Class 1A

Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran 49

Tuscola 46

Hardin-Calhoun 59

Springfield Calvary 56

Class 2A

Auburn 40

Williamsville 53

Peoria Manual 40

Macomb 41

Tolono Unity 39

Teutopolis 48

Class 3A

Mt. Zion 58

Rochester 51

Kankakee 66

Peoria Richwoods 70

Terrance Shannon Jr. scored 29 points, Marcus Domask had 22 and Coleman Hawkins added 20 to lead No. 13 Illinois to a 105-97 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night.

Dain Dainja had 11 points and six rebounds for the Illini (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten), who scored more than 85 points for the 10th time in 12 games.

Dawson Garcia scored 29 points and Cam Christie had 23 for Minnesota (17-11, 8-9). Mike Mitchell Jr. added 17 points, Pharrel Payne had 15 and nine rebounds and Elijah Hawkins had 10 points and 12 assists.

Minnesota led 63-62 with 14:15 left, but a jumper by Shannon put Illinois ahead for good.

Illinois shot 61.3% from the field and Minnesota shot 60%, including 14 of 20 on 3-pointers. The teams combined for just nine turnovers, five by the Gophers and four by the Illini.

The win was Illinois’ eighth straight over Minnesota and kept the Illini in second place in the Big Ten, two games behind No. 2 Purdue (14-3) with three conference games remaining for both teams.

Illinois improved to 15-2 at home with one game to go at the State Farm Center.

The Illini went off script and dug deep into their bench Sunday in a 95-85 win over Iowa. Ten players logged 10-plus minutes and all 10 scored at least two points. Ten players saw action against Minnesota, eight scored, and the Illini bench outscored Minnesota’s reserves 18-3.

A mid-range jumper by Shannon with 1:35 left in the first half gave him 1,000 points in his two seasons at Illinois.

Illinois visits Wisconsin on Saturday.

Darius Hannah scored 22 points as Bradley beat Southern Illinois 86-67 on Wednesday night.

Hannah also contributed seven rebounds for the Braves (21-9, 13-6 Missouri Valley Conference). Connor Hickman added 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Malevy Leons finished with 16 points.

The Salukis (19-11, 11-8) were led in scoring by AJ Ferguson, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. Southern Illinois also got 15 points from Jarrett Hensley. Troy D'Amico also had 10 points.

Hannah scored 13 points to help the Braves build a 37-27 halftime lead. Bradley extended its lead to 76-49, fueled by a 15-0 run.

Bradley visits Drake on Sunday to finish out the regular season.

Johnny Kinziger scored 20 points and hit a jumper at the buzzer to lift Illinois State over Missouri State 75-74 on Wednesday night.

Following a timeout with 2.7 seconds left, Kinziger took an inbound pass and his jumper hit nothing but net.

Malachi Poindexter also scored 20 points for the Redbirds (15-15, 9-10 Missouri Valley Conference). Myles Foster had 16 points.

The Bears (15-15, 7-12) were led by Donovan Clay, who recorded 21 points and seven rebounds. Missouri State also got 21 points and five assists from Alston Mason. N.J. Benson also recorded 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Illinois State wraps up its regular season slate at Valpo on Sunday afternoon.

DeMar DeRozan made the big shots down the stretch and Andre Drummond dominated on the glass. It was just enough to lift the Chicago Bulls past one of the Eastern Conference's best teams.

DeRozan scored 35 points, Drummond had 26 rebounds and Chicago outlasted the Cleveland Cavaliers 132-123 in double overtime Wednesday night.

DeRozan scored 16 points in the 10 extra minutes, helping the Bulls bounce back from a loss to lowly Detroit one night earlier.

Nikola Vucevic added 24 points and 13 rebounds. Ayo Dosunmu scored 21. Drummond finished with 17 points and helped the Bulls set an NBA high this season with 74 rebounds.

DeRozan missed a turnaround jumper at the end of regulation with the game at 103 after Chicago rallied from 11 down in the fourth. He made three free throws to tie it in the first OT and keyed an 8-0 spurt to start the second OT.

DeRozan drove for a layup and made a 3 to put the Bulls on top 120-115. A tip-in dunk by Drummond and free throw by DeRozan stretched the lead to eight, and the Bulls hung on from there.

The Cavaliers led 114-110 after Mitchell drove for a layup with 26 seconds remaining in the first OT. But the Bulls weren’t finished.

DeRozan drove for a layup. Mitchell made a free throw with 14 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game, only to miss the second attempt.

DeRozan then got fouled attempting a 3 from the wing and made all three free throws to tie it with 12 seconds remaining. Mitchell pulled up for a 20-footer and missed, sending it to a second overtime.

The Cavaliers looked like they were in control, leading 89-78 early in the fourth quarter after Okoro nailed a 3, but the Bulls came roaring back.

Vucevic gave Chicago a 98-97 lead with 3:45 remaining when he connected from beyond the arc. It was 100-all when Mitchell nailed a step-back 3 with about 2:15 remaining.

Drummond then scored on a put-back to make it a one-point game, and a wild finish to regulation sent the game to regulation. Vucevic missed an open 3 in the final minute, got the ball back and made the second free throw to tie it after missing the first with 38 seconds remaining.

Coby White then picked off a bad pass by Mitchell, giving the Bulls a chance to win the game. But DeRozan missed a 21-foot turnaround jumper in the closing seconds.

The Bulls were missing a key player with guard Alex Caruso sidelined because of a strained right hamstring. 

The Bulls host Milwaukee on Friday night. 

Connor McDavid scored 4:34 into overtime and also had two assists to rally the Edmonton Oilers to a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

Zach Hyman scored twice to give him 40 for the season as Edmonton won its second straight. Stuart Skinner finished with 30 saves.

Late in the extra period, McDavid danced past a couple of defenders before chipping a shot past Binnington for his 22nd of the season to snap a 10-game goal-scoring drought. He had 25 between goals.

Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored for the Blues, who have lost three straight and five of six. Jordan Binnington had 31 saves.

Blues defenseman Justin Faulk played his second game in two nights after missing the previous 12 games because of a lower-body injury.

Ther Blues return home to host Minnesota on Saturday.

Class 1A Sectional semifinal scores from Tuesday

At Salt Fork

Heyworth 49

Decatur St. Teresa 43

Champaign St. Thomas More 38

Lexington 52

At Effingham St. Anthony

Arcola 56

Bluford-Webber 44

Class 2A Sectional semifinal scores from Tuesday

At Beardstown

Pleasant Plains 45

Alton Marquette 56

At Canton

Taylor Ridge-Rockridge 31

Peoria Notre Dame 28

At Clifton Central

Fieldcrest 53

Manteno 37

At Shelbyville

Flora 40

St. Joseph-Ogden 50

Class 3A Sectional semifinal scores from Tuesday

At Lincoln

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 36

Decatur MacArthur 63

At Pontiac

Metamora 69

LaSalle-Peru 37

Class 3A Sectional semifinal scores from Tuesday

At Pekin

Normal Community 61

Moline 44

Class 1A Sectional semifinal matchups tonight

At Effingham St. Anthony

Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran 6:00pm

Tuscola

Class 2A Sectional semifinal matchups tonight

At Beardstown

Auburn 7:00pm

Williamsville

At Canton

Peoria Manual 6:00pm

Macomb

At Clifton Central

Beecher 7:00pm

Bismarck-Henning

At Shelbyville

Tolono Unity 7:00pm

Teutopolis

Class 3A Sectional semifinal matchups tonight

At Lincoln

Mt. Zion 7:00pm

Rochester

At Pontiac

Kankakee 7:00pm

Peoria Richwoods

Cade Cunningham scored 26 points and the Pistons stopped a six-game losing streak with a 105-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

The Pistons (9-49) bounced back from a loss at New York the previous night and tied Washington for the NBA's worst record despite solid performances by Chicago's Nikola Vucevic, DeMar DeRozan and Andre Drummond. They put this one away with time to spare after a costly no-call helped send them to a two-point loss against the Knicks.

Detroit went on a 12-2 run in the fourth quarter to stretch a one-point lead into a 101-90 advantage.

Simone Fontecchio scored 17 and matched a career-high with five 3-pointers. Jaden Ivey finished with 15 points, helping the Pistons beat the Bulls for just the second time in 18 games.

Jalen Duren added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Ausar Thompson scored 13. Isaiah Stewart finished with 11 points and nine rebounds after missing 11 games - the previous three due to a league suspension for punching Suns center Drew Eubanks at the arena hours before a game at Phoenix.

Vucevic had 25 points and 10 rebounds. DeRozan also had 25 points.

Drummond added 20 points and 11 rebounds against his former team, but the cold-shooting Bulls lost for the third time in four games. Chicago made just 2 of 29 3-pointers, with Alex Caruso, Ayo Dosunmu and Coby White each missing all five attempts.

With an 89-88 lead midway through the fourth quarter, Fontecchio nailed a 3 and Cunningham made three free throws to spark the decisive run.

The Pistons continued to add to their lead after White made two free throws for Chicago.

Cunningham nailed a 3 and made a foul shot. Duren hit two free throws to make it 101-90 with 3:32 remaining, helping Detroit come out on top.

The Bulls host Cleveland on Wednesday.

Sean Monahan scored a goal and added an assist after missing a game because of an illness to help the Winnipeg Jets beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Tuesday night and extend their win streak to four games.

Brenden Dillon, Kyle Connor and Alex Iafallo also scored for Winnipeg, which has won seven of its last eight games. Josh Morrissey and Nikolaj Ehlers each contributed two assists and Laurent Brossoit made 36 saves.

Iafallo ended a 20-game goal-scoring drought.

Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad scored for the Blues, who are 2-4-0 in their past six games. St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer made his first start in his hometown and stopped 28 shots.

Monahan got the Jets on the board at 8:53. He has six goals in his past five games after registering no points in his first four games after being traded to Winnipeg from Montreal.

Dillon scored his career-high seventh goal of the season less than two minutes later through traffic.

Buchnevich cut into the lead 30 seconds later off a rebound for his 23rd, but Connor replied with his 24th at 15:33 to regain the two-goal advantage. Connor has scored in four straight games and extended his point streak to six games with five goals and six assists.

Saad used a bouncing puck to make the score 3-2 nine minutes into the second period, extending his point streak to four games.

Iafallo scored at 10:13 of the third when he used a puck that bounced off the end boards and put it by Hofer.

Winnipeg has won all three games against the Blues this season.

The Blues wrap up a three-game road trip at Edmonton on Wednesday.

Class 1A Boy's Basketball Sectional Semifinal Action today

At Salt Fork

Heyworth 6:00pm

Decatur St. Teresa

Champaign St. Thomas More 7:30pm

Lexington

At Effingham St. Anthony

Arcola 6:00pm

Bluford-Webber

Class 2A Boy's Basketball Sectional Semifinal Action Today

At Beardstown

Pleasant Plains 7:00pm

Alton Marquette

At Canton

Taylor Ridge-Rockridge 6:00pm

Peoria Notre Dame

At Clifton Central

Fieldcrest 7:00pm

Manteno

At Shelbyville

Flora 7:00pm

St. Joseph-Ogden

Class 3A Boy's Basketball Sectional Semifinal Action Today

At Lincoln

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 7:00pm

Decatur MacArthur

At Pontiac

Metamora 7:00pm

LaSalle-Peru

Class 4A Boy's Basketball Sectional Semifinal Action Today

At Pekin

Normal Community 7:00pm

Moline

Class 3A Girls Basketball Supersectional action from Monday

At Highland

Chatham-Glenwood 45

Highland 38

At LaSalle-Peru

Lincoln 46

Dixon 24

The Illinois State baseball team scored in the 1st inning on Sunday but dropped the series finale, 10-5, to Little Rock at Gary Hogan Field.

An RBI triple in the first inning from redshirt junior Judah Morris opened the game's scoring. Little Rock answered with three runs in the 2nd inning to go up 3-1 lead.

 Daniel Pacella tied the game at 3-3 in the third with a solo home run and a wild pitch which scored Morris with the bases loaded. Arkansas-Little Rock outscored ISU 7-2 the rest of the way for the win. 

Illinois State drops to 2-4 in 2024 while Little Rock improves to 4-3.

Sophomore Thomas Harper tied a career-high with 7 strikeouts over 5.0 innings of work.

Illinois State is scheduled to play Tuesday in Evanston against Northwestern, with first pitch at 2:30 p.m.

Former Blackhawks Patrick Kane scored on a breakaway 1:43 into overtime in his return to Chicago, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 3-2 victory over the Blackhawks on Sunday night.

The 35-year-old Kane was all alone when Alex DeBrincat hit him in stride near center ice. The dynamic winger then skated in and beat Petr Mrazek on the goaltender's glove side for his 12th goal of the season.

Kane starred for the Blackhawks for 16 seasons before he was traded to the New York Rangers a year ago. He signed with Detroit as a free agent and was repeatedly saluted with raucous cheers from a season-high crowd of 21,141 in his first game against his first NHL team.

He has five goals and seven assists during an eight-game point streak, and the Red Wings have won five straight games.

Kane’s Chicago homecoming coincided with the Blackhawks retiring Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios’ No. 7 jersey in a pregame ceremony. Chelios also spent time with the Red Wings during his playing career.

Nick Foligno and MacKenzie Entwistle scored for last-place Chicago, which has dropped four in a row. Mrazek made 28 saves.

Detroit tied it at 2 when DeBrincat scored on a bad-angle shot that just trickled past Mrazek with 4:16 to play. Kane picked up an assist on DeBrincat's 22nd goal.

DeBrincat also played with Kane with the Blackhawks, scoring 160 goals in five seasons before he was traded to Ottawa in July 2022.

Chicago wasted two prime chances to open a 3-1 lead before DeBrincat delivered. Joey Anderson came up empty on a rebound attempt 8:25 into the third, and Connor Bedard was denied by James Reimer on a breakaway midway through the period.

Reimer finished with 33 stops for Detroit, which was coming off a 6-1 victory over St. Louis on Saturday.

Chicago responded with two in the second. After whiffing on a check attempt on Sprong on Detroit's goal, Entwistle tied it at 1 when he converted a nice setup by Reese Johnson at 3:29. Foligno then made it 2-1 when he got a piece of Bedard's power-play shot with 2:08 left in the period.

The Blackhawks host Colorado on Thursday night.

Nicola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds for his 31st double-double this season - not to mention the 500th of his career - and Chicago defeated New Orleans 114-106 on Sunday night to sweep the season series.

DeMar DeRozan scored 24 points, including a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left to give the Bulls a 111-106 lead. To him, the game exemplified the Bulls' determination not to quit on a season marred by major injuries.

High-scoring guard Zach LaVine had season-ending foot surgery in early February, and Sunday's game was the first since Chicago learned that regular reserve forward Patrick Williams also would miss the rest of the season with his foot injury.

Ayo Desunmu added 21 points for Chicago, which also finished with a significant edge at the foul line, hitting 19 of 21 free throws while New Orleans made 10 of 14.

Zion Williamson scored 19 points, tied a career-high with 11 assists and grabbed nine rebounds for the Pelicans, who dropped their second straight game after winning eight of nine. Brandon Ingram, back from a two-game absence caused by a non-COVID illness, scored 22 points but committed nine turnovers. Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and 17 rebounds for New Orleans.

The Pelicans took their largest lead at 12 points when rookie Jordan Hawkins hit a driving floater to make it 82-70 late in the third quarter. But Chicago responded by scoring the last 11 points in the period, starting with Vucevic's 3 and ending with Jevon Carter's rainbow pull-up near the baseline to make it 82-81.

The Pelicans committed 19 turnovers in all - seven in the first quarter, which the Bulls closed on an 18-3 run. Dosunmu hit twice from deep during the spurt. DeRozan made a 3 and converted a three-point play on a pull-up jumper.

The Bulls host Detroit on Tuesday night.

Daniel Suarez edged Ryan Blaney and Kyle Busch in a three-wide blur at the line to win a crashed-filled NASCAR Cup Series race on Sunday.

The second career win in 253 Cup races for Suarez set off a celebration that included a long series of congratulations from other drivers for the popular native of Monterrey, Mexico.

The review confirmed the first win for Suarez since June 2022 at Sonoma. It was his first victory on a speedway, but he said he’s not satisfied after locking up a spot in the playoffs in only the second race of the year.

Busch, who won Saturday’s Trucks race, moved to the middle between Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion, and Suarez to set up the dramatic finish. Blaney was second, only 0.003 seconds behind, and Busch was third.

A massive pileup of at least 16 cars on the second lap was the biggest in the history of Atlanta Motor Speedway and set the pace for a procession of wrecks. The crash left many cars heavily taped for the remainder of the afternoon.

The intensity picked up when Austin Cindric went to the bottom of the track in his Team Penske Ford for a four-wide pass to take the lead with 50 laps remaining.

Michael McDowell, who on Saturday won his first pole in his 467th start, won the first stage but collided with Daytona 500 champion William Byron while trying to slow down to enter pit row in the second stage. McDowell suffered right front damage and each car fell one lap behind before McDowell made his way back to the lead midway through the final stage. He finished eighth.

In addition to Atlanta’s closest finish, it was the closest finish at any 1.5-mile track and the third-closest Cup finish since electronic scoring was established in 1993.

There were 10 cautions and an Atlanta-record 48 lead changes.

After qualifying second on Saturday, Joey Logano had to start at the back of the field and serve a pass-through penalty for a safety violation with his gloves. Chase Elliott, who qualified 28th, also was pushed to the back row, one spot ahead of Logano, following unapproved adjustments to the engine sensor on his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet.

Two Ford drivers for Stewart-Haas Racing, Noah Gragson and Ryan Preece, had items from their cars confiscated for inspection on Friday. Rulings from NASCAR could come next week.

Elliott, who earned his first win at his Atlanta home track in 2022, started stage 3 in fourth place. Elliott was eighth when he was tapped from behind by Ross Chastain’s Chevrolet and sent into a spin that ended his hopes of winning.

The Cup Series moves to Las Vegas next weekend.

Four players scored in double-figures as Decatur St. Teresa held off Argenta-Oreana 63-61 for a Class 1A Regional championship from Argenta-Oreana High School Friday night.

The two sides were close the whole game, but Ryheem Tyus and the Bulldogs were able to hold off a late comeback from the Bombers for the Regional championship.

Tyus led St. T with 19 points and got plenty of help Friday. Eli Etchason scored 16 points. Bryson Oliver added 13 points and Max Schilawski scored 10.

Chase Logue for Argenta-Oreana led all scorers with 31 points. Ethan Mahan added 15 points while Jalynn Flowers scored 12 points. 

The Bombers finish the season 19-14 overall. 

It is off to the Sectional next week for St. T, as they improve to 13-20.

Class 1A Sectional championship action from Friday

Effingham St. Anthony 52

Arcola 57

Camp Point Central 46

Delavan 32

Tuscola 53

Casey.-Westfield 37

Champaign St. Thomas More 52

Salt Fork 41

Illini Bluffs 69

Illini Central 51

Lexington 57

G.C.-M.S. 37

Jacksonville Routt 53

Springfield Calvary 60

Heyworth 80

St. Anne 69

Tolono Unity topped Warrensburg-Latham 65-46 Friday night to win its Class 2A Regional championship from the Sievers Center in Monticello.

The Rockets were led by brothers Andrew and Henry Thomas. Andrew scored a game-best 20 points while Henry added 16 points.

Unity scored 38 of its 65 points in the paint and had a 16-2 edge in points in transition.

The Rockets shot 56.5 percent for the game and held Warrensburg-Latham to 46.5 percent shooting. 

Kaiden Gardner and Alex Hardin each had 14 points to lead the Cardinals.

Warrensburg-Latham finishes its season 20-12 overall. 

Tolono Unity improves to 26-4 and will advance to next week's sectional action. 

Class 2A Regional Championship action from Friday:

Riverton 42

Williamsville 59

Bismarck-Henning 54

Prairie Central 46

El Paso-Gridley 30

Peoria Notre Dame 47

St. Joseph-Ogden 58

Shelbyville 41

Class 3A Regional Championship action from Friday:

Peoria Richwoods 56

Morton 53

Chatham-Glenwood 34

Rochester 38

Mt. Zion 72

Champaign Central 39

Decatur MacArthur 60

Champaign Centennial 57

Metamora 69

Peoria 33

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 53

Springfield Lanphier 48

Kankakee 62

Pontiac 47

Class 4A Regional Championship action from Friday:

Normal Community 62

Rock Island 46

In a game heard live on WHOW and its streaming services, the Clinton Maroons boys basketball program faced off against the Peoria Manual Rams for the 2A Regional Championship.

The Maroons fall by a score of 61-31 to end their season with a record of 28-5 and an undefeated conference season.

Keaton Graves led the Maroons with 10 points, Brooks Cluver contributed 7, Colton Walker added 6, Dawson Graves added 4, and Mason Walker and Dalton Bell added two points apiece.

Junior Dietrich Richardson led the Peoria Manual Rams with 18 points, all but two coming in the first half, Jakyle Green with 10 points, all coming in the fourth quarter, and very well-distributed scoring from the rest of the team. Eight other players not mentioned scored for the Rams.

The Serv-Pro of Piatt and DeWitt Counties Player of the Game looked a little bit different tonight, as the three senior cornerstones Brooks Cluver, Mason Walker, and Dawson Graves were named Co-Players of the Game due to their impact on the Maroons basketball program not just for tonight, but for their careers.

The Clinton Maroons end their season with a record of 28 wins to 5 losses and an undefeated Central Illinois Conference championship season.

Class 1A high school boys Regional Championship action tonight

Argenta-Oreana 7:00pm

Decatur St. Teresa

Tuscola 7:00pm

Casey-Westfield

Champaign St. Thomas More 7:00pm

Catlin Salt Fork

Illini Bluffs 7:00pm

Illini Central

Lexington 7:00pm

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley

Jacksonville Routt 7:00pm

Springfield Calvary

Heyworth 7:00pm

St. Anne

Class 2A high school boys Regional Championship action tonight

Peoria Manual 6:00pm

Clinton Hear the action on WHOW/dewittdailynews.com/digital plartforms

Riverton 7:00pm

Williamsville

Bismarck-Henning 7:00pm

Prairie Central

Tolono Unity 7:00pm

Warrensburg-Latham

El Paso-Gridley 7:00pm

Peoria Notre Dame

St. Joseph-Ogden 7:00pm

Shelbyville

Class 3A high school boys Regional Championship action tonight

Peoria Richwoods 7:00pm

Morton

Chatham-Glenwood 7:00pm

Rochester

Mt. Zion 6:00pm

Champaign Central

Decatur MacArthur 7:00pm

Champaign Centennial

Metamora 7:00pm

Peoria

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 7:00pm

Springfield Lanphier

Class 4A high school boys Regional Championship action tonight

Normal Community 7:00pm

Rock Island

Class 1A high school girls Sectional Championship action from Thursday

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 42 F-2 OT

Cissna Park 43

Class 2A high school girls Sectional Championship action from Thursday

Pleasant Plains 37

Camp Point Central 43

Peoria Notre Dame 59

Dee-Mack 37

Class 3A high school girls Sectional Championship action from Thursday

Quincy Notre Dame 43

Chatham-Glenwood 44

Lincoln 61

Morton 30

Class 4A high school girls Sectional Championship action from Thursday

Alton 66

Normal Community 56

Derrick White scored 28 points, Jayson Tatum added 25 and the Celtics won their season-high seventh straight game, beating the Chicago Bulls 129-112 on Thursday night.

White and Tatum each made five of Boston’s 23 3-pointers. Jaylen Brown scored 21 points, and the Celtics came away with another convincing victory after pounding Brooklyn by 50 prior to the All-Star break.

Boston went from leading by 16 to trailing by three at halftime before regaining control in the third. The Celtics outscored the Bulls 37-21 in the quarter.

Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Coby White scored 20 and DeMar DeRozan added 19 points on another rough night for the Bulls against the Celtics.

A blowout loss at Boston in late November left Chicago staggering with a 5-14 record. The Bulls steadied themselves somewhat, winning 21 of the next 36 despite losing Zach LaVine (foot) for the remainder of the season.

The Celtics adjusted the way they defended the pick-and-roll after Chicago shot 70% in the second quarter and wasted little time taking control in the second half.

They scored 10 straight to start the third. Jrue Holiday and White each hit 3s, and Kristaps Porzingis capped the run with a 15-footer to boost Boston's lead to 69-62.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Tatum and Sam Hauser made it 86-72 with just under four minutes left in the third. Hauser exited moments later after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face from Kornet.

Vucevic scored 20 points and Dosunmu added 12 to help Chicago grab a 62-59 halftime lead after trailing by 16 in the first quarter.

The Bulls, who scored 39 points in the second, took their first lead since the opening minutes on two free throws by Vucevic to make it 57-56 with 1:58 left in the half. Dosunmu put them back on top when he made a 3 from the wing after a save by Alex Caruso in the closing seconds, and Chicago headed to the locker room up by three after Brown missed a 3 for Boston.

The Bulls are at New Orleans on Sunday night.

Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad combined for three goals in a 32-second span in the second period, sending the Blues to a 4-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

Buchnevich also scored midway through the third, finishing his fourth career hat trick. Robert Thomas had three assists, and Jordan Kyrou had two.

Jordan Binnington made 38 saves to earn career win No. 137, moving him into a tie with Curtis Joseph for third on the franchise wins list. It was Binnington’s third shutout of the season and No. 15 for his career.

The Blues had dropped two in a row and three of four overall.

Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves for the Islanders, who fell to 1-2-2 in their last five games.

St. Louis grabbed control with its scoring outburst in the second. It was the fastest three goals in franchise history, surpassing the previous best of 36 seconds against Tampa Bay on April 15, 1993.

Saad scored a power-play goal at 4:38 for his 16th on the season. Buchnevich then got the next two at 4:45 and 5:10 for the fastest two goals by a Blues player since Pavol Demitra in 25 seconds on Nov. 11, 2000.

Buchnevich scored his 22nd goal on an empty-netter 9:21 into the third, after New York pulled Varlamov for an extra skater during a two-minute stretch of 4-on-4 following coincidental minors.

Binnington showed a quick glove on a point-blank chance for Mathew Barzal late in the third. Barzal had his season-long point streak snapped at eight games.

Binnington made a save on an Anders Lee breakaway a minute into the second period.

The Blues travel to Detroit on Saturday.

William Byron crossed under the white flag denoting the final lap at the exact moment a crash broke out behind him and won the rain-delayed Daytona 500, giving team owner Rick Hendrick the win in the 40th anniversary year of Hendrick Motorsports.

The NASCAR regular season settles in as it heads back east to Atlanta Motorspeedway this weekend.

Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman was second. The last Hendrick driver to win the 500 was Dale Earmhardt Jr. in 2014. Hendrick drivers have won the Daytona 500 nine times, tying the team with Petty Enterprises for the most ever. 

The fourth and final caution of the race began when Bowman hit Byron from behind and it caused Byron to sideswipe Brad Keselowski, triggering a 23-car crash that caused a red flag that lasted more than 15 minutes.

Joey Logano won after starting on the pole last year.

Practice and qualifying is 10:30 am on Saturday. Race time is 1:30 pm Sunday.

Austuin Hill won at Daytona for the third consecutive year on Monday night after the race was postponed by rain. Hill willl look to defend his Atlanta win from last year as the XFinity Series follows the Cup Series to Atlanta Motorspeedway this weekend.

The season-opening race was originally slated to be run Saturday. 

Hill has seven career victories, with two others coming at Atlanta. 

Shane van Gisbergen finished 12th as last year’s Cup winner at Chicago made his Xfinity Series debut. 

Frankie Munoz, the actor making a transition to motorsports, finished 33rd in his series debut.

Practice and qualifying is at 3:30 pm this afternoon. Race time is 4 pm on Saturday afternoon.

Nick Sanchez claimed the first Truck Series victory of his career, winning the season opener at Daytona when the race ended under caution. A potential breakout star in the Truck Series, the Craftsman Truck Series runs at Atlanta Motorspeedway this weekend.

Corey Heim was second, followed by Rajah Caruth. 

The final caution involved 12 trucks and was the record 12th of the race.

Christian Eckes won at Atlanta last year.

Practice and qualifying is this afternoon at 2 pm. Race time is 1 pm on Saturday afternoon.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Tolono Unity picked the ideal time to end a 17-game slide against its biggest rival Monticello, and rolled to a 57-41 win in Class 2A Regional semifinal action Wednesday night in Monticello.

Eric Miebach led the Rockets in scoring with 15 points but his off-the-ball defense on Monticello leading scorer Trey Welter shut down the Sages senior most of the night and Monticello's offense had few answers. 

Tyler Blythe and Ike Young each scored 11 points to pace the Sages. Welter finished with nine points and four assists. 

Monticello hit three earlier threes to lead 9-5 in the first quarter but Unity finished the half outscoring the Sages 24-6 and controlled the game the rest of the way. 

The Rockets had 23 points off 16 Monticello turnovers and scored 28 points in the paint. 

The Unity bench outscored Monticello 20-5, a strength all season for the Sages but they got few contributions from its reserves Wednesday.

Unity recovered from a slow shooting first half to finish at 47.6 percent for the game. Monticello shot just 36.6 percent. The Rockets made 11-of-16 free throws and outrebounded the Sages 27-25. 

Monticello finishes the season 15-15 overall. Unity improves to 25-4 overall and moves on to a Regional Championship on Friday against Warrensburg-Latham at Monticello High School.

Three players scored in double figures and Argenta-Oreana rolled to a Regional semifinal win, 73-41 over Mt. Pulaski from the Argenta-Oreana Regional Wednesday in Class 1A boys basketball postseason action.

Chase Logue scored 21 points to lead the Bombers. Tyson Oros and Jalynn Flowers each added 19 points. 

The Bombers led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter and stretched its lead to 60-35 after three quarters.

Mt. Pulaski was led by Frank Wade's 13 points. He was the only Hilltopper in double-figures.

Mt. Pulaski finishes its season 12-20 while Argenta-Oreana improves to 19-13. The Bombers will battle Decatur St. Teresa for the Regional Championship on Friday.

Zach Hicks made three free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer with three seconds left to give Penn State a 90-89 victory over Illinois.

Nick Kern Jr. scored a career-high 22 points, and Hicks and Qudus Wahab added 13 apiece to help Penn State (13-14, 7-9 Big Ten) overcome a 14-point deficit in the second half. The Nittany Lions snapped a three-game losing streak.

Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 19 of his 35 points in the second half for Illinois (19-7, 10-5). Marcus Domask added 15 points.

After struggling to keep up with Penn State’s speedy offense to start, the Illini settled down midway through the first half and controlled play for much of the second, but couldn’t hold on to multiple double-digit leads.

Illinois led 48-41 at halftime and Shannon scored six points in the first 3:59 of the second to give the Illini their biggest lead of the night 61-47.

Boosted by 13 straight points from Kern - and a surging crowd - Penn State cut the deficit to 10 with 12:28 to play. Jameel Brown and Hicks team for five 3-pointers over the final 12:03, with Brown cutting to four with 35 seconds left. Puff Johnson’s jumper made it 87-89.

The Illini made mistake after mistake as the second half wore on. They committed 13 of their 18 turnovers in the second and made just 42.9% of their field goals in that span.

Their defense was leakiest in the final minutes where Penn State finished on an 8-2 run

After losing twice in the regular season and getting bounced from the Big Ten Tournament by the then-Micah Shrewsberry-led Nittany Lions last season, the Illini couldn’t deal with Penn State’s speed and pressure late. They’ll need at least another game for their fifth consecutive 20-win season under coach Brad Underwood.

Illinois hosts Iowa on Saturday.

The Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals started the game on a 22-3 run and never looked back raced by Maroa-Forsyth 67-50 in high school boys basketball Class 2A Regional semifinal action Wednesday in Monticello.

The Cardinals led 27-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans would cut the deficit to 49-40 after three, but the Cardinals started the fourth quarter with a 10-5 run that was too much for Maroa-Forsyth to come back against. 

Alex Hardin scored the first seven for the Cardinals of the game for Warrensburg-Latham. He finished with 13 points. Kaiden Gardner scored 23 points to lead all scorers. Eastyn McKenzie added 13 points as well. 

Kaiden Maurer and Mitch Williams scored 14 points to lead the Trojans. Maurer and Zayn Giles grabbed six rebounds apiece for Maroa-Forsyth. 

The Cardinals shot 54-percent for the game and scored 30 points in the paint with 16 points off 11 Trojans turnovers.

Warrensburg-Latham outrebounded Maroa-Forsyth 30-22.

Maroa-Forsyth finishes the season 19-11 while Warrensburg-Latham improves to 20-11. 

The Cardinals advance to the Regional Championship against Tolono Unity Friday night at 7 pm in Monticello.

Class 1A Regional semifinal action Wednesday

At Argenta-Oreana

Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette 27

Decatur St. Teresa 55

At Augusta Southeastern

Delavan 37

Augusta Southeastern 20

t Bethany Okaw Valley

Arcola 51

Bethany Okaw Valley 38

At Casey-Westfield

Tuscola 63

Martinsville 18

At Catlin Salt Fork

Champaign St. Thomas More 56

Fisher 33

Salt Fork 50

Armstrong 32

Illini Bluffs

Illini Bluffs 65

Peoria Quest Charter Academy 43

Mendon Unity 62

Illini Central 71

At Lexington

Lexington 58

LeRoy 25

G.C.M.S. 67

Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy 53

At St. Anne

Heyworth 80

Milford 60

Class 2A Regional semifinal action from Wednesday

At Athens

Riverton 46

Petersburg-PORTA 30

Quincy Notre Dame 26

Williamsville 49

At Iroquois West

Prairie Central 55

Iroquois West 27

At Peoria Notre Dame

El Paso-Gridley 53

Tremont 51

Normal U-High 28

Peoria Notre Dame 49

At Olympia

Peoria Manual 83

Bloomington Central Catholic 58

Class 3A Regional semifinal action from Wednesday

At Limestone

Peoria Richwoods 69

East Peoria 40

Morton 57

Washington 49

At Chatham-Glenwood

Chatham-Glenwood 52

Taylorville 31

Jacksonville 47

Rochester 58

At Danville 

Mt. Zion 70

Danville 50

Champaign Central 68

Urbana 55

At Geneseo

Metamora 81

Galesburg 33

Peoria 59

Dunlap 45

At Springfield Lanphier

Lincoln 48

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 57

Springfield Lanphier 53

Springfield Southeast 31

Class 4A Regional semifinal action from Wednesday

At East Moline United

Bradley-Bourbonnais 60

Pekin 35

At Normal Community

Normal Community 53

Minooka 32

Rock Island 52

Normal West 45

Johnny Kinziger scored 21 points to help Illinois State defeat Northern Iowa 81-73 on Wednesday night.

Myles Foster scored 18 points and added 14 rebounds for the Redbirds (14-14, 8-9 Missouri Valley Conference). Kendall Lewis was 7 of 11 shooting (1 for 3 from 3-point range) to finish with 17 points while adding 10 rebounds.

The Panthers (15-13, 9-8) were led by Nate Heise, who posted 20 points and two steals. Bowen Born added 14 points, four assists and three steals for Northern Iowa. Tytan Anderson also had 13 points, two steals and two blocks.

Illinois State took the lead with 1:26 to go in the first half and did not give it up. The score was 37-34 at halftime, with Kinziger racking up 11 points. Foster scored a team-high 10 points after intermission.

Illinois State travels to Peoria to take on Bradley in the 'War on 74' rivalry game Saturday night. 

Duke Deen scored a career-high 35 points and made a program-record nine 3-pointers as Bradley beat Missouri State 86-62 on Wednesday night.

Malevy Leons added 17 points and had eight rebounds for the Braves (19-9, 11-6 Missouri Valley Conference). Connor Hickman shot 4 for 11, including 2 for 5 from beyond the arc to finish with 10 points.

The Bears (15-13, 7-10) were led by Alston Mason, who recorded 19 points

Matthew Lee added 14 points and five assists for Missouri State. Cesare Edwards also recorded 13 points and six rebounds.

Bradley took the lead with 6:15 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Deen led his team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them up 33-27 at the break. Deen scored a team-high 25 points in the second half.

Bradley hosts Illinois State in Peoria in the 'War on 74' rivalry game Saturday night. 

In a game heard on WHOW and all of WHOW's streaming devices, the Clinton Maroons boys basketball team faced off against the Tri-Valley Vikings at Olympia High School by a score of 56-50.

Earlier this season Clinton Faced off against the Vikings and lost in a fistfight by a score of 73-58. The Maroons came into Wednesday's game with a chip on their shoulder looking for revenge. 

The Maroons avenged its loss from earlier this season with a 66-60 win in Class 2A Regional semifinal action from Olympia High School Wednesday night. 

After being down by two points in the first quarter, the Maroons took the lead and never look back. Clinton used a 15-point second quarter to take the lead 30-27 going into the halftime break.

The Maroons shared the ball well with three starters in double figures. Mason Walker led the way with 17 points, Keaton Graves added 14, Brooks Cluver scored 12 on his way to being named the Serv-Pro of Piatt-DeWitt Counties player of the game for his tenacious defense against Tri-Valley's leading scorer Brayden Stombaugh.

Stombaugh led the way for the Vikings by the tune of 31 points. Marley Neitzel added 11, and no one else scored in double figures.

Clinton improves to 27-4 overall. They move on to face the Peoria Manual Rams for the Regional Championship on Friday night at 6:30 pm. Hear the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Boys Basketball 1A Regional semifinal action tonight

At Argenta-Oreana

Argenta-Oreana 6:00pm

Mt. Pulaski

Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette 7:30pm

Decatur St. Teresa

At Augusta Southeastern

Delavan 7:30pm

Augusta Southeastern

At Bethany-Okaw Valley

Arcola 7:30pm

Bethany Okaw Valley

At Casey-Westfield

Tuscola 6:00pm

Martinsville

At Salt Fork

Champaign St. Thomas More 6:00pm

Fisher

At Illini Bluffs

Mendon Unity 7:30pm

Illini Central

At Lexington

Lexington 6:00pm

LeRoy

G.C.M.S. 7:30pm

Bloomington Cornerstone Christian Academy

At St. Anne

Heyworth 6:00pm

Milford

Class 2A Boys Regional semifinal action tonight

At Athens

Riverton 6:00pm

Petersburg-PORTA

Quincy Notre Dame 7:30pm

Williamsville

At Iroquois West

Prairie Central 7:30pm

Iroquois West

At Monticello

Tolono Unity 6:00pm

Monticello Hear on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com

Maroa-Forsyth 7:30pm

Warrensburg-Latham

At Peoria Notre Dame

El Paso-Gridley 6:00pm

Tremont

Normal U-High 7:30pm

Peoria Notre Dame

At St. Joseph -Ogden

St. Joseph-Ogden 6:00pm

Sullivan

Shelbyville 7:30pm

Fithian-Oakwood

At Olympia

Peoria Manual 6:00pm

Bloomington Central Catholic

Clinton 7:30pm

Tri-Valley Hear the action on WHOW & all its digital platforms

Class 3A Boys Regional semifinal action tonight

At Limestone

Peoria Richwoods 6:00pm

East Peoria

Morton 7:30pm

Washington

At Chatham-Glenwood

Chatham-Glenwood 6:00pm

Taylorville

Jacksonville 7:30pm

Rochester

At Danville

Mt. Zion 6:00pm

Danville 

Champaign Central 7:30pm

Urbana 

Decatur MacArthur 6:00pm

Decatur Eisenhower

Champaign Centennial 7:30pm

Mahomet-Seymour

At Geneseo

Metamora 6:00pm

Galesburg 

Peoria 7:30pm

Dunlap

At Springfield Lanphier

Lincoln 6:00pm

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin

Springfield Lanphier 7:30pm

Springfield Southeast

Class 4A boys basketball regional semifinal action tonight

At East Moline United

Bradley-Bourbonnais 7:30pm

Pekin

At Normal Community

Normal Community 6:00pm

Minooka

Rock Island 7:30pm

Normal West

Class 1A Girls basketball sectional semifinal action Tuesday

At Ridgeview

Peoria Heights 43

G.C.M.S. 51

Cissna Park 44

LeRoy 41

At Central A & M

Tuscola 37

Altamont 52

Class 2A girls basketball sectional semifinal action Tuesday

At Canton

Peoria Notre Dame 64

Bloomington Central Catholic 31

Dee-Mack 44

Canton 34

At Iroquois West

Peotone 35

St. Joseph-Ogden 21

At Newton

Maroa-Forsyth 48

Teutopolis 56

Class 3A girls basektball sectional semiefinal action Tuesday

At Decatur MacArthur

Quincy Notre Dame 63

Mahomet-Seymour 46

Mt. Zion 34

Chatham-Glenwood 51

At East Peoria

Lincoln 64

Kankakee 28

Washington 34

Morton 40

Class 4A girls basketball sectional semifinal action Tuesday

At Normal West

Normal Community 70

East Moline United 50

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Raiden Colbert scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in the third quarter and Monticello overcame a slow night from its leading scorer to eliminate Meridian 67-55 in Class 2A Regional quarterfinal action from the Sievers Center in Monticello Monday night.

Trey Welter - the Sages' leading scorer - was limited to just two points on six shots. The senior was 2-for-2 at the foul line and 0-for-6 from the floor. He did have five assists and three rebounds. 

The Hawks hung around in the first half - staying within two to five points - but Monticello gradually pulled away in the second half and it was a total team effort.

In addition to Colbert's 18, Tyler Blythe scored 13 points. Ike Young added 12 points and played lockdown defense on Meridian's leading scorer Sebastian Hill, limiting the senior to 14 points.

Gatsby Grant added 10 points for Monticello.

Colton Denny scored 18 to lead Meridian.

Monticello limited the Hawks to 38-percent shooting. They used 12 Meridian turnovers to score 15 points. 

The Sages had 22 points in the paint and 12 points off 12 offensive rebounds. Monticello outrebounded Meridian 34-25. The Hawks had 10 points on 12 offensive rebounds. 

Monticello scored 10 points in transition and its bench contributed 18 points. 

The Sages made 10-of-24 from three and shot 49 percent for the game, including 13-for-17 at the foul line.

Meridian ends its season 17-14 overall.

Monticello goes to 15-14 and will take on Tolono Unity on Wednesday in a Regional quarterfinal. The Sages took down the state-ranked Rockets last week in Monticello, holding on for a 62-57 win after having a 40-17 halftime lead.

Game time is 6 pm from the Sievers Center in Monticello. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Class 2A Regional quarterfinal action from Monday

Bloomington Central Catholic 82

Olympia 55

Fithian-Oakwood 65     

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 43

Sullivan 55

Westville 54

Warrensburg-Latham 70

Pana 43

Watseka 67

Paxton-Buckley-Loda 45

Class 1A Regional quarterfinal action from Monday

Arcola 53

Beecher City 51

Argenta-Oreana 2 forf.

DeLand-Weldon 0

Bethany-Okaw Valley 63

Central A & M 31

Champaign St. Thomas More 68

Urbana Uni 25

Decatur St. Teresa 69

Cerro Gordo 45

Blue Ridge 50

Mt. Pulaski 62

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 71

Normal Calvary Christian Academy 35

Heyworth 96

Kankakee Grace Christian Academy 55

LeRoy 43

Ridgeview 33

Lexington 95

Tri-Point 20

Illini Central 61

Havana 41

Mendon Unity 77

Hartsburg-Emden 43

Tuscola 86

Broadlands-Heritage 27

Class 3A Regional quarterfinal action from Monday

Decatur Eisenhower 50

Bloomington 23

Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 49th goal of the season and added an assist, sparking the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

Knies also scored and William Nylander scored a short-handed goal for the Maple Leafs. Bobby McMann added an empty net goal. Mitchell Marner registered two assists.

Brandon Saad and Pavel Buchnevich scored for St. Louis. Joel Hofer stopped 25 shots.

Toronto won its fourth game in a row and swept the two-game series between the teams.

The Blues have lost three of their last four games.

The Blues host the New York Islanders on Thursday night.

William Byron snapped Hendrick Motorsports’ nine-race Daytona 500 losing streak with a win Monday in the rain-delayed “Great American Race.” 

He crossed under the white flag denoting the final lap at the exact moment a crash broke out behind him. The caution flag was thrown and he wasn’t quite sure if he was the official winner as he circled Daytona one final time.

The last Hendrick driver to win the Daytona 500 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2014. The 26-year-old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is the sixth different driver to win the 500 for Rick Hendrick, the winningest team owner in NASCAR history who made his way to victory lane on the actual 40th anniversary of his first Cup win.

The fourth and final caution of the race began when Hendrick driver Alex Bowman hit Byron from behind and it caused Byron to sideswipe Brad Keselowski and trigger a 23-car crash that caused a red flag that lasted more than 15 minutes.

There were four laps remaining on the final restart and Byron was in second in the No. 24 Chevrolet. He and Ross Chastain of Trackhouse Racing pushed back and forth for the lead and it was Byron out front as a crash broke out behind him just as he’d crossed under the white flag marking the final lap of the race.

Byron was followed by teammate Bowman in a 1-2 sweep for Chevrolet and Hendrick. Christopher Bell in a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing finished third and was followed by Chevys from Corey Lajoie of Spire Motorsports and AJ Allmendinger of Kaulig Racing.

Bubba Wallace was sixth in a Toyota for 23XI Racing and was followed by John Hunter Nemecheck in another Toyota but for Legacy Motor Club. Chase Briscoe was eighth in a Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing and followed by Legacy driver Erik Jones and SHR teammate Noah Gragson.

The race ran one day later than scheduled because of persistent rain all weekend at Daytona. Monday was supposed to open with the rescheduled second-tier Xfinity Series race and then lead into the 500, but when it was still raining Monday morning, NASCAR reordered the events and made the Xfinity race the closer.

Martin Necas and Sebastian Aho each had a goal and an assist, and the Carolina Hurricanes held on to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 6-3 on Monday night.

Michael Bunting, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Brent Burns and Jordan Martinook also scored for the Hurricanes, who have won three straight and eight of 10. Spencer Martin, claimed off waivers in January, had 14 saves to win his third straight start.

Connor Bedard had a goal and two assists, and Nick Foligno and Tyler Johnson also scored for the Blackhawks, who lost their 21st straight on the road (0-20-1). Chicago hasn't won away from home since beating Tampa Bay on Nov. 9. Petr Mrazek stopped 36 shots against his former team.

The Hurricanes built a 4-0 lead midway through the second period. Martin wasn’t tested often in the first period, facing just five shots, but the Blackhawks had 5-on-3 power play for 1 minute and 41 seconds.

Bedard flashed the skill that made him the top pick in last year’s NHL draft to try to pull the last-place Blackhawks back into the game.

Foligno scored on a spinning backhand off an assist from Bedard to make it 4-1 with 4:37 remaining in the second.

Bedard, in his third game back since a broken jaw sidelined him for more than a month, made it 5-2 on a power-play goal from the right circle at 7:00.

Bedard set up Johnson for a one-timer right in front to cut Carolina’s lead to 5-3 at 9:08.

The Chicago rookie star has two goals and four assists in the three games since returning from injury.

The Blackhawks host Philadelphia on Wednesday night.

It's the original home of 'March Madness' - the Illinois high school boy's state basketball tournament tips off today.

Class 1A Regional quarterfinal matchups

Argenta-Oreana 2 forf.

DeLand-Weldon 0

Forfeit by Deland-Weldon

Okaw Valley 7:00pm

Central A & M

Champaign Judah Christian 7:00pm

Fisher

Champaign St. Thomas More 6:00pm

Urbana Uni

Decatur St. Teresa 7:00pm

Cerro Gordo-Bement

Delavan 6:00pm

Lewistown

Blue Ridge 6:00pm

Mt. Pulaski

Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette 7:00pm

Decatur Unity Christian

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 6:00pm

Normal Calvary Christian Academy

Heyworth 7:00pm

Kankakee Grace Christian Academy

LeRoy 6:00pm

Ridgeview

Illini Central 7:00pm

Havana

Mendon Unity 7:00pm

Hartsburg-Emden

Tuscola 6:00pm

Broadlands-Heritage

Class 2A Regional quarterfinal matchups tonight

Bloomington Central Catholic 7:00pm

Olympia

Tri-Valley 6:00pm

Dee-Mack  

Fithian-Oakwood 7:00pm

Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond

Monticello 7:00pm

Meridian Hear on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com

Warrensburg-Latham 7:00pm

Pana

Class 3A Regional quarterfinal action tonight

Decatur Eisenhower 7:00pm

Bloomington

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 6:00pm

Springfield 

East Peoria 6:00pm

Limestone

Malachi Poindexter scored 27 points as Illinois State beat Evansville 86-79 on Sunday.

Myles Foster added 20 points and had eight rebounds for the Redbirds (13-14, 7-9 Missouri Valley Conference). Johnny Kinziger had 18 points.

The Purple Aces (15-12, 6-10) were led in scoring by Ben Humrichous, who finished with 21 points. Yacine Toumi added 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals for Evansville. In addition, Kenny Strawbridge had 13 points and six assists.

Illinois State took an 18-7 lead in the first half with an 18-3 run. Led by 13 first-half points from Poindexter, Illinois State carried a 44-36 lead into the break. Illinois State took the lead for good with 5:39 left in the second half on a 3-pointer from Luke Kasubke to make it a 67-66 game.

ISU hosts Northern Iowa on Wednesday.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with reliever Bryan Shaw that includes an invitation to big league camp for spring training.

The team announced the deal on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Shaw also pitched for Chicago last season. The right-hander had no record, four saves and a 4.14 ERA in 38 appearances.

Shaw made his big league debut with Arizona in 2011. He is 43-45 with a 3.93 ERA in 791 career games, also playing for Cleveland, Colorado and Seattle.

Jacob Hutson's 14 points helped Northern Iowa defeat Bradley 74-63 on Sunday.

Hutson also contributed seven rebounds for the Panthers (15-12, 9-7 Missouri Valley Conference). Bowen Born scored 12 points and added three steals. Nate Heise had 11 points.

The Braves (18-9, 10-6) were led by Connor Hickman, who recorded 22 points. Malevy Leons added 16 points and two steals for Bradley. In addition, Duke Deen had 11 points and two steals.

Northern Iowa took the lead with 16:00 remaining in the first half and did not give it up. Born led his team in scoring with 10 points in the first half to help put them ahead 44-26 at the break. Northern Iowa was outscored by Bradley in the second half by a seven-point margin, but still wound up on top, while Hutson led the way with a team-high 12 second-half points.

Bradley is at Missouri State on Wednesday. 

NASCAR has postponed the season-opening Daytona 500 until Monday because of two days of rain at Daytona International Speedway.

The race had been scheduled for Sunday afternoon, although the weather forecast put that in doubt all week. The final practice for drivers was canceled on Saturday, as was the Xfinity Series race.

The Xfinity Series race is now scheduled to be held Monday morning, hours ahead of the 4 p.m. start for the Daytona 500.

Joey Logano is set to start from the pole for Team Penske.

The Eastern Illinois baseball team dropped their 2024 opener against Florida A&M on Friday by a score of 6-5. A strong start from the FAMU pitching staff made things difficult for the Panthers, who came up just short after a ninth inning rally.

Neither team managed to reach base through the first two innings, but in the bottom of the third the Rattlers broke through with a two-out double by Jalen Niles. FAMU then took advantage of a pair of EIU miscues, including a fielding error and wild pitch, to advance around the base path and push three runs across the plate.

Starting pitcher Tyler Conklin (0-1) took the loss for EIU. He was relieved by Bryce Riggs in the seventh inning.

In his collegiate debut, Riggs allowed zero runs and just one hit while striking out four batters in 2.0 innings of work. 

The EIU offense was led by Cole Gober with three hits, while five different Panthers recorded one RBI.

EIU will have ample opportunity to bounce back on Saturday, as they are set for a double header. The first game is scheduled for 11:30 AM, with the second following at 2:30 PM.

The Illinois State baseball team split a pair of Friday games to open the 2024 season at the Snowbird Classic, defeating St. Thomas in game one behind 20 hits and 18 runs before dropping the nightcap to Saint Louis by a final of 13-8 from Centennial Park.

Redshirt junior Judah Morris, junior Noah Rabin, and sophomore Daniel Pacella all homered in the game one win while Rabin added his second of the season in the nightcap.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

A RBI-double from junior Tyler Herron got the 'Birds on the board in the 2nd inning before the Tommies retook the lead with a pair of runs to close the inning.

The 4th inning saw redshirt sophomore Luke Lawrence tally an RBI double as part of a seven-run inning for ISU. St. Thomas would shrink the lead back to three with a trio of runs as well.

Illinois State would be the first to double digits off a single from Pacella before it was Morris stepping to the plate and collecting ISU's first homerun of the 2024 campaign. Morris sent a ball over the left field fence, knocking in Pacella, and building the ISU lead out to 12-5.

The Tommies would eventually respond with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth to trim the margin back down to five (12-7). Shortly after, it was Rabin's power on display as the California native sent one deep to left centerfield for a 13-6 ISU lead.

Finally, in the top of the 8th inning, Pacella sent a no-doubter out to right field as the lead grew to nine before ISU added its final run of game one off a sac fly from junior JT Sokolove.

A solo homerun from junior Noah Rabin got the 'Birds on the board in the 2nd inning after Saint Louis opened the scoring with a pair of runs in the bottom of the 1st inning.

In the top of the 3rd inning, the Redbirds saw 10 come to the plate including six runs scored to take an early 7-3 lead before it was the SLU offense responding with a six-run inning of their own to retake the lead.

In the bottom of the 7th inning, SLU padded their lead with a pair of runs with the bases loaded to make it 12-8 before adding their final run of the night in the bottom of the 8th off a wild pitch from freshman Lawson Minshew.

Illinois State is scheduled to face the St. Thomas Tommies for the second time this weekend on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. CT.

 Illinois baseball (1-1) opened up its season with a doubleheader split vs. Akron (1-1) on Friday at David F. Couch Ballpark. The Illini captured a 3-1 victory in the opener before being walked off, 5-4 in 11 innings, in the finale.

GAME 1 | Illinois 3, Akron 1

The Fighting Illini began the 2024 campaign with a 3-1 victory over the Zips, backed by dominant pitching.

Jack Crowder earned his first win and quality start of the season by tossing 6.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits and striking out a career-high nine batters.

Cameron Chee-Aloy went 1-for-3 in contest, with his two-out, two-run home run in the seventh breaking a 1-1 deadlock that would give Illinois the lead for good.

GAME 2 | Akron 5, Illinois 4 (11 inn.)

The Fighting Illini were walked off in 11 innings by Zips in the finale of the twinbill, falling by a score of 5-4.

Chee-Aloy went 1-for-3 for the second-straight game, slugging his second home run of season and collecting three RBI.

Cooper Omans made his first-career start at Illinois, allowing two runs on three hits over 4.0 innings of work, picking up a pair of strikeouts.

The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow, where they will face No. 1 Wake Forest at David F. Couch Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT

A big fourth quarter propelled Maroa-Forsyth over New Berlin 57-44 in season finale Sanagamo Conference action of the high school boy's basketball season Friday night in Maroa.

The Trojans trailed 37-35 going to the fourth quarter, but Maroa-Forsyth outscored the pretzels 22-9 in the final frame to roll to the win.

Caeberry Lee scored seven of his nine points in the final quarter. Kaiden Maurer led all Trojans scorers with 17 points. 

Coby Lane added 11 points and Zayn Giles finished with 10.

The Trojans finish the regular season 19-10 overall and 5-3 in the Sangamo.

They will play a regional semifinal game in Monticello next Wednesday night against the winner of quarterfinal action between Warrensburg-Latham and Pana. 

The Clinton Maroons used a big third quarter and five players scored in double figures as Clinton neutralized the Argenta-Oreana Bombers 72-56 in non-conference high school boy's basketball from Argenta Thursday night.

Led by former Clinton basketball coach Clay Haurberg, the Bombers held leads of 15-14 and 37-35 after the first two quarters, but the Maroons exploded for a 22-9 third quarter and jumped ahead 57-46 and pulled away in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore Keaton Graves led a balanced scoring attack for Clinton with 17 points. Brooks Cluver and Mason Walker scored 15 points, Dawson Graves finished with 11 points, and Colton Walker had 10. 

Ethan Mahan scored 19 points to lead the Bombers. Jalynn Flowers added 15 points. 

The game was the season finale for both squads before beginning Regional play next week. 

Argenta-Oreana wraps up the regular season 17-13 overall. For the Bombers, it is off to a Regional quarterfinal matchup with DeLand-Weldon Monday in Argenta.

The Central Illinois Conference champion Maroons finish the regular season 27-4 overall - its second consecutive 25-win season under hall-of-fame basketball coach Vic Binkley. Clinton awaits the winner of a Class 2A Regional quarterfinal matchup between Tri-Valley and Dee-Mack next Wednesday at Olympia High School.

Ridgeview made enough free throws down the stretch to hold off Blue Ridge in a 67-57 in a non-conference season finale defeat for the Knights Thursday night in Farmer City.

Ridgeview, leading 51-39 going to the fourth quarter, the Mustangs made 16-of-20 free throw attempts down the stretch without scoring a field goal in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win.

Colin Michaels led Blue Ridge with 18 points. Wyatt Pearl added 12 points.

The Mustangs go to 11-19 overall.

Blue Ridge drops to 16-11. They will take on Mt. Pulaski in a Class 1A Regional quarterfinal matchup Monday night. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello rallied from an eight points deficit at the half and held a brief lead in the fourth quarter but Prairie Central held on late for a 45-41 win in Illini Prairie Conference high school boy's basketball action from Fairbury Thursday night.

The game was a rescheduled matchup from a January postponement due to weather. 

It was a knockdown, drag-out defensive battle all night. The Hawks led most of the game by around five to eight points. The Sages would find themselves within a possession on several occasions but could never get over the hump until the fourth quarter when Jack Weidner started the quarter with a three that gave Monticello a brief 34-33 lead. 

Eli Craft hit a three with 5:04 to go that tied the score at 37-37. After a Gage Steindenger jumper put the Hawks back up 39-37, Weidner got free on a beautiful feed from the baseline by Trey Welter, hit the basket and was fouled.

Weidner missed the free throw for the lead but got his own offensive rebound, however, couldn't handle the possession and that led to a turnover to Prairie Central. 

Levi Goad scored the next four for Prairie Central and the Hawks never trailed again.

Monticello made it interesting, forcing turnovers after a pair of Trey Welter free throws with 51 seconds left but that possession came up empty and then again with 20 seconds left but a Welter jumper from the baseline hit off the back iron and the Hawks made two free throws to put the game away.

Welter and Weidner scored eight points apiece to lead Monticello. Weidner was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game.

Goad was the only player in double-figures on either side with 13 points.

Early in the second quarter, the Hawks lost one of its leading scorers to injury. On a Welter drive to the basket, Tyler Curl landed awkwardly on his ankle and was helped to the bench. He did not return.

Monticello shot just 33 percent from the floor to Prairie Central's 41 percent. Monticello was outrebounded 30-26 but 13 Hawks offensive boards led to ten second-chance points.

Prairie Central goes to 17-13 overall and 3-5 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They wrap up the regular season by hosting Rantoul tonight (Friday).

Monticello finishes the regular season 14-14 overall and 5-4 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

It's off to a Regional quarterfinal matchup with Meridian Monday night in Monticello. Game time is 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

The Illinois baseball team begins its season on Friday with a trip to Winston-Salem, N.C. The Illini are scheduled to play four games in three days, with a doubleheader vs. Akron on Friday before taking on No. 1 Wake Forest on Saturday and Fordham on Sunday.

This season, the team has 21 players returning from the 2023 roster and welcomes 16 newcomers. Nine of the 16 newcomers are transfers.

The Illini return 72 percent (64/89) of their home run production to the team this year. Illinois returns one All-Big Ten selection in Ryan Moerman - a 2nd selection.

Right-hander Jack Crowder will take the mound for the Illini in the season opener, with lefty Cooper Omans getting the ball in the second game of Friday's twin bill. Right-hander Logan Tabeling will get the ball on Saturday and Sunday's starter is to be announced.

Saturday's contest will be the first time since 2020 that the Illini face the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Illinois went 3-3 overall against ranked opponents last season.

Illinois State opens the 2024 campaign this weekend in the 2024 Snowbird Classic against St. Thomas and Saint Louis in Port Charlotte, Florida. All games will be shown on FloSports ($).

Illinois State returns some key leaders to the diamond this season in Honorable Mention All-MVC member, Daniel Pacella, MVC All-Defensive team member, Auggie Rasmussen, as well as seniors Erik Kubiatowicz and Cameron Mabee.

Kubiatowicz and Mabee return after a 2023 season that saw a combined 81.1 innings pitched, 58 strikeouts, 32 appearances (9 starts), and 25 walks for the pair.

The Redbirds open with a game Friday morning against St. Thomas. They'll play a game Saturday against St. Loui and a double-dip on Sunday against both its Friday and Saturday opponents again. 

Illinois State was 20-30 overall (9-18 MVC) in 2023 in a season that saw pitchers Elijah Dale and Derek Salata become the newest 'Birds drafted in the MLB Draft.

Daniel Pacella gained national attention as he was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper following a season where he hit .307 with 16 home runs and 56 RBIs.

Illinois State, which finished 9th in the 10-team MVC in 2023, was picked to finish 7th in the 10- team MVC in 2024. Reigning MVC regular season and tournament champion, Indiana State, was picked as the league favorite as the Sycamores received eight of the 10 first-place votes.

Sidney Crosby scored twice, Reilly Smith and Bryan Rust added goals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Thursday night to snap a three-game losing streak.

The Penguins had lost to Minnesota, Winnipeg and Florida in succession, but controlled their third road game in four starts from the outset. With the victory, Pittsburgh moved past Washington and into sixth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Blackhawks, last in the NHL, dropped their eighth straight game (0-7-1).

Blackhawks star rookie Connor Bedard had an assist in his return a 14-game absence because of a broken jaw. After a sluggish first period, he set up Phillipp Kurashev with a nifty pass through traffic midway through the second. Kurashev dumped it past sprawling goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic. That drew the largest roar of the night from the United Center crowd of 19,423 for this year’s top draft pick.

Bedard lost the game’s opening face-off to Crosby, then lost contact with the veteran center, who deflected Marcus Pettersson’s fluttering pass over the left shoulder of Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom 15 seconds in.

The Blackhawks host Ottawa on Saturday.

Robert Thomas and Jake Neighbours each had a goal and two assists and the St. Louis Blues beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 on Thursday night.

Jordan Binnington made 36 saves, highlighted by two dazzling saves on Zach Hyman during an Edmonton power play in the first period.

Jordan Kyrou, Torey Krug and Pavel Buchnevich each added a goal and an assist and Brandon Saad also scored to help the Blues win for the eighth time in 10 games.

Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry scored for Edmonton and Connor McDavid had three assists. The Oilers lost for the third time in five games following a 16-game winning streak. Stuart Skinner made 24 saves.

The Oilers came away with a 2-1 lead after the first period behind goals from Draisaitl and Nugent-Hopkins.

The Blues took control with four straight goals in the second period.

Neighbours tied it at 2 1:09 into the period, and Krug gave the Blues the lead at 8:37, scoring off Neighbours’s behind-the-back pass.

The Blues host Nashville on Saturday.

Darius Hannah had 21 points in Bradley's 85-73 win over UIC on Wednesday night.

Hannah added eight rebounds for the Braves (18-8, 10-5 Missouri Valley Conference). Malevy Leons added 18 points while shooting 4 for 7 (1 for 3 from 3-point range) and 9 of 9 from the free throw line, and they also had five rebounds and five blocks. Duke Deen shot 4 for 10 (3 for 6 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free throw line to finish with 14 points.

The Flames (10-16, 3-12) were led in scoring by Isaiah Rivera, who finished with 27 points and two steals. Christian Jones added 14 points for UIC. In addition, Nathan Ojukwu finished with eight points and three steals.

Bradley took the lead with 14:31 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Deen led their team in scoring with nine points in the first half to help put them up 40-28 at the break. Bradley closed out its victory in the second half, with Hannah scoring a team-high 13 points after the break.

Bradley visits Northern Iowa on Sunday.

The Chicago White Sox have agreed to a minor league contract with Mike Moustakas that includes an invitation to major league camp for spring training.

The White Sox announced the deal with the veteran infielder on Wednesday night.

The 35-year-old Moustakas hit .247 with 12 homers and 48 RBIs in 112 games with Colorado and the Los Angeles Angels last year.

Moustakas was selected by Kansas City with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2007 amateur draft. He played his first seven-plus seasons with the Royals, winning the World Series in 2015.

The three-time All-Star is a .247 hitter with 215 homers and 683 RBIs in 1,427 career games, also playing for Milwaukee and Cincinnati.

Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 44 seconds left, and the Cleveland Cavaliers overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 108-105 on Wednesday night.

Coby White had a chance to force overtime as time expired, but his 3-pointer from the top of the key rimmed out. Mitchell’s go-ahead free throw gave the Cavaliers a 104-103 lead and his two makes with 4.7 seconds left extended it to 108-105.

Isaac Okoro scored 16 points and Jarrett Allen had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Cleveland, which has won 18 of its last 20 and is an NBA-best 23-5 since Dec. 16. The Cavaliers, who are second in the East, are 10-1 at home since the start of January.

White scored 23 of his 32 points in the second hal for Chicago, and DeMar DeRozan had 24 points and six assists, and Andre Drummond had 10 points and 15 rebounds. Chicago went 2-2 on a four-game trip heading into the NBA All-Star break.

All seven lead changes and nine ties took place in the final 10:40, beginning when Cleveland went ahead 79-78 on a 3-pointer by Georges Niang. White also made two free throws and threw the ball out of bounds in the last 17 seconds.

Chicago scored the first eight points of the game, eventually going up 46-29 in the second quarter behind 11 points from DeRozan. The Cavaliers shot 23.8% on 3s in the opening half, but made 7 of 16 tries after intermission.

Six Cleveland players scored in double digits with Evan Mobley having 14, Darius Garland 12 and Niang 11 before fouling out.

With the NBA All-Star game this weekend, the Bulls host Boston next Thursday, Feb. 22.

John Mozeliak looks at the Cardinals pitching staff and isn’t worried about older arms.

St. Louis was fifth in the NL Central last year at 71-91, its first losing season since 2007 and its most losses since 1990. The Cardinals added three starting pitchers as free agents, reaching a $75 million, three-year deal with Sonny Gray and one-year agreements with Kyle Gibson ($13 million) and Lance Lynn ($11 million).

Lynn (37 in May), Gibson (36) and Gray (34) join holdover rotation candidates that include Miles Mikolas (35) and Steven Matz (33 in May).

Gray was 8-8 with a 2.79 ERA last year with Minnesota and finished second to the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole in AL Cy Young Award voting. Mozeliak and manager Oliver Marmol watched his bullpen session Tuesday.

Lynn allowed a big league-high 44 homers last year with the Chicago White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

In Matthew Liberatore and Drew Rom (24) and Zack Thompson (26), the Cardinals have younger pitchers who could break into the starting rotation. The trio combined to go 6-13 with a 5.98 ERA in 28 starts last year.

Ideally, they won’t have to start any games this season.

St. Louis opens the season with games on eight consecutive days, four at the Los Angeles Dodgers, three at San Diego and the April 4 home opener against Miami, part of an opening that has the Cardinals scheduled for 13 games in 14 days. A six-man rotation at the start is possible.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Trey Welter scored 30 points and Monticello used a big start to hold off a second-half charge from state-ranked Tolono Unity to a 62-57 win Tuesday night in Illini Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action at the Sievers Center in Monticello.

The Sages led 40-17 at the half. Maddux Quick hit a three as time expired putting the Sages up over its longtime rival.

But the state-ranked Rockets turned up the intensity in the second half and charged back to within the five - the final margin. They would get within seven at a couple of points late in the fourth quarter. 

Welter made 8-of-8 free throws in the second half and Monticello shot 16-for-20 as a team to keep the Rockets from completing the comeback. 

Monticello did not make at three-pointer in the second half, finishing 6-for-15 from distance and shot 45.5 percent overall. 

Unity finished shooting 47.2 percent and went 5-for-18 from three.

The Rockets outrebounded the Sages 33-24 and used 12 offensive rebounds to score seven second-chance points.

The Rockets finished with 36 points in the point.

After committing just one turnover in the first half, Monticello turned it over nine times in the second half. 

Welter earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game.

Andrew Thomas led the Rockets with 11 points. Unity falls to 23-4 overall and 5-3 in the Illini Prairie Conference. 

Monticello and Unity could play again next week. If the Sages win a Class 2A Regional quarterfinal matchup against Meridian on Monday, they will play Tolono again on Wednesday. 

The Sages improve to 14-13 overall and 5-3 in the conference. Monticello wraps up its regular season Thursday night at Prairie Central. Tip time is 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Zach Lewis paced a balanced scoring attack and Blue Ridge pulled away from Tri-County Tuesday night 77-57 in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boy's basketball action in Farmer City.

Lewis finished with 21 points, 13 coming in the first half. Wyatt Pearl added 14 points, Corbin Colbert scored 13 points and Isaac Price and Colin Michaels each added 12 points.

The Knights gradually pulled away through the first three quarters and used a big fourth quarter to finish off Tri-County.

Blue Ridge moves to 16-10 overall and 6-4 in the Lincoln Prairie. They will host Ridgeview on Thursday night to finish out the regular season.

Four players scored in double figures and Maroa-Forsyth took down Riverton 64-59 in Sangamo Conference high school boys basketball Tuesday night in Riverton.

The Trojans gradually upped its lead with each passing frame. Kaiden Maurer scored 16 points to lead Maroa-Forsyth. Zayn Giles added 13 points and Coby Lane and Mitch Williams each scored 12 points.

The Trojans go to 18-10 overall and 4-3 in the Sangamo. Riverton drops to 22-7.

Maroa-Forsyth finishes the regular season Friday night hosting New Berlin. 

The Argenta-Oreana Bombers pulled out to a big lead early. They never looked back taming the Cerro Gordo-Bement Broncos 70-36 in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action Tuesday night in Argenta.

Jalynn Flowers led the Bombers with 27 points. Argenta-Oreana pulled out to a 23-4 lead after the first quarter. That lead would be trimmed to 35-22 at the half but the Bombers extended it back to 59-35 at the end of the third quarter. 

Ethan Mahan scored 15 points for the Bombers and Chase Logue scored 13.

Will Fuson scored 14 points to lead the Broncos.

Cerro Gordo-Bement falls to 13-17 overall and 4-7 in the Lincoln Prairie.

Argenta-Oreana goes to 17-12 overall and finishes at 9-2 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. The Bombers wrap up the regular season with game against Clinton on Thursday.

Terrence Shannon Jr. shot 11 of 15 from the field for 31 points to lead No. 14 Illinois past Michigan 97-68 on Tuesday night.

Coleman Hawkins had 17 points and five assists for the Illini (18-6, 9-4 Big Ten), Marcus Domask had 13 points and Quincy Guerrier had 10 points and seven rebounds in a game where most of Illinois’ starters were on the bench for the final 9:29.

Illinois coach Brad Underwood was happy to see his team's defensive intensity return after the Illini lost Saturday to Michigan State. The Spartans scored on nine of 10 possessions late in the game.

Terrance Williams III had 17 points, while Tarris Reed Jr. and Olivier Nkamhoua had 13 points each for Michigan (8-17, 3-11), which has lost 12 of 14 and is in last place in the Big Ten.

The Wolverines have lost eight straight games to the Illini.

Shannon has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season despite missing six games with a suspension, and he’s scored in double figures for 28 consecutive games dating to Jan. 31, 2023.

Illinois led Michigan 47-29 at halftime led by Shannon with 19 points. He made four straight 3-pointers in the final 3:56 as Illinois went on a 16-2 run to end the half.

Michigan coach Juwan Howard recruited Shannon when he entered the transfer portal after spending three seasons at Texas Tech, but Shannon decided to go to Illinois after committing to the Wolverines. This is his second season with the Illini.

The victory over Michigan kept Illinois all alone in second place in the Big Ten, two games behind No. 2 Purdue (11-2). Each team has seven conference games remaining.

Michigan was without leading scorer and top assist man Dug McDaniel. The 5-foot-11 sophomore guard isn’t traveling to road games because of an academic suspension that began with the Wolverines’ Jan. 11 game at Maryland.

McDaniel has missed five road games and Michigan has lost them all. His academic progress will be evaluated prior to spring break to determine if his suspension will be lifted.

Illinois is at Maryland on Saturday.

Bobby McMann registered the first hat trick of his NHL career as the short-handed Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the St. Louis Blues 4-1 on Tuesday night.

William Nylander had the other goal for Toronto. Ilya Samsonov made 14 saves.

The NHL’s department of player safety announced shortly before the opening faceoff it had suspended Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly five games for his cross-check to the head of Ridly Greig following the Ottawa center’s slapshot empty-net goal in the final seconds of the Senators’ 5-3 victory Saturday.

The Leafs were also missing star forwards Mitch Marner and John Tavares, who were ruled out just before warm-ups due to illness.

The undrafted 27-year-old winger has shown offensive flair at lower levels, but it had been a challenge in the NHL through his first 36 games, especially on a team where he’s battling for time further down the lineup.

Alexey Toropchenko scored for St. Louis, which entered 7-1-0 over its last eight games. Jordan Binnington stopped 28 shots in defeat

The Blues host the Oilers on Thursday.

Johnny Kinziger scored a career-high 31 points and Illinois State handed No. 23 Indiana State an 80-67 loss on Tuesday night in the Sycamores' first outing as a ranked team since Larry Bird led them to the national title game 45 years ago.

Kinziger, a freshman, went 10 of 12 from the field and more than doubled his previous career best of 14 points. Myles Foster had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Redbirds (12-14, 6-9 Missouri Valley Conference), who stopped a three-game skid, won for just the fourth time since Dec. 21 and silenced the crowd at Hulman Center.

Indiana State's nine-game winning streak was snapped. The Sycamores had surged into the rankings thanks in part to an offense that came in ranking fifth nationally at 85.6 points per game, but they had a poor shooting night against the Redbirds, missing their first 16 3-point attempts and finishing 8 of 38 from beyond the arc.

Julian Larry scored 20 points for Indiana State (24-3, 13-2), which lost leading rebounder Jayson Kent to an injury with 18:35 left in the game. Kent had eight rebounds when he was hurt in a scramble for a loose ball. Isaiah Swope added 18 points.

Swope's layup with with 9:33 left put Indiana State ahead 49-48, its first lead of the game, but Illinois State responded with a 17-8 run to push ahead 65-55 with 3:49 remaining, and the Sycamores never threatened again.

The Redbirds gained an advantage most teams in the MVC don’t have - a win over Indiana State. The win should help Illinois State improve its NET ranking, which is the tiebreaker for conference tournament seeding among teams that split their head-to-head matchups.

Illinois State hosts Evansville on Sunday.

Conor Garland scored twice, Dakota Joshua added a goal and two assists and the NHL-leading Vancouver Canucks beat the depleted Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Tuesday night.

Nils Hoglander scored for the third straight game as the Canucks improved to 36-12-6 and 78 points. Vancouver hasn’t led the league this late in a season since 2012, when it went on to win the second of consecutive Presidents' Trophies.

Vancouver outshot league-worst Chicago 38-23, controlling the puck for extended runs in dealing the Blackhawks their seventh straight loss. Thatcher Demko made 21 saves.

The Canucks wrapped up a five-game trip at 3-1-1 and swept the season series with Chicago, 3-0.

Tyler Johnson and rookie defenseman Kevin Korchinski scored for Chicago. Petr Mrazek blocked 34 shots.

The Blackhawks, at 14-36-3 and 31 points, have scored just 15 goals in their last 13 games, all without rookie Connor Bedard.

Blackhawks host Pittsburgh on Thursday night.

In a game heard Tuesday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons topped the Tremont Turks, 79-51, on Senior Night at Clinton High School. 
 

Clinton jumped out to a 14-0 lead, and pulled away from there thanks to stifling team defense, and a record setting night from Mason Walker.  The senior point guard drilled five first quarter three's en route to setting a new Clinton High School record with twelve in the game.  He broke the record previously held by teammate Brooks Cluver.  
 

The Maroons led by twenty after the first quarter, and cruised to their 26th victory. Walker led the offense with 36 points, and was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game. Keaton Graves added 15, and Dawson Graves had 12 for the Maroons.
 

Tremont was led by Grant Williams with 12 points.  The Turks fall to 18-11 on the year, and next play Thursday at GCMS.  
 

Clinton improves to 26-4 on the season, and wraps up the regular season on the road Thursday night at Argenta-Oreana.  
 

The Maroons then head to the regionals where their first regional game is next Wednesday at 7:30pm at Olympia. Clinton faces the winner of Monday night's Dee Mack/Tri-Valley matchup. 
 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello could not complete a comeback in the fourth quarter and fell short to Paris, 42-37 in Class 2A Regional semifinal action from the Sievers Center in Monticello Monday night.

The Lady Sages trailed by nine at one point in the third quarter. They would cut the deficit to two a couple of times in the fourth quarter.

Maia High got in foul trouble early in the first half and sat the entire second quarter. She returned in the second half and had an immediate impact.

The sophomore scored six of her team-best 13 points in the third quarter. 

Freshmen Sara Cresap added six points and freshman Ali Weidner scored five points.

Paris improves to 20-11 overall. They advance to a Thursday night Regional championship against Tolono Unity.

Monticello finishes the season 12-19 overall. The Lady Sages will look forward to returning its entire roster next year as they did not have any seniors this year. 

Ayo Dosunmu had a career-high 29 points and added seven assists to help the Chicago Bulls post a season-high score and beat the Atlanta Hawks 136-126 on Monday night.

DeMar DeRozan also had 29 points and Nikola Vucevic finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Coby White added 20 points and seven assists.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks off the bench.

Bogdanovic had 28 points and Hunter scored 23. Trae Young had 19 points, but was 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

The win kept Chicago two games in front of the Hawks for the No. 9 seed in the East. The Bulls have won both games against Atlanta this season.

Dosunmu was 12 of 18 from the floor and 5 of 7 from 3. He continually created havoc for the Atlanta defense with drives to the basket that created opportunities for himself and his teammates.

The Bulls trailed most of the first half, but closed the second quarter on a 12-2 run to take a 60-59 lead. Dosunmu had eight points during the run as Chicago scored on five straight possessions.

The Hawks were missing starting center Clint Capela, who will not return until after the All-Star break with a left adductor strain.

Torrey Craig started in place of Alex Caruso, who hurt his foot in Orlando in the Bulls' previous game.

The Bulls finish a four-game road trip at Cleveland on Wednesday night.

In a game heard Monday night on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons fell to the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Lady Chiefs, 40-28, in a Class 2A Regional semifinal at Clinton High School. 
 

The Lady Chiefs jumped in front early to lead, 16-9, after the first quarter.  They managed to gradually build on that lead throughout the game; going up by nine at the half; by eleven after three; and holding on for the twelve point win. 
 

Dee-Mack was led by Elise Hahn's 13 points, while Mackenzie Knowles and Dalia DeJesus had eight points each.  The Lady Chiefs improve to 30-2 on the year, and advance to Thursday night's regional championship. 
 

The Lady Maroons were led by Clara Dempsey with 11 points.  She was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Lady Maroons Player of the Game.  Reagan Filkin also added 9 for Clinton, whose season ends at 21-12 on the year.  
 

A reminder...

Join us Tuesday night for our next Clinton Maroons Game of the Week broadcast as Clinton hosts Tremont for Senior Night.  Hear the action on all WHOW platforms! 
 

Jordan Kyrou scored twice and Torey Krug had five assists and the St. Louis Blues earned a 7-2 victory at the Montreal Canadiens on Super Bowl Sunday.

Robert Thomas had a goal and three assists, Jake Neighbours added a goal and one assist, while Colton Parayko, Alexey Toropchenko and Nathan Walker also scored for St. Louis. Jordan Binnington made 30 saves for the Blues.

St. Louis has won seven of its past eight games.

Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia scored for Montreal, while Jake Allen stopped 29 shots. Suzuki extended his point streak to seven games while linemate Cole Caufield’s streak of 11 games came to an end.

The Canadiens lost their second in a row after a 3-2 loss to Dallas on Saturday and fell to 1-9-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.

The Blues went 3-for-5 on the power play. The Canadiens were 0-for-3.

St. Louis took the lead early and never looked back.

The Blues are at Toronto on Tuesday.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Ryheem Tyus scored 30 points and surpassed the 1,000-point plateau for his career, leading Decatur St. Teresa over Monticello 58-49 in non-conference high school boys basketball action from the Sievers Center in Monticello Saturday evening.

Tyus' 30 points also set a Sievers Center record for points in a game.

The Bulldogs shot 66 percent from the floor in the first half and led 35-22 at the intermission. 

Monticello could not get any closer than seven points in the second half as the Sages struggled to score at points. 

Trey Welter led Monticello with 11 points. Tyler Blythe scored ten. The Sages shot just 33 percent for the game. Knocking down 10-of-29 three-pointers helped them stay close.

Blythe was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game. 

The Bulldogs had 34 points in the paint and used 12 Sages turnovers to score 17 points. 

Monticello's rebounding was not good. They were outrebounded 33-24 and St T's 11 offensive rebounds led to 10 second-chance points. 

The Sages will host Tolono Unity for Senior Night on Tuesday at 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello started slow but scored the final 24 points of the first quarter and rolled to a 61-14 Class 2A girls basketball regional quarterfinal win Saturday afternoon at the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Maia High led the Lady Sages with 12 points. Ali Weidner added 11 points and five assists while Megan Allen scored ten points. 

Allen scored all ten of her points in the first half and helped Monticello establish a big lead early. For her efforts, she was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game.

Monticello will take on Paris in a Regional semifinal matchup on Monday at 7:30 pm in Monticello. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Coby Lane hit a pair of free throws late and Maroa-Forsyth held on for a 56-55 win over Argenta-Oreana in non-conference high school boys basketball action Saturday evening in Argenta.

Lane led all scorers with 29 points. He was the only Trojans scorer in double figures. 

Ethan Mahan paced three Bombers with 17 points. Chase Logue scored 14 points and Jalynn Flowers added 13 points. 

The Bombers drop to 16-12 overall. 

Maroa-Forsyth goes to 17-10.

Argenta-Oreana wraps up the regular season by hosting Cerro Gordo-Bement on Tuesday and Clinton on Thursday next week.

The Trojans travel to Riverton on Tuesday night and host New Berlin on Friday to wrap up its regular season. 

AJ Hoggard had 23 points, five assists, two steals, and zero turnovers to lead the Spartans over No. 10 Illinois 88-80 on Saturday.

Malik Hall had 22 points and Tyson Walker scored 19 for the Spartans, whose previous victory against a highly ranked team was two months ago in a 24-point win over then-No. 6 Baylor.

Michigan State (15-9, 7-6 Big Ten) came back from an eight-point deficit over the last six-plus minutes to earn the win and bounce back from a 59-56 loss to Minnesota earlier this week.

After missing free throws late in the loss against the Golden Gophers on Tuesday, the Spartans took advantage at the line with Hoggard making 12 of 13 and Hall connecting on 7 of 9 free throws.

Hoggard’s three-point play with 4:10 remaining made it 72-all, the 13th tie of the game. Shortly thereafter, Michigan State scored eight straight points to take control.

The Fighting Illini (17-6, 8-4) failed to keep a late lead for the second straight game.

Illinois led Nebraska by 10 with 3:29 remaining on Sunday before needing to go to overtime to secure a win.

Terrance Shannon Jr. had 28 points for Illinois and Coleman Hawkins scored 14. Marcus Domask was held to 12 points - eight below what he was averaging in conference games.

Illinois hosts Michigan on Tuesday night.

In a game heard Saturday afternoon on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons ran away from the U-High Pioneers, 43-32, in a Class 2A Regional matchup at Clinton High School.  

It was a close game through three quarters.  Normal U-High jumped out to an early lead, but Clinton got in front, 10-9, after one, and then led, 16-13, at the half.  The Lady Maroons maintained the three point lead, 27-24, at the end of the third, but they would crank up the pressure in the fourth to pull away for the nine point win.  
 

Clinton was led by Clara Dempsey with 13 points, and Reagan Filkin with 12.  Filkin, who scored ten in the second half, was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt Lady Maroons Player of the Game.  
 

U-High was led by Kari Merriweather's 15 points, and Jaz Thomas with 11.  The Pioneers end their season at 7-24 on the year. 
 

Clinton improves to 21-11 on the season. The Lady Maroons advance to take on Deer Creek-Mackinaw Monday night at 6pm at Clinton High School.  Hear Monday's game on all WHOW platforms! 

Okaw Valley held off Argenta-Oreana 53-47 in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boys basektball action Friday night in Bethany.

It was a battle of two of the top teams in the conference and did not disappoint. 

The two teams held even scores after the first quarter, and at the half, 9-9 and 19-19 respectively.

But Okaw Valley opened it up to a 37-29 lead after three and the Bombers could not recover.

Ethan Mahan led Argenta-Oreana with 18 points. Jalynn Flowers scored 14 points.

Chase Creviston and Dylan Miller each scored 11 points to lead Okaw Valley.  The Timberwolves go to 17-10 overall and 9-1 in the Lincoln Prairie. They will battle Arcola for a share of the conference title on Tuesday night.

For Argenta-Oreana, they fall to 16-11 overall and 8-2 in the conference. The Bombers battle Maroa-Forsyth on Saturday at 5 pm at home. 

The Clinton Maroons doubled up Central A&M to the tune of 70-35 and with Friday's win, takes the Central Illinois Conference regular season title.

The Maroons go to 25-4 overall and 5-0 in the CIC. 

They host Tremont Tuesday night before wrapping up the regular season next Thursday night at Argenta-Oreana. Hear Tuesday's action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

Four players scored in double figures and Blue Ridge held off a late charge by Heritage to take home a 61-51 win Friday night Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action from Heritage.

The Knights jumped out to a 19-5 lead after the first quarter and led 37-15 at the half. Leading 50-28 after three, Heritage used a late push but came up short.

Corbin Colbert, Wyatt Pearl, and Isaac Price each scored 12 points for Blue Ridge. Zach Lewis added 11 points. 

The Knights go to 16-10 overall and 6-4 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. They will host Tri-City on Tuesday night. 

A big fourth-quarter effort came up short of Maroa-Forsyth as Auburn held on for a 49-47 win Friday night in Sangamo Conference boys basketball action from Maroa.

Maroa-Forsyth trailed 30-21 at the half and 43-33 after three. They finished 4-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and shot 7-for-12 for the game.

Kaiden Maurer scored 14 of his game-best 17 points in the second half. Coby Lane scored 11 points and Zayn Giles added eight points.

The Trojans fall to 16-10 overall and 3-3 in the Sangamo. They will travel to Argenta-Oreana on Saturday for a 5 pm tip. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailnews.com, Monticello picked up a much needed, 50-43 win Friday night over Champaign St. Thomas More in Illini Prairie Conference high school boy's basketball action from the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Trey Welter truly did it all for the Sages, leading the way with 19 points, 12 came in the second half and he played shutdown defense on the Sabres' leading scorer, Kirby Wilson, holding the senior to 11 points.

Welter's efforts earned him the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game award but he led a very balanced Sages attack.

Ike Young finished with nine points and eight rebounds. Monticello outrebounded STM 26-23 but used 12 offensive boards to convert 13 second-chance points. 

Monticello got timely buckets throughout the night. Maddux Quick had eight points, helping the Sages establish a second-half advantage they would never relinquish with a pair of three-pointers in the third quarter. Gatsby Grant hit a pair of threes to finish with six points. Eli Craft and Tyler Blythe added four points.

While scoreless for the night, Raiden Colbert grabbed five rebounds, three offensive.

Monticello scored 26 of its 50 points in the paint and dished out 11 assists on its 20 field goals.

Monticello shot 42.6 percent from the floor to STM's 41.7 percent. 

The Sabres were 6-for-16 from three while the Sages were 7-for-24. 

STM struggled at the foul line, going 6-for-16. 

The Sabres fall to 19-5 overall and just 2-5 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

Monticello moves to 13-12 overall and 4-3 in league play. It is a quick turnaround for the Sages who host Decatur St. Teresa on Saturday at 6 pm.

Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

The Clinton Maroons will travel to Olympia for Regional action in the Class 2A high school boy's basketball postseason.

The Maroons will play Tuesday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 pm against the winner of the Regional quarterfinal matchup between Tri-Valley and Dee-Mack. As the fourth seed, the Maroons are in the same Regional as Peoria Manual - the top seed. 

Manual meets the winner of a Monday matchup between Bloomington Central Catholic and Olympia in Bloomington.

The Regional Championship is set for Friday, Feb. 23 at 6 pm at Olympia High School.

OTHER REGIONAL PAIRINGS

Class 2A Regional Quarterfinal matchups for Mon. Feb. 19:

Monticello 7:00pm

Meridian

Warrensburg-Latham 7:00pm

Pana

Class 1A Regional quarterfinal matchups for Mon. Feb. 19:

Argenta-Oreana 7:00pm

DeLand-Weldon

Okaw Valley 7:00pm

Central A & M

Champaign St. Thomas More 6:00pm

Urbana Uni

Decatur St. Teresa 7:00pm

Cerro Gordo-Bement

Delavan 7:00pm

Lewistown

Blue Ridge 6:00pm

Mt. Pulaski

Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette 7:00pm

Decatur Unity Christian

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 7:00pm

Normal Calvary Christian Academy

Heyworth 7:00pm

Kankakee Grace Christian Academy

LeRoy 7:00pm

Ridgeview

Lexington 7:00pm

Cullom Tri-Point

Illini Central 7:00pm

Havana

Mendon Unity 7:00

pm

Hartsburg-Emden

Tuscola 7:00pm

Broadlands-Heritage

Class 3A Regional Quarterfinal matchups for Feb. 19

Decatur Eisenhower 7:00pm

Bloomington 

East Peoria 7:00pm

Limestone

Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 7:00pm

Springfield 

The Clinton Maroons will be the fourth seed in its sub-sectional for postseason play that begins Monday, Feb. 19.

Peoria Manual is the top seed in the 2A sub-sectional followed by El Paso-Gridley and Normal U-High.

The brackets will be released this afternoon (Friday). The Maroons will either travel to Olympia or Peoria Notre Dame.

Local seeds:

Monticello received a sixth seed in its sub-sectional. They will host a Regional. Tolono Unity is the top seed in the sub-sectional followed by St. Joseph-Ogden, Shelbyville, and Maroa-Forsyth. 

In Class 1A, Heyworht received the top seed in its sub-sectional followed by Lexington, GCMS, and Flanagan-Cornell. 

Champaign St. Thomas More is the top seed in its sub-sectional followed by Argenta-Oreana, Salt Fork, and Georgetown Notre Dame de La Salette. 

Blue Ridge received the seventh seed in the sub-sectional, Mt. Pulaski the eighth seed, Cerro Gordo-Bement the ninth seed, and DeLand-Weldon is the 16 seed. 

Tuscola is the second seed in its sub-sectional. 

In Class 3A, Lincoln is the top seed in its sub-sectional while Mt. Zion also received a top seed. 

Decatur MacArthur is second seed, Mahomet-Seymour received a five-seed and Decatur Eisenhower a six-seed.

The brackets for the boys' postseason will be released this afternoon at 4 pm. 

Maia High grabbed a game-best 19 rebounds and Monticello controlled Prairie Central in a 40-30 win Thursday night in Monticello.

Ali Weidner led Monticello with 10 points and seven rebounds. High finished nine points. Madi Melton scored six for the Lady Sages while Lucy Leatherwood, Megan Allen, and Sara Cresap each scored five points.

The win wraps up the regular season for Monticello who finishes 12-18 overall and 4-5 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

It is off to the postseason for Monticello. They will host Sangamon Valley in a Regional quarterfinal matchup Saturday at 2:30 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

DeMar DeRozan scored 30 points, Andre Drummond added 21 points and 13 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Memphis Grizzlies 118-110 on Thursday night.

Nikola Vucevic added 20 points and 10 rebounds and Coby White also scored 20 for the Bulls, who won their second straight and third of four. Drummond went 10 of 11 from the field.

The Bulls had centers Drummond and Vucevic on the floor together for significant minutes, and the pair dominated inside, contributing to Chicago out-rebounding Memphis 46-34.

Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points for the Grizzlies before fouling out in the fourth quarter. GG Jackson added 27 points and Santi Aldama scored 15, as did Scotty Pippen Jr. Vince Williams Jr. had 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Memphis, which lost its seventh straight.

GG Jackson, a two-way player the Grizzlies took with the 45th pick in last year's draft, had struggled at times recently and came off the bench. He was 9 of 18 from the field, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range.

The Bulls are at Orlando on Saturday as their four-game trip continues.

It's a rare accomplishment for a trio of Clinton High School senior boys basketball players.

Having a player that scored 1,000 career points is a celebrated accomplishment for even an individual in a given basketball season, but it is a first for Clinton High School basketball coach Vic Binkley. 

Mason Walker, Dawson Graves, and Brooks Cluver became 1,000-point scorers. Cluver credits the chemistry the trio shares and says it has meant a lot to share it with two friends he's grown up with. 

Walker (right) has the catalyst for Clinton's offense and says being able to share the accomplishment with life-long friends has made it that much more enjoyable.

Graves (left) says scoring 1,000 points wasn't something he had on his radar when he started playing basketball and points out he didn't even know he had reached that plateau until well after the fact. He adds he couldn't have done it without his teammates. 

Cluver (right) and Walker say they looked up to the Clinton High School teams with Austin Baker and Austin Rauch when they were growing up and wanted to be like them.

Having three 1,000-point scorers is a first for Clinton's Hall of Fame basketball coach.

Coach Binkley says not only are the trio very hard workers, unselfish basketball players, and good teammates, but they are good young men as well.

The Maroons will go for the outright Central Illinois Conference championship Friday night when they host Central A&M at Clinton High School. 

Marcus Foligno and Nick Foligno both scored Wednesday night. Marcus Foligno also got into a fight, and then walked away with the win.

Marcus Foligno snapped a third-period tie and Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves, sending the Minnesota Wild to a 2-1 victory over Nick Foligno and the lowly Chicago Blackhawks.

The Foligno brothers matched up in the first game for the Central Division foes after the All-Star break, and Marcus Foligno's ninth of the season lifted Minnesota to its 11th consecutive victory over Chicago. Foligno also tangled with Blackhawks defenseman Jarred Tinordi in the second.

Jacob Lucchini scored in the first for Minnesota, which had dropped two in a row.

The game was tied at 1 when Vinni Lettieri set up Foligno right on the doorstep for the tap-in goal. It was Lettieri's second assist of the game in his return from a foot injury.

Petr Mrazek made 23 stops for Chicago in the opener of a five-game homestand. Tyler Johnson skated for 16 1/2 minutes in his return from a right foot injury.

Minnesota jumped in front on Lucchini's second career goal with 7:33 left in the first period. The 28-year-old forward beat Mrazek on the goaltender's stick side with a slap shot from the high slot.

The puck bounced out of the net and play continued before the horn sounded, giving Lucchini a chance to celebrate his first goal since Jan. 1, 2023, for Ottawa against Buffalo.

After getting outshot 11-1 in the first period, Chicago responded with 6:16 remaining in the second. Philipp Kurashev made a great pass over to a streaking Nick Foligno, who knocked it home for his 10th goal.

The tying goal for the Blackhawks stopped a scoreless streak of more than 173 minutes. It was the team's first goal since a 6-2 loss at Seattle on Jan. 24.

Boris Katchouk had a chance to put Chicago in front 3:50 into the third, but he was denied by a sprawling Gustavsson on a breakaway.

The Blackhawks host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

In a game heard Wednesday night on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons used a big second half to run away from the Cerro Gordo/Bement Broncos, 61-29, on Senior Night at Clinton Hogh School. 
 

It was a game of two halves as the Broncos led the entire first quarter, and most of the second before Clinton took their first lead at 19-17 just before half.  The Lady Maroons would never trail again.  
 

Clinton turned up the full court press out of the half, and CGB had no answers.  The Lady Maroons outscored the Broncos 42-12 in the second half to run away with the 32-point victory.  
 

Clinton was led by Clara Dempsey, who had 19 points.  Reagan Filkin added 11, and MaKayla Koeppel dropped in 10.  Koeppel was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Lady Maroons Player of the Game not only for her offense, but also for her defensive effort that held the Broncos' top scorer to only two points. 
 

CGB was led by Skye Tieman with 9 points, and Caroline Hill with 8.  The Broncos fall to 18-12 on the season, and next play in the Regionals against Neoga. 
 

The win was Clinton's fifth in a row, and 7th of their last eight games.  It improves the Lady Maroons to 19-11 on the year.  They'll wrap up the regular season with a nonconference game Thursday night at St. Teresa. 
 

The Lady Maroons begin postseason play Saturday afternoon when they host Normal U-High at 1pm.  Hear the action on all WHOW platforms! 

Blue Ridge Outscored Cerro Gordo-Bement 14-8 in overtime and knocked down its free throws late to take home a Lincoln Prairie Conference win 54-48 Tuesday night in Cerro Gordo. 

The win for Blue Ridge ends a four-game losing streak.

Sickness had ripped through the Knights program in the last week, and just two weeks ago, Blue Ridge lost to CGB in the Lincoln Prairie Conference tournament opener at Blue Ridge High School.

Tuesday night the Knights knocked down 10-of-14 free throws in the extra session and held the Broncos to just two field goals in overtime.

Isaac Price led Blue Ridge with 22 points. Wyatt Pearl added 14 points and Colin Michaels finished with 11 points. 

CGB drops to 11-16 overall and 3-6 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference.

Blue Ridge improves to 15-10 overall and 5-4 in the Lincoln Prairie. The Knights travel to Broadlands-Heritage Friday night in more Lincoln Prairie action.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Pontiac hit back-to-back threes to open overtime and that took the wind out of the sails of Monticello, who fell short 72-61 in Illini Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action Tuesday night in Pontiac.

Camden Fenton opened the extra session with back-to-back three-pointers to put the Indians up 59-53 and Monticello was clearly out of gas in its attempt to mount a comeback.

The Sages led most of the first half. Pontiac got within one after Kerr Bauman hit a three but Trey Welter hit back-to-back threes to put the Sages up 30-23 with 2:10 left. Monticello led 32-27 at the half.

Out of the intermission, Ike Young scored five quick points to put Monticello up 37-27 but Pontiac answered with ten straight points and the two teams played back and forth all the way to overtime.

The Indians had three players score in double figures. Bauman led all scorers with 24 points. Riley Weber added 18 points and Henry Brummel knocked six of six free throws in overtime to finish with 12 points. 

Welter led Monticello with 19 points. Young added 11 points. Young was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game.

Pontiac shot 40.7 percent from the floor for the game and made just 7-of-30 three-pointers. The Indians made 21-for-23 free throw attempts. At one point, neither team had missed a free throw attempt. 

The Sages shot the basketball rather effectively. They finished 49 percent for the game and 9-for-23 from distance - seven threes came in the first half.

Monticello was 6-for-6 from the foul line. Eli Craft hit two crucial free throws with a 1:04 left that tied the game at 53 and ultimately sent the game to overtime. 

The Sages were outrebounded 34-22and Pontiac turned 12 offensive rebounds into 14 points. They also turned 14 Monticello turnovers into 20 points. 

The Indians go to 16-10 overall and 5-1 in the Illini Prairie Conference. 

Monticello has dropped its last three conference games to fall to 12-12 overall and 4-4 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

They will try to right the ship Friday when they host Champaign St. Thomas More at 7 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Three players scored in double figures and Argenta-Oreana gradually pulled away to a 72-37 win over Villa Grove Tuesday night in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action in Argenta.

The Bombers led 37-20 at the half and held a 56-31 led at the end of the third quarter.

Ethan Mahan led Argenta-Oreana with 27 points. Jalynn Flowers scored 17 points and Chase Logue finished with 12 points.

Brady Clodfelter led Villa Grove with 14 points. Villa Grove falls to 13-11 overall and 4-4 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference.

The win was the seventh in its last nine for the Bombers as they go to 16-10 overall and 8-1 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. Argenta-Oreana will travel to Okaw Valley Friday night.

Maroa-Forsyth needed a big fourth quarter to get by Williamsville 51-46 in Sangamo Conference high school boys basketball action Tuesday nght in Williamsville. 

The Trojans trailed 39-37 going ot the fourth quarter. They led 24-21 at the half.

Kaiden Maurer scored 11 of his 19 points in the second half. Coby Lane added 15 points for the Trojans. 

With the win, Maroa-Forsyth goes to 15-9 overall and 2-2 in the Sangamo. They will host Auburn Friday night in more Sangamo action.

Williamsville used a big fourth quarter to rally past Monticello 53-50 in non-conference high school girls basketball action Tuesday night in Monticello.

The Lady Bullets outscored Monticello 17-7 in the final frame to help pull out the win.

Megan Allen led Monticello with 22 points and eight rebounds. Ali Weidner scored 11 points and Maia High added nine points. 

Monticello falls to 11-18 overall and 3-5 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. They will wrap up the regular season Thursday night hosting Prairie Central. Then it's off to postseason play for the Lady Sages. They host Sangamon Valley on Saturday at 2:30 pm in Regional quarterfinal action. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.

In a game heard Tuesday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons topped the Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals in double overtime, 66-62, in a Central Illinois Conference boys basketball matchup at Warrensburg-Latham High School.  
 

The Maroons entered the game looking to avenge last week's, 44-39, upset loss to the Cardinals in the CIC tournament. 
 

The Cardinals jumped out to an early lead, and were up 16-11 after the first quarter.  However, the Maroons would heat up in the second.  Clinton secured their first lead in the second at 19-18, but it was short-lived as the Cardinals would quickly pull back in front.  The Maroons hung around, and the two teams played to a 30-30 tie at half, which would foreshadow things to come.  
 

The Clinton offense struggled in the third quarter, only putting up six points in the frame.  Warrensburg built a 42-36 lead after three, but the Maroons would get hot again in the fourth, and tie the game at 50 a apiece at the end of regulation.  
 

The first overtime of the night saw both teams add six points each to force a second extra period at 56-56.  The Maroons were able to outlast the Cardinals and claim the four point win in the second overtime thanks to some timely shooting, and stingy pressure defense. 
 

Clinton's second half charge was led by Keaton Graves, who scored thirteen of his seventeen points in the fourth quarter and overtimes. He was named the WHOW / Serv-Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Maroons Player of the Game.  Mason Walker led the Maroons with 19 points, while Brooks Cluver had 11, Dawson Graves added 10, and Colton Walker scored 9.  
 

Warrensburg-Latham was led by Kaiden Gardner with 17 points.  Brayden Hickey added 16, and Alex Hardin scored 14 off the bench for the Cardinals.  They fall to 16-10 on the season, and 1-3 in the CIC, and next travel to Shelbyville on Friday. 
 

The Maroons improve to 24-4 on the year, and 4-0 in the conference.  They claimed a share of the CIC regular season title with the win, and can clinch the conference outright with a win Friday night at home against Central A&M.  
 

Be sure to join us Wednesday night on all WHOW platforms for our Clinton Lady Maroons "Game of the Week" broadcast as the Lady Maroons host Cerro Gordo-Bement for Senior Night.  Varsity tip expected around 7:30pm from Clinton High School.  
 

A slow first quarter wasn't enough to stop Clinton Monday night as the Lady Maroons rolled to a 51-33 lead over Mt. Pulaski from Clinton High School in non-conference high school girls basketball action.

The Lady Hilltoppers led 14-7 after the first quarter but the Lady Maroons outscored Mt. Pulaski 44-19 the rest of the way.

Clara Dempsey led Clinton with 18 points. Regan Filkin and MaKayla Koeppel scored eight points apiece.

With the win, Clinton goes to 18-11 overall and Mt. Pulaski drops to 19-9.

The Lady Maroons will host Cerro Gordo-Bement tomorrow night (Wednesday) in non-conference play. Hear the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

Monticello mustered just two points in the fourth quarter and Tolono Unity rallied to a 37-33 win in Illini Prairie Conference girls basketball action in Tolono Monday night.

Monticello led 17-13 at the half and opened it up to a 31-26 lead after three quarters but the Lady Sages could not hold on late.

Maia High led Monticello with nine points and ten rebounds. Madi Melton added eight points while Ali Weidner, Lucy Leatherwood, and Sara Cresap all scored five points apiece. 

Monticello falls to 11-17 overall and 3-5 in the Illini Prairie Conference. The Lady Sages host Williamsville tonight (Tuesday) and finish the regular season hosting Prairie Central on Thursday. 

After this week, it is off to postseason play. Monticello opens Regional action hosting Sangamon Valley Tuesday at 2:30 pm in quarterfinal action. Hear it on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

>>Cardinals Sign RP Middleton

Right-handed reliever Keynan Middleton has agreed to a $6 million, one-year contract with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The team announced Saturday that the 30-year-old Middleton is joining the organization as its 10th pitching addition this offseason.

Middleton will earn $5 million in 2024 and the Cardinals have a $6 million option for 2025 with a $1 million buyout.

He has played seven seasons in the majors with the Angels (2017-20), Mariners (2021), Diamondbacks (2022), White Sox (2023) and Yankees (2023).

Middleton has a 10-8 career record with a 3.84 ERA, 15 saves and 199 strikeouts over his 194 1/3 innings pitched.

Middleton combined for career bests last season with the White Sox and Yankees. He had 11.4 strikeouts per 9 innings pitched, a .667 opponents’ OPS and 57.4 groundball percentage.

>>White Sox Trade RP Santos to Mariners

he Seattle Mariners acquired Gregory Santos in a trade with the Chicago White Sox on Saturday, adding another hard-throwing reliever to their pitching staff.

The 24-year-old Santos went 2-2 with a 3.39 ERA and five saves in a career-high 60 appearances for Chicago last year. The right-hander joins Matt Brash and Andrés Muñoz at the back end of the Mariners’ bullpen.

Seattle has been active since it finished third in the AL West last year with an 88-74 record. It reacquired outfielder Mitch Haniger in a trade with San Francisco last month, and it got infielder Jorge Polanco in a deal with Minnesota on Monday.

The Mariners parted with reliever Justin Topa in the trade with the Twins, and Santos fills that opening in their bullpen.

The White Sox acquired right-hander Prelander Berroa, outfielder Zach DeLoach and the No. 69 pick in the 2024 draft in exchange for Santos. To make room on Chicago’s 40-man roster, right-hander Lane Ramsey was designated for assignment.

The White Sox also acquired outfielder Dominic Fletcher in a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks for right-hander Cristian Mena.

The 25-year-old DeLoach, a second-round pick in the 2020 amateur draft, batted .286 with 23 homers and 88 RBIs in 138 games for Triple-A Tacoma last year. Fletcher, 26, a second-rounder in the 2019 draft, made his major league debut in 2023, hitting .301 in 28 games with Arizona.

Chicago has Andrew Benintendi in left and All-Star Luis Robert Jr. in center, but right field is wide open.

The White Sox are coming off a disastrous 2023 season. They finished fourth in the AL Central with a 61-101 record. Getz was promoted to GM in August.

Marcus Domask and Justin Harmon each made two free throws and Terrance Shannon Jr. had a steal in the final 25 seconds of overtime to help No. 14 Illinois beat Nebraska 87-84 on Sunday.

The Illini led 72-62 with 3:29 left in regulation, but Nebraska went in front on Rienk Mast's short jumper with 9 seconds left. Domask then split a pair of free throws with 3 seconds remaining, tying it at 73.

Coleman Hawkins led Illinois (17-5, 8-3 Big Ten) with 20 points. Domask had 19, and Ty Rodgers finished with eight points and 14 rebounds.

Shannon scored 18 points in his fifth game back after sitting out six games because of a university-imposed suspension because of a rape charge in Kansas.

Keisei Tominaga scored a career-high 31 points for the Cornhuskers (16-7, 6-6), who were coming off an overtime win Thursday over No. 6 Wisconsin in a game in which they trailed by 19 points in the first half.

Mast scored 22 points against the Illini, and Juwan Gary had 12.

Tominaga went 5 for 7 from 3-point range and 9 for 14 from the field overall. He also went 8 for 8 at the free-throw line.

Nebraska led Illinois 36-34 at halftime, but the Illini made their first six shots in the second half to grab a 47-40 advantage.

Illinois had a 50-33 rebounding advantage. It grabbed 17 offensive boards compared to Nebraska's five.

Nebraska is winless in six Big Ten road games. Illinois is 5-1 at home in the Big Ten.

The victory vaulted Illinois into a tie for second place in the Big Ten with Wisconsin. The Badgers lost 75-69 Sunday to No. 2 Purdue, which leads the conference at 10-2.

The Illini completed a grueling stretch of seven games in 19 days when they beat Ohio State on Tuesday. Illinois went 5-2 over those seven games. Illinois’ schedule eases considerably this month as the Illini make a bid for the Big Ten regular-season title. Starting with Sunday’s game against Nebraska, the Illini will play seven games during February.

Illinois is at Michigan State on Saturday.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine is going to have season-ending surgery on his right foot, creating several major questions for the franchise ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline and into next year.

Following consultations with outside medical personnel, LaVine and his agency, Klutch Sports Group, made the decision in consultation with the team’s training and medical staff, the Bulls announced on Saturday. The two-time All-Star is expected to have the surgery next week, and he will be out for four to six months.

LaVine, who turns 29 in March, missed 17 games from Nov. 30 to Jan. 3 with inflammation in his right foot. Following a slow start to the season, Chicago went 10-7 while LaVine was out.

The high-scoring guard returned Jan. 5 against Charlotte, and the Bulls responded with a stretch of five wins in seven games. But he rolled his right ankle during a 116-110 victory at Toronto on Jan. 18.

LaVine was acquired in a June 2017 trade with Minnesota. He re-signed with the team in July 2022 for a five-year contract worth about $215 million.

He averaged 19.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 25 games this season. He averaged at least 24.4 points and played in at least 58 games in each of the previous four years.

It’s another tough blow for a Chicago team that has been hit hard by injuries in recent seasons. Lonzo Ball hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since Jan. 14, 2022, because of a left knee injury. Patrick Williams, who was selected by the Bulls with the No. 4 pick in the 2020 draft, is out with a left foot injury.

The timeline for his recovery means he could be limited at the beginning of next season as he ramps back up after he regains his health following the operation.

LaVine’s injury also puts Chicago in a bad spot ahead of Thursday’s NBA trade deadline. The Bulls are 23-27 after splitting their last four games.

Caruso and DeMar DeRozan likely would attract some interest if Chicago decides to tear down its roster. If it holds onto Caruso and DeRozan, it could bring in some help to ease the heavy load on its guards that increased with the injuries to LaVine and others..

Denny Hamlin, in his no. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, started from the pole and led 59 of the 151 laps. But his teammate Ty Gibbs controlled a large portion of the race until a late caution set up a restart with 10 laps remaining.

Hamlin got the lead on the restart and was about to win until Gibbs crashed on the last lap to send the race into overtime. Hamlin then got a jump on reigning NASCAR champion Ryan Blaney, who needed a provisional to make the 23-car field, on the restart for the win.

Hamlin has now won the Clash four times, but his other three wins came when the exhibition was held at Daytona International Speedway, including his rookie year. Joe Gibbs Racing has won the race a record 12 times, and now two years in a row following Martin Truex Jr.'s victory last season.

Kyle Busch finished second in a Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, and Blaney rallied to lead Team Penske teammate Joey Logano to finishes of third and fourth. Austin Cindric, their third teammate, missed the race after the field was set by speed instead of the scheduled heat races.

Logano, winner of the inaugural Clash in 2022, and Gibbs had a heated exchange after the race over contact between their cars.

NASCAR had only planned to run heat races Saturday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with the main event scheduled for Sunday. But with heavy rains and flooding expected, NASCAR eliminated the heats, set the field of 23 by practice speeds, and started the race just 30 minutes after qualifying.

A planned “halftime” performance by Machine Gun Kelly was canceled.

NASCAR about midday Saturday made the decision to run the Clash Saturday night out of concerns for the impending inclement weather. The decision was widely applauded by drivers, who saw the weather radar and worried the race would not happen before Wednesday if it was not moved up. Teams report to Daytona a week from now to begin preparations for the Feb. 18 season-opener.

NASCAR's signature event, the Daytona 500, is up next on Sunday, Feb. 18. 

The Clinton Lady Maroons rolled to a pair of victories Saturday afternoon in non-conference high school girl's basketball action from Clinton High School.

The Lady Maroons started the day with a 55-35 win over Riverton. 

Clara Dempsey led Clinton with 12 points while Heidi Humble added 10 points. Regan Filkin scored nine points, Carly Anderson added eight and Avery Smith and MaKayla Koeppel each scored six. 

In the second game, Clinton rolled Unity Christian (formerly Decatur LSA) 52-20. 

Anderson's encore performance paced the Lady Maroons with 16 points. Filkin added 12 points. Smith scored eight followed by Koeppel and Dempsey with six apiece.

With the pair of wins, Clinton goes to 17-11 overall. They will battle Mt. Pulaski on Monday.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello overcame a frigid start and got by Athens 49-42 from the Illini Prairie/Sangamo Conference Shootout at the Sievers Center in Monticello Saturday afternoon.

Monticello went 0-for-10 from the floor in the first quarter and 5-for-6 from the foul line and only trailed 9-5 after the first quarter.

Cody Tobias hit a three to open the scoring for Athens in the second quarter but the Sages answered with seven straight points in 42 seconds to pull with 14-12 at the 4:13 mark of the second quarter.

Pryor Reynolds hit a pair of free throws with 3:56 left that put Athens up 16-12 and Monticello a 6-2 run finished by a Trey Welter three-pointer at the 1:14 mark that tied the game at 18-18. 

Out of the half, Monticello pulled out to a 26-20 lead with 5:14 left for the quarter. Monticello led by as many as 11 in the third quarter, outscoring Athens 17-6. 

Colton Vance and Carter Foran provided a nice spark off the bench for the Sages. Vance scored three straight points to put the Sages up 11 then hit a layup at the end of the third quarter to help re-establish the double-digit advantage. He also grabbed a couple of rebounds in limited minutes.

Foran provided an added ball handler for Monticello and dished out a couple of assists on nice dribble-drive plays. 

In the fourth quarter, the Warriors could not get any closer than five as the Sages hit enough free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Each team shot 33 percent from the floor. Each team made five three-pointers. Athens shot 13-for-18 from the foul line while Monticello shot 16-for-23. 

Monticello held the rebounding edge, 34-25, and turned 16 Athens turnovers into 10 points. They also had 11 second-chance points on 11 offensive rebounds.

Welter led Monticello with 15 points. Jack Weidner added ten points. Ike Young led Monticello with eight boards. 

Athens drops to 15-11 overall. Monticello goes to 12-11. They will travel to Pontiac Tuesday night for a 7 pm contest. Pontiac pulled away from New Berlin in double overtime in the game before Monticello/Athens on Saturday. Hear Tuesday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Maroa-Forsyth could not hold on to a late lead and fell to Champaign St. Thomas More 48-45 from Monticello at the Illini Prairie/Sangamo Conference shootout Saturday afternoon. 

A Coby Lane three with 2:24 to play gave the Trojans a 43-41 lead but the  Sabres finished the game on a 7-2 run to close the game out.

Maroa-Forsyth had a couple of chances in the final seconds but came up short. 

The Trojans had to come back in the fourth quarter. Trailing 36-29 after three, Maroa-Forsyth went on an 11-3 run to start the frame after Mitch Williams hit a pair of free throws with 3:44 left.

Williams was the only player to reach double figures for Maroa-Forsyth with 10 points. 

Peace Bumba led a trio of Sabres in double figures with 16 points. Andrew Tay added 12 points and Owen Yeager scored 11.

Each team shot well. The Trojans shot 48.7 percent to STMs 47.4 percent. Each team made four three-pointers, shooting under 25 percent from distance. 

The Trojans held the advantage on points in the paint, 28-26 and Maroa-Forsyth turned 13 STM turnovers into 13 points. 

The Sabres outrebounded the Trojans 30-18. 

There were seven ties and five lead changes for the game.

STM is 17-8 overall while Maroa-Forsyth drops to 15-10. 

Maroa-Forsyt travels to Williamsville on Tuesday. 

Maroa-Forsyth and Athens played back and forth all night but as the Warriors who pulled out the 53-51 victory in Sangamo Conference high school boys basketball action Friday night in Athens.

Maroa-Forsyth held a 14-11 advantage after the first frame and a 30-25 lead at the intermission. But Athens rallied back and led 39-38 after the third quarter and held off the Trojans in the fourth.

Kaiden Maurer paced the Trojans with 17 points. Zayn Giles added 14 points while Coby Lane scored 11 points.

The Trojans are back in action Saturday taking on Champaign St. Thomas More at noon from the Illini Prairie/Sangamo Conference shootout at the Sievers Center in Monticello. Maroa-Forsyth resumes Sangamo play Tuesday night at Williamsville.

Arcola slowed a depleted Blue Ridge squad to a 55-36 win Friday night in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boys basketball action Friday night in Farmer City.

Illness has swept through the Knights program this week as it impacted the team's Tuesday night game against Okaw Valley. Friday night just two players scored in double figures.

Isaac Price scored 11 points to pace Blue Ridge while Zach Lewis added ten.

Arcola was led by Tanner Thomas with 20 points. Jackson Miller added 14 points for the Purple Raiders.

Arcola goes to 18-6 on the season and 7-0 in the Lincoln Prairie.

Blue Ridge falls to 14-10 overall and 4-4 in league play. The Knights will host Cerro Gordo-Bement on Tuesday.

Argenta-Oreana held off Cumberland in the second half for a 45-43 Lincoln Prairie Conference win in high school boys basketball action Friday night in Cumberland.

The Bombers expanded a 12-8 lead after the first quarter to a 23-16 lead at halftime, but Cumberland battled back to bring the score 32-29 as the Bombers were able to hold on from there.

Jalynn Flowers led Argenta-Oreana with 16 points. Chase Logue scored 13 points.

Kelby Bierman's 17 points led Cumberland.

Cumberland drops to 9-17 overall and 2-6 in league play.

Argenta-Oreana is 15-10 overall and 7-1 in the Lincoln Prairie. The Bombers host Villa Grove Tuesday night in more Lincoln Prairie action.

In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to Tuscola, 52-49, in the third place game of the Central Illinois Conference tournament at Clinton High School. 
 

The third meeting of the two teams this season proved to be just as entertaining as the previous games, in which each team claimed a win.  Tuscola threw a box and one defense at Clinton aimed at slowing down senior point guard Mason Walker. It stymied the Maroons offense for much of the game.  
 

The Warriors jumped out to a 17-9 first quarter lead, and would never trail.  They would lead by eleven at half, and as many as sixteen before Clinton clawed their way back within striking distance in the fourth quarter.  Clinton would close the gap to within a possession several times in the final stage, and outscore the Warriors by five the fourth. However, Tuscola's 7 of 8 fourth quarter free throw shooting helped them hold on for the three point win.  
 

The Warriors were led by Josiah Hortin (who was the player that went 7 of 8 at the line in the fourth) with 18 points; Jordan Quinn added 14, and Sawyer Woodard had 13.  Tuscola improves to 20-5 on the season, and next plays Meridian on Tuesday.  
 

Clinton was led by Colton Walker's 12 points.  He was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Maroons Player of the Game.  Mason Walker and Dawson Graves both had 10 points, and Keaton Graves added 9. 
 

The Maroons fall to 22-4 on the season, and next travel to Edinburg on Monday night.  Our next Maroons "Game of the Week" broadcast is set for next Tuesday night on the road as Clinton travels to Warrensburg-Latham. 
 

In other Maroons news...

It was announced Friday night that the Clinton Lady Maroons will host their first Class 2A Regional game on Saturday, February 10th, at 1pm against Normal U-High at Clinton High School.  You'll be able to hear the action on all WHOW platforms.  
 

Maia High's final basket of the night was the biggest as she beat the buzzer to send Monticello past Champaign St. Thomas More 47-46 in Illini Prairie Conference high school girls basketball action in Champaign Thursday night.

Megan Allen and High led the way for the Lady Sages. Allen had 14 points and eight rebounds while High finished nine points and nine rebounds. 

Sarah Cresap contributed five points with six steals while Ali Weidner had eight points and five assists. Emma Arnold added eight points for Monticello.

The Lady Sages improved to 10-16 overall and 2-4 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

The Central Illinois Conference tournament will see a third matchup between Clinton and Tuscola in a surprising third-place game for the two teams.

The Maroons fell in the Conference tournament's opener Monday night to Warrensburg-Latham before a convincing win Wednesday over Meridian.

Tuscola fell to Shelbyville Wednesday night, dropping the two favorites coming into the tournament to tonight's third-place game at 6:30 pm. 

Clinton fell to Tuscola at the Holiday Hoopla Championship game in Monticello just after Christmas then the Maroons knocked off the Warriors in Clinton on Jan. 19. 

Tonight's championship game Warrensburg-Latham opposite Shelbyville. 

The CIC tournament went to a round-robin format this year at Clinton High School. The teams were seeded and then divided into two pools, playing across three days of action with placement games tonight.

Hear tonight's action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

In a game heard Thursday night on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons outlasted the Central A&M Raiders, 52-50, in a Central Illinois Conference girls basketball matchup at Clinton High School.  
 

Central A&M jumped out to an early lead, 13-10, after the first quarter, but Clinton used an 11-0 run at the start of the second quarter to claim their first lead of the game.  The Lady Maroons would go into the halftime break with a 32-21 advantage.  The Raiders came out of the half strong, and held Clinton to only four third quarter points, but they could only chip into the lead as the Lady Maroons entered the fourth up, 36-31.  A&M tied the game midway through the fourth quarter at 44-44, but Clinton came through late at the line, and held on for the two point win.  The Lady Maroons shot 8 of 12 at the free throw line in the final period.  
 

Clinton was led by Clara Dempsey's 15-points.  She was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Lady Maroons Player of the Game. Avery Smith added 11 points, and MaKayla Koeppel had eight for the Lady Maroons. 
 

Central A&M was led by Jilyan Burgener and Lyndi Woods, who both had 14 points in the loss.  The Raiders fall to 22-8 on the season, and 3-1 in the CIC.  
 

Clinton improves to 15-11 on the year, and finish 4-1 in conference.  They'll next host Riverton and Unity Christian for two varsity only games on Saturday. Our next Lady Maroons Game of the Week broadcast on WHOW is Wednesday night's Senior Night contest against Cerro Gordo-Bement.  
 

Connor Hickman's 22 points helped Bradley defeat Northern Iowa 85-69 on Wednesday night.

Hickman shot 9 for 14, including 4 for 9 from beyond the arc for the Braves (16-6, 8-3 Missouri Valley Conference). Malevy Leons added 18 points and eight rebounds.

Darius Hannah finished with 12 points.

Trey Campbell and Bowen Born each led the Panthers (12-10, 6-5) in scoring, finishing with 16 points apiece. Jacob Hutson had 13 points and six rebounds.

Hickman scored 16 points in the first half to help put Bradley up 46-30 at the break. Bradley pulled away with a 12-3 run in the second half to extend a nine-point lead to 18 points.

Coby White scored 35 points, Nikola Vucevic added 22 points and 12 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls outlasted Charlotte 117-110 on Wednesday night to send the Hornets to their fifth straight loss.

Ayo Dosunmu scored 16 points for the Bulls (23-26), who are in ninth place in the Eastern Conference.

White turned in one of his better outings of the season, attacking the hole with a purpose. He finished 12 of 22 from the field with four 3s, nine assists and seven rebounds after being limited to 13 points Tuesday night in a 118-107 loss to the Toronto Raptors.

Bridges had 30 points and 15 rebounds for the Hornets, whose losing streak has coincided with their trade of leading scorer Terry Rozier to Miami for a first-round draft pick and Kyle Lowry. Lowry has not played for the Hornets as the team looks to trade him or buy out his contract.

P.J. Washington added 26 points and Brandon Miller had 21 for Charlotte (10-36).

The Hornets finished out a four-game homestand that included lopsided losses to Houston, Utah and New York - games in which they trailed by at least 29 points as some point.

This one was much closer than the others.

The game was tied entering the fourth quarter, but the Bulls built an 11-point lead behind White and Andre Drummond, who finished with 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. White, who played college ball at North Carolina, had 10 points in the fourth quarter, including a driving layup through the lane between two defenders to put the Bulls up by 10 with 1:26 remaining.

Charlotte played without LaMelo Ball for the third straight game due to ankle soreness. Fellow starters Gordon Hayward and Mark Williams also remain out.

The Bulls host Sacramento on Sunday night after three days off.