eight Conference.

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Burries surfaced last season as a sophomore with 14.9 points per game and landed on the SJ-R's all-area boys basketball team. He has become even more prolific with the ability to slash to the hoop and shoot from long range. He hit four of the team's 10 3s in the win.

Ditto CS8 newcomer Wade. He hit three 3s and finished with 24 points.

At one point, Wade attempted a dunk on the fast break in the third quarter but was blocked by Burries. Wade still managed to clean up the loose the ball for the putback.

Bonnell nets first win at Litchfield

Litchfield prevailed over Pana 39-33 on Friday with a new head coach: Daniel Bonnell.

Bonnell took over for Nick Gerndt, who resigned on Thursday. Bonnell initially appeared last year as the eighth-grade coach at Litchfield before becoming the freshman coach this season.

Athletic director Dan Stewart additionally stepped down this past week in order to pursue another job outside the school district, according to Mark Elvers, who returns to the post.

Girls basketball: Lincoln, Glenwood stars hit milestones in Friday wins

Elvers, who led the football team for 11 seasons, previously served the AD position for two years before acting as the assistant AD the past three years.

Elvers declined to immediately comment on Gerndt’s resignation until Monday. The Purple Panthers improved to 7-4 overall and 2-0 in the South Central Conference on Friday, led by AJ Odle’s 11 points and Zach Powell’s nine points.

Sophomore guard leads unbeaten Calvary

Luke Blackford made three 3-pointers and finished with 19 points as Calvary defeated Bunker Hill 60-38 in an MSM Conference game on Friday.

The red-hot Saints improved to 9-0 overall and 3-0 in the MSM. Blackford has been a big reason for Calvary’s success. He scored a career-high 39 points in a 79-47 win over Peoria Quest last Monday.

Blackford is averaging 24.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 57.3 percent from the floor, including 45% from 3-point range.

Senior teammate Connor Brown is also delivering in a big way for Calvary. Brown had a game-high 21 points against Bunker Hill and is averaging 18.1 points and has team-highs in rebounds (8.1) and assists (5.3).

Lions regain their roar: Second quarter sparks Lanphier win over rival Southeast

Southeast forfeits two games

With its loss to Lanphier, Southeast dropped to 0-8 after having to forfeit two wins at the Decatur Thanksgiving Tournament in late November.

According to the IHSA, Southeast self-reported that a member of its boys basketball program competed in two varsity contests while the student-athlete was academically ineligible from his previous school and the school had not yet exchanged transfer paperwork as required for eligibility.

The forfeited games were against two Central State Eight Conference teams when Southeast defeated Sacred Heart-Griffin on Nov. 23 and Decatur Eisenhower on Nov. 25.

This marks the worst start to a season for Southeast when the Spartans finished 6-20 in the 1998-99 season under former coach Rick Montooth.

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GIRLS BASKETBALL

Lincoln is on a mission

Never mind the score.

Lincoln’s starters are going to make the most of their time on the floor.

The Class 3A No. 2 Railsplitters, currently 11-0 overall and 5-0 in the Central State Eight Conference, reached the Class 3A state championship game before falling to LaGrange Park Nazareth Academy 63-52 in Normal for their only blemish of the historic 2022-23 season.

They return their entire roster, including starters Kloe Froebe, Becca Heitzig, Jenna Bowman, Taryn Stoltzenburg and Tori Geriets.

After grabbing a 42-9 halftime lead against Rochester on Friday, that core group didn’t ease up until getting pulled late in the third quarter in a 76-30 road win.

“We want to get as much playing time as we can, so we work hard when we’re in there,” said Bowman, who finished with nine points off three 3-pointers. “We know that teams want to beat us, so they can always come back. You never know. We just play hard and focus on the game.”

They all have the ultimate prize in mind.

“They definitely keep each other accountable, there’s no doubt about that,” Lincoln coach Taylor Rohrer said of the team collectively. “They’re a great group to coach and I’m very fortunate.”

Rochester is learning to jell

Rochester took the loss in stride.

It’s not only learning to forge ahead without former star players Kaylen Reed and Emma Dixon, but Brandon Rose also takes the helm in his first season.

His starting lineup against Lincoln included two of the team’s three seniors: Alyse Day and Becca Ryan. The other senior, Ellie Gegen, has been out early in the season due to injury.

Other starters included junior Taylor Offer and sophomores Alaina Stock and Delaney Farris.

Offer led the Rockets (7-6, 3-2 CS8) with 13 points as the primary ball-handler against the formidable Railers. It was certainly a learning experience for Rose’s young group.

“We have new players stepping up, Taylor’s been unbelievable,” Rose said. “We haven’t gotten Gegen back yet, so as soon as she gets healthy, she’ll play. But it’s been a good start. We’ve had some growing pains, but we’re continuing to get better. They’re just working really hard and have great attitudes.”

Glenwood is on the ascent

Only two teams remain unbeaten in CS8 play: Lincoln (5-0) and Chatham Glenwood (4-0).

The Titans, 9-1 overall, eked out a 53-50 overtime win over Sacred Heart-Griffin on Friday for their ninth straight win in head coach Alyssa Riley’s first season after the team graduated just three seniors last winter.

Senior guard Makenna Yeager has 1,000 career points while junior guard Rowann Law also returns to the lineup after averaging 10.2 ppg and reaching the SJ-R's all-area team last season.

The future looks even brighter.

Six-foot freshman forward Alexis Neumann has especially strengthened the lineup with 13 points and 7.8 rebounds per game prior to the weekend.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Top basketball takeaways around Springfield for Dec. 15-16 weekend