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Thursday's prep highlights: Young sparks M-S girls' basketball to comeback win

joey wright, the news-gazette, champaign-urbana, ill.
·8 min read

Jan. 19—In boys' basketball

Vermilion County Tournament

➜ Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin 67, Westville 30. After the top-seeded Blue Devils (19-3) got home court advantage thanks to water pressure issues in Danville, 20 points from Micah Stanford and 15 points from Keison Peoples helped BHRA vanquish the fourth-seeded Tigers (15-4) in a contest they led 35-16 at halftime at Wilcox Gymnasium. BHRA advances to Saturday night's championship game, where they'll face Oakwood. Tyler Miller paced Westville's offense with 11 points, nine of which came during the third quarter.

➜ Oakwood 76, Hoopeston Area 44. Four players in double figures sparked Oakwood to the 32-point victory, securing a spot in Saturday night's championship game in the process. Jackson Dudley scored a team-high 16 points for Oakwood (17-5), which led 45-20 at halftime. Carsen Dudley tossed in 15 points, Cort Vermillion was more than capable with 13 points and Brody Taflinger wound up with 11 points. Kendrick Sigerill scored a game-high 21 points for Hoopeston Area (16-7), which will play Westville in the third-place game on Saturday evening.

➜ Armstrong-Potomac 66, Georgetown-Ridge Farm 45. Armstrong-Potomac received yet another big game from Kollin Asbury, and the Trojans will play on Saturday in the fifth-place game because of it. Asbury poured in a game-high 32 points for his second straight game with at least 30 points for A-P (11-10), which will play Salt Fork at 5 p.m. Saturday for fifth place. Cole Bailey (12 points) and Bowen Hesterberg (nine points) complemented Asbury. Jase Latoz scored a team-high 17 points for Georgetown-Ridge Farm (4-18).

➜ Arthur Christian 61, Deland-Weldon 24. Nine points, seven steals and four rebounds from Kendrick Chupp helped the Conquering Riders (14-9) down the Eagles in East Central Illinois Conference play. Corbin Gingerich and Kyson Pflum added eight points apiece in a game in which 12 Arthur Christian players scored.

In girls' basketball

Lincoln Prairie Conference Tournament

➜ Sullivan 46, Cerro Gordo/Bement 13. Shae Ellis' 11-point performance led the way for the Redskins (12-8), who received nine points apiece from Addison Minor and Isabelle Stone en route to a comfortable victory. Sullivan won its fifth straight game and advanced to Saturday night's championship game in Decatur. Caroline Hill led the Broncos (14-8) with four points as Sullivan built a 26-4 halftime lead and didn't let up in the second half.

➜ Arcola 45, Tri-County 40. Arcola still hasn't lost in 2024, with the Purple Riders' latest triumph sending them into Saturday night's championship game in Decatur. Arcola (16-4) relied on the duo of Kacie Sisk and Jacey Kessler once again to secure the semifinal win, with the Purple Riders rallying from a 22-20 halftime deficit for its sixth straight victory. Sisk dropped in a game-high 19 poinst, Kessler finished with 15 points and Kelsey Moore nearly rounded out Arcola's scoring with nine points as Arcola advanced to face Sullivan at 7 p.m. Saturday in Decatur. Josie Armstrong scored a team-high 16 points, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out three assists for Tri-County (16-6), which will play Cerro Gordo/Bement in the third-place game on Saturday evening. Sami McClain added 15 points and Kenzie Hales chipped in seven points as well for the Titans.

➜ Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 56, Decatur Unity Christian 28. Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond darted out to a 15-3 lead at the end of the first quarter and cruised to a win, advancing the Knights to Saturday's fifth-place game in Decatur. Claire Seal and Morgan Casteel led the way for ALAH (13-9), with Seal scoring 19 points and grabbing six rebounds. Casteel joined Seal in double figures with 13 points and also managed five rebounds.

Nontournament

➜ Chrisman 31, Uni High 28. Chrisman staved off a fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Uni High to post the nonconference win at Roger Beals Court. Taylor Jones supplied a double-double for the Cardinals (6-12) with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Olivia Radke scored a team-high 11 points and Adaelyn Miller contributed with nine rebounds. Chizara Onyemere poured in a game-high 18 points and made five steals for the Illineks, who trailed 22-12 to start the fourth quarter.

➜ Danville 60, Centennial 54. Anna Houpt led four Danville players in double figures as the Vikings — who were forced to play in Champaign because low-water pressure issues in Danville affected Danville's ability to host the Big 12 Conference game — overcame a 13-8 deficit at the end of the first quarter. Houpt dropped in 14 points, while the trio of Ashanti Conaway, Amara McFarland and Jada Bell each delivered 12 points for Danville (9-15). The duo of Dariah Hortin and Aleah Emers shined for Centennial (2-14), with Hortin and Emers each scoring 21 points.

➜ Mahomet-Seymour 51, Normal U-High 47. Mahomet-Seymour had two players in double figures and a third nearly joined Sidney Young and Addie Eisenmann, rallying the Bulldogs to a close nonconference win that ended a two-game losing skid. Young paced M-S (10-13) by scoring a team-high 14 points that included 10 in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs came back from a 37-33 deficit at the start of the final eight minutes. Eisenmann nearly matched Young with 13 points, while Kylie Waldinger added nine points.

➜ Paxton-Buckley-Loda 42, Iroquois West 36. Tanner Graham scored 14 points and Bailey Lubechow chipped in 11 points to help the host Panthers (3-19) claim a nonconference win over the Raiders (14-9), who were paced by Amelia Scharp's game-high 20 points. The win ended a 14-game losing streak for PBL.

➜ St. Joseph-Ogden 46, Monticello 33. A game-high 22 points from Addy Martinie — including four three-pointers — helped SJ-O continue its recent run of success as the Spartans won their sixth straight game. Addison Frick joined Martinie in double figures with 10 points and hauled in seven rebounds as SJ-O (12-8) led 26-21 at halftime in the Illini Prairie Conference game. Katie Ericksen also contributed by handing out six assists in the win. Ali Weidner paced the Sages (8-14) with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Maia High added 10 points.

➜ Tuscola 51, Meridian 26. Sydney Moss had a game-high 23 points to go along with seven rebounds and four blocks for the host Warriors (20-2) in a Central Illinois Conference win. Ava Boyer (nine points) and Taylor Gordon (eight points, 12 rebounds) also played key roles in helping Tuscola hit the 20-win mark for the third straight season.

➜ Unity 57, Prairie Central 37. Unity relied on a proven formual for success — Raegen Stringer and Reagan Little — in racking up a road Illini Prairie victory in Fairbury. Stringer scored a game-high 22 points for the Rockets (14-9) and also came through with seven steals and three assists. Little produced 14 points, six rebounds and three steals, while Addison Ray finished with 11 points and five rebounds for Unity and Lauren Haas supplied 10 points, six rebounds and six steals. Abi Nimbler and Carmen Gradberg each had 10 points to lead Prairie Central (2-18).

In wrestling

➜ At Mahomet. Mahomet-Seymour defeated Champaign Central 56-18 in a dual match between the two teams, with Gage Decker at 157 pounds, Hughey Allen at 175 and Brock VanDeveer at 190 producing pins in less than a minute to spark the Bulldogs. Decker's win came in only 31 seconds, Allen's came in 34 seconds and VanDeveer won in 51 seconds. Samuel Kang at 132, Rowan King at 138 and Ronald Baker III at 144 won their matches for Central, with Baker earning a pin in 3:10.

➜ At Monticello. Monticello split a pair of matches at home, defeating Ridgeview 54-18, but losing 53-17 to Olympia. Luke Andruczyk at 120 pounds and Isaiah Ducker at 144 recorded pins for the Sages against Ridgeview, while Will Osborne at 126, Russ Brown at 165 and Hunter Romano at 175 all won against Olympia.

➜ At Hoopeston. Danville defeated Hoopeston Area 39-19 in a dual match. Phoenix Parker, TyJuan Reed and Kamarion Miles shined for the visiting Vikings by securing a pin in their respective matches.

➜ At Westville. Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley/Fisher defeated Westville 66-18 thanks to wins from Shawn Schlickman (132 pounds), Corbin Ragle (144), Lincoln Eastin (175), Aiden Sancken (190), Cohen Kean (215) and Aydin Cornell (285). Westville claimed two matches, with Trent McMasters (150) and Gabriel Kiddoo (165) notching triumphs.

In boys' swimming

➜ At Urbana. Urbana earned an 88-85 win against Mahomet-Seymour and a 114-36 win over Charleston, while Mahomet-Seymour was a 105-33 winner over the Trojans in a triangular meet. Urbana saw individual wins from Ian Peters (200 yard freestyle, 2:06.01), Jesse Wald (100 freestyle, 50.63 and 200 individual medley, 2:16.01) and Max Kooper (one meter diving, 222.30), while Emmet Kearns (50 freestyle, 22.50), Owen Kearns (100 butterfly, 54.99), Matthew Kirby (500 freestyle, 5:51.47) and Aron Varga (1:02.81) won for M-S.