As the University of Illinois Football team heads to Orlando to take on South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl, so does a group from Clinton.

Emily Polen, Head Coach of the Clinton Junior High School Cheer Squad, explains her girls won a spot to perform with a group of high schools from all across the country during halftime of the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. 

Although the team has known they are going since June, Polen notes they've only had their music and routine for about a month. 

Polen says the girls are looking forward to performing in front of a crowd of around 60,000 people, and for the opportunity to go to Universal Studios and enjoy the nice Florida weather. 

Illinois takes on South Carolina in the Citrus Bowl today, kickoff is at 2 PM. 

The Clinton Maroons fell to the Tuscola Warriors by a final score of 43-37 in the championship game of the Holiday Hoopla Tournament from the Sievers Center in Monticello Saturday night. 

The Maroons were led by Colton Walker who shot 50% and scored 12 points. Dalton Bell earned the title of Servpro of Piatt Dewitt Counties player of the game by scoring 10 and shot two clutch 3 pointers to keep the Maroons in a tight game in the 4th. Keaton Graves rounded out the top three with 5 points.

The Warriors were led by 6'5" Sawyer Woodard who scored 9 points. James Parker followed closely with 13 points.

The close game was tied 28-28 after 3 quarters, but ultimately the Maroons were outscored 15-9 in the 4th. 

With the loss, the Maroons fall to 9-6 while the Warriors improve to 14-0.

Tune in to the next Clinton sports broadcast on January 10th when the Lady Maroons take on Heyworth at 6:00 PM. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, despite getting outscored in the final eight minutes and 50 seconds, Monticello held off Paxton-Buckley-Loda 42-34 in high school boy's basketball action to secure third place at the Holiday Hoopla Saturday evening. 

Gatsby Grant put the Sages ahead 28-11 with 5:27 left in the third but PBL outscored Monticello 23-14 the rest of the way. The Sages made just enough shots and played good enough defense to survive. 

Grant was the only Sages player in double figures with 14 points. Matthias Rudolph scored seven points off the bench in the first half. Rudolph was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game. 

Tyler Cole had ten points for PBL. 

The Sages shot just 39 percent from the floor but made 9-of-12 free throws. 

Monticello also committed 20 turnovers and were outscored in the paint, 20-12. 

The Sages held PBL to 29.3 percent shooting and the Panthers went ust 2-of-16 from beyond the arc. They also were 8-of-16 from beyond the foul line. 

The Panthers drop to 5-7 overall.

Monticello goes to 5-6 overall. They are back in action after the new year when they host Warrensburg-Latham next Friday at the Sievers Center 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 led wire-to-wire and beat Clinton 47-32 for third place in high school girls basketball action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla on Saturday afternoon.

Megan Allen helped the Lady Sages build a 12 point lead in the first half scoring 10 of her game-best 17 points in the first half. Allen grabbed seven rebounds and played excellent defense. She earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

Ali Weidner helped Monticello close out the win with 13 points making 6-of-6 free throws in the fourth quarter. 

Carly Anderson led Clinton with 13 points. 

Each team had 18 turnovers but Monticello had 18 points off those turnovers to just eight for Clinton. 

The Lady Sages shot 13-of-16 at the foul line and shot 43 percent from the floor for the game. 

The Lady Maroons shot 34 percent from the floor and went 0-for-8 from distance.

Monticello had 24 points in the paint to Clinton's 22 points.

The Lady Maroons drop to 11-5 overall. They will be back in action next Friday when they take on Heyworth at Clinton High School as part of a double-header with the varsity boys.

Game time is 6 pm. Hear both the boys' and girls' next Friday on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

Monticello improves to 7-6 overall. 

The Clinton Maroons will look to avenge a loss in last year's Holiday Hoopla Championship game Saturday night after a 53-48 win over GMCS Friday night in high school boy's basketball action in Monticello.

Three players scored in double figures and Clinton held off the Falcons to advance to its second straight matchup opposite Central Illinois Conference rival Tuscola Saturday night in Monticello.

Colton Walker went for double figures for the first time in tournament play with 16 points. Keaton Graves added 14 points and Dalton Bell scored 11 points. 

Despite shooting 47 percent from the floor, the Falcons committed 27 turnovers and that led to 26 Maroons points.

Clinton scored 28 points in the paint. The Maroons finished shooting just 37.7 percent from the floor and went 3-for-17 from three. 

GCMS outrebounded Clinton 34-23. Anthony Westbrooks grabbed a game-best ten boards for the Maroons.

Grayton Leonard scored 16 points with nine rebounds to lead GCMS. Brayden Elliot added ten points. 

Clinton goes to 9-5 and will take on Tuscola for the Hoopla Championship at 7:30 pm in Monticello. Hear the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

Clinton started slow and could not come back as the Lady Maroons fell 47-40 to GMCS in high school girl's basketball action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla Friday night.

GCMS led 17-8 after the first quarter and 23-17 at the half and extended its lead to 39-28 after the third quarter. 

Clara Dempsey scored 17 points to lead the Lady Maroons. Reagan Filkin and Carly Anderson added ten points.

Clinton will take on Monticello for third place Saturday afternoon at 2 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Thre players scored in double figures and Maroa-Forsyth rolled Judah Christian 81-36 in Friday action at the Decatur St. Teresa Holiday Tournament. 

Coby Lane led all scorers with 20 points for the Trojans. Kenny Morris added 16 points while Grady Rose scored 13 points for Maroa-Forsyth. 

The Trojans go to 5-3 overall. Maroa-Forsyt wraps up pool plaon y Saturday with a 6 pm matchup against Central A&M. 

Sawyer Woodard scored 25 points and led a powerful Tuscola attack over Monticello 54-38 Friday afternoon in high school boys basketball action from the Holiday Hoopla in Monticello. 

The six-foot-five big man was too much all afternoon for an undersized Sages squad and the Warriors' zone defense gave Monticello's offense fits. 

Parker James added 15 points for Tuscola who will advance to its fifth straight Holiday Hoopla Championship Saturday night.

The Warriors had 30 points in the paint and converted 14 Sages turnovers into 16 points. 

Only Nolan Buehnerkemper reached double figures with 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Ike Young had nine points but his impact was felt on defense holding Tuscola's leading scorer Kam Sweetnam to just seven points - all in the first quarter. 

Tuscola is 13-0 on the season and will play for the Hoopla championship on Saturday night at 7 pm.

Monticello falls to 4-6 overall. They will play at 3:30 pm on Saturday afternoon. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Monticello needed overtime to hold off a furious comeback by Tuscola and win 56-53 in high school girl's basketball action from the Holiday Hoopla in Monticello.

Monticello led 36-21 at halftime but Tuscola stormed back to tie the game and send it to overtime.

The Lady Sages outscored the Lady Warriors 8-5 in the extra session.

Ali Weidner led Monticello with 21 points, six rebounds, and three assists. Sara Cresap added 12 points.

Megan Allen had six points and eight rebounds. 

Monticello will play for third place in the Holiday Hoopla tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Keaton Graves scored 32 points and Clinton easily dispatched Neoga 74-36 in high school boy's basketball day one action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla at the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Graves was 5-of-9 from the three-point line and dished out five assists. 

The Maroons' defense forced Neoga into 23 turnovers and Clinton converted those into 25 points. They also had 30 points in the paint.

Anthony Westbrooks finished with 12 points and four rebounds while Dalton Bell added eight points and Colton Walker chipped in with seven. 

Clinton shot 62.5 percent from the floor. 

Clinton goes to 7-5 overall. They play PBL in the first of two games Friday at the Hoopla followed by a 7:30 pm game with GCMS.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Gatsby Grant scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the third quarter helping fuel a Monticello 64-52 come-from-behind win over Oakwood in high school boy's basketball day one action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla at the Sievers Center.

The Comets were able to open a 33-29 lead at the half, leading by as many as eight points in the first half. 

Coming off a career-best 28 in the day's opener over Ridgeview, Grant's encore performance was a huge lift for the Sages to start Hoopla action 2-0. 

Monticello beat Ridgeview 78-52 earlier in the day. 

Nolan Buehnerkemper was two assists shy of Monticello's first-ever triple-double, finishing with 11 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists. 

Buehnerkemper played all 32 minutes and facilitated the basketball nearly flawlessly in the second half to earn him the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

Maddux Quick scored ten points for the Sages, all in the first half. 

Monticello scored 36 points in the paint and turned 13 Oakwood turnovers into 18 points. 

The Sages dished out 17 assists on its 28 field goals. They shot 56 percent from the floor for the game. 

After starting the season 0-4, Monticello has won four of its last five. They will be put to the test Friday when they battle Tuscola at 3:30 with a chance to play for another Holiday Hoopla championship. Hear Friday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Four players scored in double figures and Clinton escaped Neoga 59-53 in high school girl's basktball day one action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla. 

Reagan Filkin scored 13 points while Carly Anderson had points and Lila Cluver and Avery Smith each scored ten points for the Lady Maroons. 

The Lady Maroons built an 18-10 lead after the first quarter. The Lady Indians cut the deficit down to 26-23 at the half but after an even third quarter, Clinton was able to hold off Neoga in the fourth. 

Neoga drops to 6-7 overall.

Clinton improves to 10-3 overall. They will take on PBL Friday morning at 11:30 am followed by a 6 pm matchup with GCMS in the second day of action in Monticello.

A slow start was too much for Monticello to overcome as Tri-Valley rolled Monticello 56-42 in high school girl's basketball action from the first day of Monticello Holiday Hoopla play.

The Lady Sages downed Ridgeview in Thursday's opener. 

In its second game of the day, despite leading after the first quarter 9-8 but a 21-5 second quarter allowed the Lady Vikings to lead 29-14 at the break.

Monticello rebounded to trail 39-35 after three but could not complete the comeback. 

Sara Cresap paced Monticello with 17 points. Megan Allen grabbed a game-best 13 rebounds and scored six points. Ali Weidner added eight points. 

The Lady Sages wrap up pool play from the Hoopla Friday afternoon at 2 pm taking on Tuscola. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Gatsby Grant scored a career-high 28 points on his way to a building record for three-pointers made in a game leading Monticello to a 78-56 win over Ridgeview on day one action from the Monticello Holiday Hoopla at the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Grant made 8-of-12 three-pointers - a Sievers Center record for threes in a game by an individual and Monticello made 11 threes as a team. Grant's performance earned him the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game. 

Even with 11 threes, Monticello scored 34 points in the paint on the way to shooting 57.4 percent from the floor. 

Ike Young scored 18 points for Monticello. The Sages got 23 second-chance points on 12 offensive rebounds and dished out 20 assists on its 31 field goals made.

Monticello improves to 3-5 overall. They will take on Oakwood tonight at 7:30 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Megan Allen and Ali Weidner scored in double figures leading Monticello over Ridgeview 40-18 in high school girls' basketball day one action from the Monticello the Monticello Holiday Hoopla Thursday.

Allen led the way with 13 points while Weidner scored ten points. 

The Lady Sages take on Tri-Valley tonight at 6 pm. 

The Clinton boys and girls basketball teams will head to the Monticello Holiday Hoopla starting this morning and going through Saturday.

The two teams will mirror each other's schedules with a game today and two games tomorrow.

The girl's begin play with a 3:30 pm matchup opposite Neoga. Then tomorrow they play two games starting with an 11:30 am matchup against Paxton-Buckley-Loda and a 6 pm game opposite GCMS.

Placement games on Saturday are determined on each team's record after pool play. The girl's first placement game is 10 am with the 7th/8th place game and the third/fourth place game is at 2 pm. The girl's championship game is at 6 pm Saturday night. It will be played before the boy's 7:30 pm championship game.

For the boys, they play at 2 pm this afternoon opposite Neoga. Then they return to action tomorrow for a 10 am game against PBL and a 7:30 pm game against GCMS. 

The boy's placement games begin at 10 am Saturday morning with the 7th/8th place games and the championship game is at 7:30 pm Saturday night following the girl's championship game.

Hear the boy's game Saturday on WHOW and all its digital platforms.

As Monticello heads to its annual Holiday Hoopla play this weekend, the Sages feel as though they have hit their stride.

The Sages will begin pool play just 2-5 but have spent the first month of the basketball season trying to bring its players that played in last month's high school football state championship game into the mix. After a tough 55-47 loss to Olney in Greenville on Saturday, Coach Kevin Roy feels his team has turned the corner.

Olney offered Monticello a good challenge will very good size in the paint and guards that were tall and long. 

Monticello begins Hoopla play this morning with an 11:30 am matchup opposite Ridgeview. They return to action tonight with a 7:30 pm game with Fithian-Oakwood. 

The Sages return to action on Friday with a 3:30 pm game opposite Tuscola. Hear this week's action, including the girl's placement game on Saturday, on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Maroa-Forsyth got two big performances to propel them past Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 69-41 from day one action at the Decatur St. Teresa Christmas tournament Monday afternoon. 

Coby Lane scored 13 of his game-best 23 points in the second quarter while Kenny Morris added 20 points for the Trojans. 

Ian Reid and Declan Shannon each added ten points for Maroa-Forsyth who moved to 4-3 overall.

Monday's matchup was particularly special for Maroa-Forsyth Coach Aaron Ennis. His longtime assistant, Kenny Parks took over the Knights basketball program this year and the two squared off for the first time Monday.

Kendall Schrock led ALAH with 12 points - the only player to reach double figures. The Knights drop to 1-9 overall.

Tournament action in Decatur resumes on Friday. Maroa-Forsyth battles Judah Christian at 7:30 pm. ALAH takes on Central A&M on at 6 pm.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, three players scored in double figures and Olney downed Monticello 55-47 Saturday afternoon from the Greenville Comets Holiday Shootout.

Six-foot-eight junior Casey Thomann scored 19 points and six-foot-six senior Rex Hallam had 19 points as well. Hallam was playing in just his third game back from a torn ACL last year. Arjay Keller had 12 points for the Tigers.

Olney shot 51 percent from the floor scoring 32 points in the paint.

Ike Young led Monticello with 13 points while Carter Foran scored 10 points - all in the second half.

Foran's breakout game earned him the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game.

Monticello shot 39 percent from the floor and despite a significant size disadvantage, they outrebounded Olney 24-20.

Olney improves to 7-4 overall.

Monticello drops to 2-5 overall. It's off to the Holiday Hoopla for the Sages. They play two games on Thursday. Action starts at 11:30 am with a matchup opposite Ridgeview then a night game against Fithian-Oakwood at 7:30 pm.

Hear both games on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.   

Warrensburg-Latham rolled to a 69-39 win over a depleted Maroa-Forsyth squad Friday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action in Warrensburg.

The Trojans fell behind early 13-2 after the first quarter and trailed 37-16 at the half.

Playing without starters Mitch Williams, Caebrin Lee and Ryne Sheppard, Maroa-Forsyt was led by Coby Lane's 16 points.

Kaiden Gardner led Warrensburg-Latham with 23 points and Brennan Bonds added 11 points. 

The Cardinals improve to 11-0. They will play at the Williamsville Holiday Tournament starting next Thursday when they take on Delavan. 

The Trojans fall to 3-3 overall. It's off to the Decatur St. Teresa Christmas Tournament where they begin action against Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at 2:30 pm on Monday. 

A big third quarter helped Argenta-Oreana get by Blue Ridge 58-47 in Lincoln Prairie Conference high school boy's basketball action Friday night in Farmer City.

The Bombers and Knights played to a 17-17 tie in the first half, but Argenta-Oreana used a 24-15 third quarter to take a 41-32 lead going ot the fourth quarter and held on from there.

The Bombers used balanced scoring Friday. Tyson Tennin led the way with 12 points. Tyson Oros added ten points Damain Gude scored eight points, Carter Logue chipped in with seven points and Montraze Brummett scored six points. 

Isaac Price led all scorers for the Knights with 25 points. Wesley Clark chipped in with 13 points.

Blue Ridge is 5-5 overall and 0-1 in the Lincoln Prairie. They go to the Greenview Christmas Tournament starting with a 2:30 pm matchup with LeRoy on Monday.

Argenta-Oreana improves to 4-8 overall and goes to 1-0 in the Lincoln Prairie Conference. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, five players scored in double figures and Monticello overcame a fast start by Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond to win 66-40 in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from Arthur Tuesday.

The Knights went 7-of-13 from beyond the arc in the first half, using the three-ball to keep the score close, 29-27 at halftime but the Sages outscored ALAH 37-13 in the second half.

It was quite the turnaround for ALAH who lost 58-10 last year in Monticello.

Nate Hale scored 11 of his game-high 17 points in the first half, helping the Knights trade runs in the first half.

ALAH went to a box-in-one to limit Monticello's leading scorer Gatsby Grant, but the senior worked his way to a team-high 14 points. 

The Sages had an astounding 50 points in the paint. 

Junior Nolan Buehnerkemper recorded his first career double-double for Monticello with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ike Young had 12 points, three assists, three steals, and three rebounds for the Sages. 

Carter Foran added 11 points and Maddux Quick had 10 points for Monticello.

The Sages turned 18 Knights turnovers into 27 points and used 17 offensive rebounds to convert 18 second-chance points. Monticello controlled the glass 38-24. 

While shooting 49 percent from the floor, Monticello went just 3-for-16 from three and shot 5-of-13 at the foul line. 

ALAH drops to 1-8 overall.

Monticello goes to 2-4 overall. They take on Richland County from the Greenville Shootout Saturday at 4:30 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Monticello beat Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond 46-27 in non-conference high school girls basketball action from Arthur Tuesday.

The girl's game was the start of a girls-boys doubleheader Tuesday night.

Sophomore Ali Weidner led the Lady Sages with 11 points. Megan Allen added nine points while Madi Melton scored eight points for Monticello.

Monticello outrebounded the Lady Knights 30-19 and finished 12-of-20 at the foul line.

Monticello travels to Warrensburg-Latham Thursday night. 

A short-handed Maroa-Forsyth squad fell to Rantoul 65-50 Monday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action Tuesday in Maroa.

Already without Mitch Williams, Ryne Sheppar,d and Kendall Nailor, the Trojans learned they would be without Caebrin Lee for an extended period who broke his wrist during action at the Macon County Tournament last week. 

Off of a 52-point performance in the third-place game of the Macon County tournament last Friday night, Coby Lane followed up that with 25 points Tuesday to lead all scorers. 

Kenny Morris added 12 points for the Trojans, who fall to 3-2 on the season. 

DJ Davis led the Eagles with 18 points. Justin Merrill scored 15 points and Jayden Rice added 12 points for Rantoul. 

The Eagles go to 4-5 overall. They travel to Springfield Higon h Thursday night. 

The Trojans visit Warrensburg-Latham Friday night. 

Argenta-Oreana struggled offensively in the second half and Meridian rolled to a 71-47 win Tuesday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action in Argenta.

The Bombers played close through the first half, trailing 21-18 at the end of the first quarter and then 35-29 at halftime.

The Hawks pulled away in the second half, outscoring the Bombers 36-18.

Colton Denny led Meridian with 17 points. Bryce Brown and Paul Ralston scored 15 points apiece for the Hawks. 

Damian Gude had 12 points to lead Argenta-Oreana. Tyson Tennin had 11 points while MJ Hall scored ten points. 

Meridian is 3-7 overall. Argenta-Oreana goes to 3-8.

The Bombers take on Blue Ridge Friday in Farmer City. 

The Clinton Maroons defeated the Meridian Hawks by a final score of 58-47 in high school girls Central Illinois Conference basketball action at Clinton High School on Monday Night.

The Maroons were led by the Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt counties player of the game Carly Anderson who scored 20 points, 9 of those being beyond the arc even after a slight finger injury. Clara Dempsey added 13 points while Regan Filkin chipped in with 9. 

The Hawks tied the game twice in the 4th quarter, led by Haley Leffler who scored 14 points, 12 being from the 3-point line. Juliea Meisenhelter (MY-ZEN-HELTER) added 12 points. 

With the win, the Maroons improved to 8-3.

The Lady Maroons will play next on Thursday when they take on Roanoke-Benson on the road. Tip-off is at 7:15 PM. 

The Monticello boys basketball team picked up its first victory of the season Friday night over Heyworth and with that came a lot of good things.

Coach Kevin Roy liked a lot of the things he saw from his team Friday. Gatsby Grant led all scorers in the 65-34 win with 21, it was a lot of the little things he was pleased to see.

Sages basketball has always been about controlling what they can control and focusing within. Especially in a time of transition with bringing kids who played in the football championship game into the fold, Coach Roy says the scoreboard and wins and losses will take care of itself, they need to be focused on themselves.

With each passing game, Coach Roy sees his kids coming back from football getting more and more comfortable.

Monticello travels to Arthur tonight for a matchup with Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond. Hear the action tipping at 7:30 pm on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Coby Lane showed up to school 90 minutes early to shoot and then came in 30 minutes before bus time for more shooting. 

The extra reps paid off as the junior exploded for 54 points and led Maroa-Forsyth to a 79-63 win over Meridian for a third-place finish at the Macon County Tournament from Central A&M High School Friday night.

Lane hit six first-half three-pointers and shot 9-of-14 from the foul line, sinking 8-of-12 in the second half.

The Trojans led 36-31 at the break and broke the game open with a 20-10 third quarter advantage to go up 56-41.

Brady Doss added 12 points for Maroa-Forsyth. 

The Trojans improve to 3-1 overall. They will host Rantoul Tuesday night. 

Ryan Hopkins had 25 points and paced Fisher over Blue Ridge 59-49 in non-conference high school boy's basketball action Friday in Fisher.

Hopkins scored 18 points in the second half with 12 coming in the fourth quarter as the Bunnies pulled away from the Knights late.

Fisher led 40-36 after three quarters.

Isaac Price had 23 points to lead Blue Ridge. Corbin Colbert added 17 points.

Fisher improves to 2-5 overall. 

Blue Ridge drops to 4-2 overall. They will travel to Sullivan on Monday night. 

Jaeger Hill scored 24 points and paced Tri-City-Sangamon Valley to a 61-44 win in the Macon County Tournament Consolation Championship game Friday from Central A&M High School.

A slow start doomed the Bombers who trailed 18-6 after the first quarter and were outscored 21-9 in the fourth quarter. 

Gage Shafer added ten points for Tri-City-Sangamon Valley.

Damian Gude led the Bombers with 13 points while MJ Hall added 11 points. 

Tri-City-Sangamon Valley goes to 5-4 overall.

Argenta-Oreana drops to 3-7. They return to action Tuesday night hosting Meridian.

In a game heard on WEZC and dewittdailynews.com, Heyworth jumped out to a 15-7 lead in the first quarter, but Monticello outscored the Hornets the rest of the way 58-19 the rest of the way to win 65-34 in non-conference high school boys' basketball action from the Sievers Center in Monticello.

The Hornets connected on its first three 3-point attempts to jump out to the early lead but Monticello used a surge hitting five three-pointers in the second quarter to open the game up and held Heyworth to just one second-half field goal.

Gatsby Grant scored a career-high 21 points for Monticello to earn the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game. 

No other Sages player scored in double figures. Matthias Rudolph scored nine points off the bench, all late in the fourth quarter. Nolan Buehnerkemper and Maddux Quick each scored eight for the Sages. Buehnerkemper grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. 

Chase Ruppert scored 12 points to lead Heyworth. 

The Sages shot 52.2 percent from the floor for the game and made 12-of-24 three-point attempts. 

Monticello held the rebounding advantage 35-19 and had 17 assists on 24 field goals. 

The Sages outscored Heyworth 22-10 in the paint and had 22 points off 17 Hornets turnovers. 

Monticello converted 15 offensive rebounds into 17 second-chance points. 

Heyworth falls to 3-4 overall.

Monticello goes to 1-4. They will travel to Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond Tuesday night for a non-conference tilt at 7:30 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

In a game heard on WHOW and all it's digital platforms, the Clinton Maroons defeated the New Berlin Pretzels 51-47 in non-conference boys basketball action at Clinton High School.

The Maroons were led by our Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game, Colton Walker who led a 7-0 scoring run in the 4th quarter to bring them back into the game and scored a total of 16 points. Keaton Graves followed closely behind with 12 points, while Anthony Westbrooks chipped in with 10.

The Pretzels were led by Gabe Molloy who scored 11 points. Charlie Neuman and Reid Hepperly added 10 points each. 

The Clinton Maroons improve to 5-3 on the season with the win. 

Tune in on Monday night as the Lady Maroons take on Meridian, tip off is at 7:15 PM. Hear the action on WHOW and all its digital platforms. 

Wesley Clark and Isaac Price paced a quick start and Blue Ridge held off Tri-Point 47-44 in non-conference high school boys basketball action from Farmer City Wednesday night.

Wesley Clark led all scorers with 17 points, 11 came in the first half. Isaac Price scored 16 points for the Knights.

Blue Ridge outscored Tri-Point 16-6 in the second quarter and led 31-9 at the break.

The Chargers would trim the deficit to 40-33 at the end of the third quarter and Blue Ridge held on in the fourth for the victory.

The Knights go to 4-2 overall. Tri-Point is 0-8.

Blue Ridge will travel to take on Fisher on Friday night.

Argenta-Oreana gradually pulled away from Cerro Gordo-Bement for a 56-33 victory in the Macon County Tournament Wednesday night in high school boy's basketball action.

The Bombers led 19-9 after the first quarter and opened up a 28-16 lead at the break. They broke the game open leading 49-22 after three quarters.

MJ Hall led all scorers with 17 points while Damian Gude added 14 points for the Bombers. 

The Broncos were led by Tyce Alumbugh who scored ten points.

The Broncos are 1-8 overall. 

Argenta-Oreana improves to 3-6 and will play in the Macon County Tournament Consolation Championship Friday night opposite Tri-City-Sangamon Valley.

Garrett Crochet was acquired by the Boston Red Sox from the White Sox on Wednesday for four prospects, giving Chicago a better deal for the All-Star left-hander than available at the trade deadline in July.

For the Red Sox, who are still seeking more pitching, it was a quick pivot after losing out on free agent lefty Max Fried to the rival New York Yankees.

Chicago got back catcher Kyle Teel, infielder Chase Meidroth. right-hander Wikelman Gonzalez and outfielder Braden Montgomery in the trade announced during the winter meetings.

Crochet was 6-12 with a 3.58 ERA in 32 starts for a White Sox team that went 41-121, the most losses for any club since 1900. The 25-year-old was picked for the AL All-Star team in his first season as a starter.

The trade came a day after Fried agreed to join the Yankees for a $218 million, eight-year contract, the largest ever for a left-hander.

Crochet had an $800,000 salary this year. He is eligible for arbitration this offseason and next, and he can become a free agent after the 2027 World Series.

Selected 11th overall by Chicago in the 2020 amateur draft, Crochet made his big league debut that September. He had a 2.82 ERA in 2021 while striking out 65 in 54 1/3 innings, then had Tommy John surgery on April 5, 2022. He didn’t return to the major leagues until May 18, 2023.

Crochet’s sinker averaged 97.9 mph this season and his four-seam fastball 97.2. He also throws a cutter, sweeper and changeup.

Teel is rated Boston’s No. 4 prospect by MLB.com, Meidroth No. 11, Gonzalez 14th and Montgomery 54th.

In a game heard on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Williamsville hit six threes to start the game and Bullets used a fast start to roll Monticello 66-35 on Tuesday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from Williamsville High School. 

Williamsville started 6-for-11 from distance before they even attempted a two-point field goal and led 26-9 at about the halfway point of the second quarter and led 35-16 at the intermission. 

Gatsby Grant scored 14 points to lead Monticello. Nolan Buehnerkemper added eight points while Carter Foran chipped in with 7 points. 

The Bullets were led by Carson Doran who scored 24 points and was 5 for 10 from three. Brayden Saling added 15 points while Blake Schoufler scored 13 points. 

The Bullets were 17-of-34 from beyond the arc and shot 52 percent from the floor overall. 

The Sages offensive struggles in the early season continued Tuesday as they continued to work in Ike Young from an injury stemming from the football state championship game and working in Carter Foran and Nolan Buehnerkemper who missed the first three weeks of practice stemming from football as well. 

Monticello shot 33 percent from the floor. 

The two teams combined to shoot just six free throws. 

Williamsville held the rebounding advantage 27-24 and scored 24 points off 13 Sages turnovers. The Bullets had ten second-chance points off of ten offensive rebounds. 

Williamsville goes to 4-0 overall.  

With the loss, the Sages continue the search for their first win at 0-4. 

Monticello will play next at home when they take on Heyworth on Friday. Tip-off is at 7 pm. Hear the action live on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com 

Caebrin Lee scored 32 points and led Maroa-Forsyth to a 78-59 win over Decatur St. Teresa Tuesday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from the Macon County Tournament at Central A&M High School.

Lee scored 19 of his 32 points in the second half as the Trojans outscored St. T 42-31 after the intermission to gradually pull away.

Coby Lane scored 23 points and Kenny Morris chipped in for 13 points for Maroa-Forsyth.

The Trojans continue to await the return of seniors Mitch Williams and Ryne Sheppard from their participation in the football state championship game a few weeks ago.

The two are expected to be a part of the Trojans' rotation once they return to action. 

Maroa-Forsyth is 2-0 on the season. The Trojans return to action in the Macon County Tournament on Thursday.

Kasparas Jakucionis scored a career-high 24 points, Tre White had 23 points and eight rebounds and Kylan Boswell added 19 points and six assists to lead Illinois to an 86-80 win over No. 20 Wisconsin on Tuesday night.

It was the fourth straight game in which Jakucionis scored 20 or more points for the Illini (7-2, 1-1 Big Ten), who beat Wisconsin for the ninth consecutive time.

Nolan Winter led the Badgers (8-3, 0-2) with 15 points and seven rebounds, John Tonje had 14 points, Max Klesmit scored 13 and John Blackwell had 10. Wisconsin lost its third straight game after opening the season with eight consecutive victories.

Illinois led 39-35 at halftime. The Illini fell behind 47-46 with 16:32 left in the second half before regaining the lead on a 3-pointer by Boswell. They never trailed again.

It was the 150th win in Brad Underwood’s eighth year as the Illinois coach. He’s now 150-90.

The Illini aren’t afraid to shoot 3’s, but that didn’t affect Wisconsin. Illinois went 10 for 33 from long range.

Jakucionis’ four-point play with 6:08 left put Illinois up 70-60. The Badgers never got closer than four points after that.

Illinois will host No. 1 Tennessee on Saturday. Butler is at Wisconsin on Saturday.

White Sox general manager Chris Getz told reporters at the winter meetings that Tauchman will take a physical soon and join the team’s outfield mix. 

Tauchman, 34, grew up in Palatine, Illinois, about 35 miles northwest of Chicago, and played college ball for Bradley in Peoria, Illinois. He spent the previous two seasons with the Cubs.

Tauchman joins a White Sox team that went 41-121 this year to break the post-1900 major league record for losses in a season. The rebuilding franchise also added a veteran outfielder last month, agreeing to a $1.75 million, one-year contract with Austin Slater.

Tauchman batted .248 with seven homers and 29 RBIs in 109 games this year. He was non-tendered by the Cubs last month.

Tauchman is a .241 hitter with 32 homers and 155 RBIs in 474 career games, also playing for Colorado, San Francisco and the New York Yankees. He was selected by the Rockies in the 10th round of the 2013 amateur draft.

Northern Illinois is considering an offer to join the Mountain West Conference as a football-only member, according to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. The Huskies have been continuous members of the MAC since 1997, and it's unclear where their remaining sports would play should NIU leave the league. 

If NIU accepts the offer, the Mountain West would be up to nine football-playing members with UTEP and NIU joining the seven legacy members. An FBS league is required to have at least eight members to be recognized by the NCAA as a conference, and the addition of NIU would provide some cushion. It was previously reported the MWC was considering Texas State, NIU and Toledo as potential members, but the Bobcats later rebuffed interest. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Mountain West added UC Davis as a non-football member. The Aggies football program will continue to play as a FCS member of the Big Sky. Grand Canyon also previously joined as a non-football member, bringing the basketball league to 10. 

The latest round of realignment was set off during the season after the Pac-12 made an aggressive play by poaching Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State as football members to join Oregon State and Washington State. The group also nabbed Gonzaga as a boost to its basketball presence. The Pac-12 still needs to add at least one more school to reach the eight-member minimum. 

The MAC is set to add UMass as a full member starting with the 2025 season, meaning its numbers will not be impacted by NIU's departure. However, the Huskies have been a highly successful member of the conference in recent memory, winning five MAC titles under three different coaches since 2011. NIU also pulled a historic upset over Notre Dame in Week 2. 

NIU previously left the MAC in 1986 and was a member of the Big West with Mountain West schools UNLV, Nevada and San Jose State from 1993-95. 

The Washington Nationals will have the No. 1 overall pick in the amateur draft for the first time since selecting a 17-year-old Bryce Harper in 2010.

Washington got the top overall pick in next summer’s draft after winning a lottery in a drawing of ping-pong balls at the winter meetings on Tuesday, setting up the Nationals to make the first pick for the third time in franchise history. In 2009, they drafted pitcher Stephen Strasburg No. 1.

The Los Angeles Angels have the second pick for next summer. Seattle, Colorado, St. Louis and Pittsburgh round out the top six.

The 121-loss Chicago White Sox, who had the most losses of any major league club since 1900, were not eligible for the draft lottery since they had one of the top six picks last year (No. 5) and is a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan.

The CBA also doesn’t allow teams that receive money in revenue sharing to have lottery picks three years in a row. That made the Athletics (69-93) ineligible for the lottery — they picked fourth last year after having the No. 6 selection in 2023.

Chicago instead got the 10th pick, one spot ahead of Oakland.

Seattle got the No. 3 selection after having a 0.53% chance to get the No. 1 pick, the second-worst odds among 16 eligible teams.

Unlike last year, when the Nationals were ineligible after initially coming out with the top spot, they get to keep the first pick for the draft in July in Atlanta, the site of the All-Star Game.

Washington was ineligible for a top-six pick last year because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays into the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery selection in back-to-back years. The Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 pick in 2023, right after Pittsburgh took his LSU teammate Paul Skenes, the hard-throwing pitcher who was this season’s National League Rookie of the Year.

The Clinton Lady Maroons fell to the Tri-Valley Vikings by a final score of 65-60. The Maroons led going into the half 33-29, but the Vikings rallied in the 4th quarter, outscoring the Maroons 25-14. 

The Maroons were led by Lilah Cluver who scored 17 points, while Clara Dempsey followed closely behind with 15. Regan Filkin and Avery Smith put up 9 points each. Carly Anderson and Ozlyn Goar chipped in with 6 and 2 respectively. 

The Vikings were led by E. Black who also put up 17 points. The second leading scorer was Magenheimer with 12. 

With the loss, Clinton falls to 6-3 on the season. 

The Clinton Girls Basketball team will play next at Shelbyville on Thursday, tip-off is at 7:30 PM.

The Chicago Bears hoped the first in-season head coaching change in the founding NFL franchise’s history would be the parachute a free-falling team needed.

Turns out, the issues go beyond that.

A listless showing in a 38-13 loss at San Francisco on Sunday stretched their losing streak to seven — and counting — in their first game since Thomas Brown replaced the fired Matt Eberflus on an interim basis.

The Bears (4-9) sure didn’t show much fight Sunday in a loss that was as embarrassing as any. It ensured they will finish with a non-winning record for the 12th time in 14 seasons.

They were outgained 319-4 in the first half for the ninth-largest discrepancy since 1991 and trailed 24-0 at the break. They managed one first down while punting on their first five possessions.

Detroit’s 34-31 comeback victory over Green Bay last Thursday night averaged 17.29 million viewers, making it the most-streamed NFL regular-season game in history and Amazon Prime Video’s most-watched game since exclusively taking over the prime-time package in 2022.

According to Nielsen, the audience peaked at 18.87 million viewers during the first half (9:15-9:30 p.m. EST), which is also a new high.

The previous record for “Thursday Night Football on Prime” was 16.23 million for the Dallas Cowboys’ 20-15 win over the New York Giants on Sept. 26.

Through 12 games, “Thursday Night Football on Prime” is averaging 13.61 million, a 9% increase over last year’s average at this point and a 15% jump over last year’s full-season average of 11.86 million.

Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist, Arvid Soderblom stopped 29 shots and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Monday night.

Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Blackhawks, who were 0-5-1 in their previous six road games.

Will Cuylle scored a short-handed goal and Igor Shesterkin finished with 30 saves as the Rangers lost for the eighth time in 10 games.

Bertuzzi opened the scoring at 8:10 of the first, whipping the puck past Shesterkin for his sixth goal of the season.

Cuylle tied it with 43 seconds remaining in the opening period for his 10th goal of the season, tying him with Chris Kreider for second on the team.

Hall, who set up Bertuzzi’s goal, put Chicago ahead again with his sixth at 6:16 of the second, scoring on a 2-on-1 break with Connor Bedard.

Rangers: Finished 2-3-0 on a five-game homestand to fall to 7-7-1 at Madison Square Garden this season.

Blackhawks: Soderblom won for only the second time in nine decisions this season. The 25-year-old Swedish backup goalie is 2-6-1.

Soderblom stopped Filip Chytil point-blank with just under 3 minutes left in the first period. He also denied defenseman K’Andre Miller with 5:28 left in the third.

Bedard had an assist on Hall's goal, giving him a team-high 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 28 games.

Blackhawks visit the New York Islanders on Thursday, and Rangers visit Buffalo on Wednesday.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, the Monticello Sages fell to the Marshall Lions by a final score of 58-37 on Saturday.

The Sages were led by Ike Young who scored 9 points. Gatsby Grant was the second leading scorer with 8. Buehnerkemper put up 6 and was our Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game for his impact on the defensive side of the ball. Maddux Quick put up 5 points while Carter Foran had 4. Ayden McCool and Colton Vance chipped in with 2 and 1 each. 

The Lions were led by Bently Delp who scored 21 points, 15 of those being from beyond the arc. Garrett Pugh followed with 14 points. 

With the loss, the Sages find themselves at 0-3.

Tune in on Tuesday as the Sages take on Williamsville on the road, tip off is at 7:00 PM. Hear it on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com
 

Miles Hastings and Lan Larison each accounted for three touchdowns and No. 5 seed UC Davis beat 12th-seeded Illinois State 42-10 on Saturday in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

It was the Aggies first playoff win since 2018 and Tim Plough’s first as a head coach.

UC Davis (10-2) will travel to No. 4 seed South Dakota (10-2) for a quarterfinal matchup next weekend.

Tommy Rittenhouse threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Kasper to cap Illinois State’s first possession, but UC Davis scored the next four touchdowns and took a 28-10 lead into halftime. Hastings threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Hastings completed 25 of 33 passes for 403 yards and hit three different receivers for scores. C.J. Hutton led the Aggies with seven catches for 104 yards that included a 10-yard touchdown. Larison had seven carries for 104 yards rushing. Larison broke loose for a 27-yard score between a pair of short-yardage touchdown runs.

Rittenhouse was 30-of-48 passing for 233 yards for Illinois State (10-4). Kasper made 11 catches for 73 yards and Daniel Sobkowicz had 10 for 111.

The Chicago Bears responded to the first in-season coach firing in franchise history with a dud.

Instead of getting an emotional bump from changing coaches, the Bears went into free fall against the San Francisco 49ers with a non-competitive performance that led to their most lopsided loss of the season with a 38-13 loss on Sunday.

Eberflus was fired on Nov. 29 after a string of bad late-game decisions contributed to a six-game losing streak, capped by a Thanksgiving loss at Detroit when the Bears ran out of time for a potential game-tying field goal even though they had a timeout remaining.

There were no critical late-game mistakes for the Bears (4-9) against the 49ers (6-7) as this game was mostly decided by halftime.

Chicago was outgained 319-4 in the first half for the ninth-largest discrepancy since 1991, managed only one first down and trailed 24-0 at the break.

The Bears allowed the San Francisco offense to move down the field with little resistance with the Niners scoring three TDs and one field goal on their first five possessions.

Joel Embiid had 31 points and 12 rebounds in his return, Tyrese Maxey got his first career triple-double and the Philadelphia 76ers held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 108-100 on Sunday.

Maxey finished with 25 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds. Paul George and Kelly Oubre Jr. each scored 12 as the Sixers won for the fourth time in five games.

Zach LaVine led Chicago with 30 points, and Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each had 13 in the Bulls' second straight loss.

Playing in just his fifth game this season, the 7-foot-0 Embiid started slowly, missing his first seven shots. Then, the two-time NBA scoring champion connected on eight of his next 10 in the second quarter for his first 19 points and powered the Sixers to a 62-50 halftime lead.

Embiid has missed the last seven games because of knee injuries and a three-game suspension for pushing a sports columnist.

Philadelphia opened a 19-point lead in third quarter before the Bulls narrowed it on a 13-1 run. Chicago closed to within four points twice in the fourth.

Bulls: Led 33-23 after one quarter as they shot 52.2% from the floor. Then they went cold in the second, scoring 17 points on 25% shooting, before coming on again late.

The Chicago Blackhawks placed goaltender Petr Mrazek on injured reserve on Sunday with a left groin injury.

Mrazek was replaced by Arvid Soderblom in the first period of Saturday’s 4-2 loss to Winnipeg. The 32-year-old Mrazek is 7-11-1 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 20 games this season.

Chicago also rested defensemen Alex Vlasic (maintenance) and Alec Martinez (neck), along with forward Craig Smith (maintenance), during practice on Sunday.

The last-place Blackhawks recalled goaltender Drew Commesso and defenseman Kevin Korchinski from Rockford of the American Hockey League.

Commesso likely will back up Soderblom while Mrazek is sidelined. Veteran goaltender Laurent Brossoit signed a two-year contract with Chicago in free agency, but he has been sidelined by a right knee issue.

The Blackhawks begin a three-game trip on Monday night at the New York Rangers.

The 20-year-old Korchinski was selected by Chicago with the No. 7 pick in the 2022 draft. He had five goals and 10 assists in 76 games with the Blackhawks last season.

Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist and the Edmonton Oilers beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Saturday night for their second straight win.

Corey Perry, Zach Hyman and Troy Stecher also scored, and Leon Draisaitl had two assists for the Oilers, who have won five of their last six. Stuart Skinner stopped 29 shots.

Dylan Holloway and Jake Neighbours had goals for the Blues, who snapped a two-game win streak. St. Louis also lost in regulation for the first time in six games (4-1-1) under coach Jim Montgomery. Jordan Binnington had 17 saves.
 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, the Monticello Sages fell to the Marshall Lions by a final score of 58-37.

The Sages were led by Ike Young who scored 9 points. Gatsby Grant was the second leading scorer with 8. Buehnerkemper put up 6 and was our Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game for his impact on the defensive side of the ball. Maddux Quick put up 5 points while Carter Foran had 4. Ayden McCool and Colton Vance chipped in with 2 and 1 each. 

The Lions were led by Bently Delp who scored 21 points, 15 of those being from beyond the arc. Garrett Pugh followed with 14 points. 

With the loss, the Sages find themselves at 0-3.

Tune in on Tuesday as the Sages take on Williamsville on the road, tip off is at 7:00 PM. Hear it on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com

A big third quarter propelled Maroa-Forsyth past Clinton 72-37 in its season opener Friday in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from Maroa.

The Trojans led 29-23 at halftime, however, Caebrin Lee and Coby Lane combined for 21 of the 29 points for the Trojans to expand its lead to 48-38. 

Lee led all scorers with 26 points. Lane added 22 points. Ian Reid contributed 11 points for Maroa-Forsyth.

Colton Walker led the Maroons with 15 points while Keaton Graves scored 12 points.

The Maroons drop to 3-3 overall while Maroa-Forsyth is 1-0 on the year.

Clinton played at the Ben Thielen Shootout in Edinburg opposite Pleasant Plains.

Maroa-Forsyth hosts Decatur St. Teresa on Tuesday night. 

 Nick Martinelli scored 27 points, including seven in overtime, and Northwestern beat No. 19 Illinois 70-66 on Friday night.

Brooks Barnhizer added 17 points and Jalen Leach had 16 as the Wildcats (7-3, 1-1 Big Ten) overcame a 10-point deficit. Barnhizer's free throw with 8 seconds left in OT helped seal it.

Barnhizer scored on a jumper from the paint with 41 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 56-all. Illinois led 46-36 midway through the second half.

Kasparas Jakucionis led Illinois (6-2, 0-1) with 20 points and 10 rebounds, Tomislav Ivisic had 15 points and 12 rebounds, and freshman Will Riley came off the bench to score 12 points.

Northwestern beat a ranked team in its conference home opener for the second straight season after stunning Zach Edey and Purdue last year.

Northwestern: Bounced back after losing its conference opener 80-79 at Iowa on Tuesday on Josh Dix’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Illinois: This was a far cry from the Illini's 90-77 win over then- No. 19 Arkansas on Thanksgiving, which they started on a 21-6 run and led throughout.

Jakucionis was blocked out by Northwestern center Matthew Nicholson and missed on a driving layup with 39 seconds left in OT and the Wildcats leading 67-66. Nicholson grabbed the rebound, and Northwestern added two points on free throws by Leach.

Illinois committed 11 turnovers to four for Northwestern.

Illinois hosts No. 11 Wisconsin on Tuesday. Northwestern plays at Georgia Tech on Dec. 15.

The Monticello Sages fell to the Mt. Pulaski Hilltoppers by a final score of 47-31 on Thursday Night.

The Sages were led by Weidner who scored 9 points and had 3 rebounds. Allen and Cresap both brought 8 points to the table as the second highest scores. Own and Melton chipped in with 3 and 2 respectively, while Leatherwood had 1. 

The Hilltoppers were led by Murphy who scored 20 points. Cooper followed with 10 points, while Brown put up 6. Marten and Jones had 5 and 4 each. 

The Lady Sages will play next at home agianst Sullivan High School on December 10th at 7:00 PM. 
 

The Clinton Maroons defeated the Argenta-Oreana Bombers by a final score of 65-15. The Maroons have now held the opposing team to single digit scoring in the last 8 quarters of play. 

Regan Filkin led the Lady Maroons with 15 points and 6 rebounds. Avery Smith scored 12 points and 6 assists. Lilah Cluver put up 11 points and Clara Dempsey had 9. Carly Anderson chipped in with 8, while Alania Helfand score 7 and Ozlyn Goar had 3. 

The Bombers leading score was Rood with 4 points and Jones had 3. Painter, Schall, Manning, an Madrigal all chipped in with 2.

Clinton improves to 6-2 on the season.

The Lady Maroons will play next on Monday when they take on Tri-Valley at home. Tip off is 7:15 PM.
 

Coming off a first round road victory at Southeast Missouri State, No. 12 Illinois State (10-3, 6-2 MVFC) will fly to the West Coast for a match up with No. 5 UC Davis (10-2, 7-1 Big Sky) in the second round of the 2024 FCS Playoffs with a berth in the quarterfinals on the line.

Illinois State and UC Davis will meet for the first time in program history.

Illinois State's first-round playoff win at Southeast Missouri State was one to remember for the Redbird defense, which forced a school-record eight turnovers in the win against the Redhawks. 

The UC Davis offense is led by two of the best offensive players in the nation in running back Lan Larison and quarterback Miles Hastings, who were named as Walter Payton Award finalists following historic seasons that saw them set program records and finish near the top of numerous offensive categories.

Game time is 3 pm central time on Saturday.

The Chicago Blackhawks have fired coach Luke Richardson, the team announced on Thursday. Richardson was in his third season and had a just a 57-118-15 record with a winning percentage of .339 during that span.

The Blackhawks were off to an 8-16-2 start, putting them last in the NHL standings. That poor performance came after the team spent money to upgrade the roster in free agency. 

General manager Kyle Davidson announced Richardson's firing, and he cited the team's lack of progress on the ice as a major reason for the decision. Richardson, 55, was in the last year of a three-year contract. 

This was supposed to be a year in which the Blackhawks took a step forward, even if it was a small one. Connor Bedard, the 2024 Calder Trophy winner, is in his second season and Davidson tried to get more help around the young star.
 

Colton Parayko scored the overtime winner on a rebound and the St. Louis Blues beat the Calgary Flames 4-3 on Thursday night.

Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists, Zack Bolduc and Pavel Buchnevich scored and Philip Broberg had two assists for the Blues. Jordan Binnington made 36 saves in the win.

Jakob Pelletier, Matt Coronato and MacKenzie Weegar scored for the Flames, whose six-game win streak at home ended.

The Flames twice tied the game after falling behind. Jonathan Huberdeau, from behind the net, shoveled the puck out to an unchecked Weegar, who shot the puck past Binnington at 7:06 of the third period to tie it at 3.

Pelletier’s first goal this season halved the deficit just 15 seconds after Thomas gave the visitors a 2-0 lead at 14:49 of the first period. Coronato’s power-play goal drew the Flames even at 2 5:23 into the second period.

Calgary’s goaltender Dan Vladar stopped 20 of 24 shots.

Blues: Improved to 4-0-1 since Jim Montgomery was named head coach Nov. 24. Thomas has eight points - three goals, five assists - in eight games since returning from a fractured ankle.

The Green Bay Packers got an unexpected extra chance to stop the Detroit Lions’ offense on Thursday night.

They still couldn’t do it.

With 43 seconds left in a 31-31 tie, the Lions faced fourth-and-inches from the Packers 21. They were in easy field-goal range for Jake Bates, but coach Dan Campbell decided he didn’t want to leave Green Bay any time on the clock.

He kept his offense on the field. If the Packers had gotten a stop, they would have had a chance at a shocking victory.

David Montgomery sliced through the line for a 7-yard gain. Two plays later, Bates kicked a 35-yard field as time expired to give the Lions a 34-31 win.

Since a 2-2 start, the Packers have gone 7-2. However, both of those losses were against the NFC North rival Lions (12-1), likely putting a division title out of reach.

Once-promising seasons hit new lows for the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers last week.

Another late-game meltdown sent the Bears to their sixth straight loss and led to the firing of coach Matt Eberflus. The 49ers suffered their second straight blowout loss and more crushing injuries to go from Super Bowl contenders to outside the playoff picture in a matter of weeks.

The two reeling teams will try to get back on track on Sunday when the Bears (4-8) visit the 49ers (5-7) in Chicago’s first game under interim coach Thomas Brown.

The Bears are hoping to get an emotional boost from the first in-season firing of a head coach in franchise history. Over the last 10 seasons, teams with interim coaches are 13-11 in their first game with the new coach. Those teams had a .284 winning percentage at the time they fired their coaches.

Nikola Vucevic had a season-high 39 points, Ayo Dosunmu had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 139-124 on Thursday night with Victor Wembanyama sidelined with a back injury.

Dosunmu had season highs in points, assists and rebounds in collecting the first triple-double of his four-year career.

Keldon Johnson had a season-high 28 points and Devin Vassell added 17 points for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in its last four games.

Wembanyama is day-to-day with a sore lower back he suffered in Tuesday’s loss to Phoenix.

Chicago never trailed and had a season-high point total. Chicago matched a season-high with 73 points in the first half in taking a 73-57 lead.

Talen Horton-Tucker had 13 points for Chicago, which had six players score in double figures.

Chris Paul had 12 points and nine assists for San Antonio.

Bulls: Chicago rookie Matas Buzelis had 11 points after scoring a career-high 20 points against Brooklyn in his previous game. Three of Buzelis' four games in double figures have come in his past six games.

Isaiah Walker scored 24 points, Carter Whitt made a jumper at the buzzer in overtime and Belmont beat Illinois State 99-97 on Wednesday night.

Belmont’s Jonathan Pierre hit a jumper to tie it 97-all with 21 seconds left. Whitt forced a turnover on the next possession and then hit a fade-away jumper in the lane to seal it.

Walker went 10 of 12 from the field (3 for 4 from 3-point range) for the Bruins (7-2, 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference). Pierre added 19 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Tyler Lundblade scored 15 points on five 3s and Whitt finished with 10 points.

Caden Boser led the way for the Redbirds (4-4, 0-1) with 17 points. Chase Walker added 16 points and six rebounds for Illinois State. Johnny Kinziger also recorded 16 points and five assists.

Belmont entered halftime up 54-45. Brody Peebles paced the Bruins with 14 points. Belmont was outscored by nine points in the second half as the teams ended regulation tied 88-88. Pierre scored five points in the overtime.
 

Brad Marchand and Morgan Geekie each scored two goals, and the Boston Bruins beat the struggling Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 on Wednesday night.

Boston posted its third consecutive win — all in the past four days. It rallied for a 3-2 overtime victory against Detroit on Tuesday night.

Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman stopped 20 shots against Chicago.

Alex Vlasic and Jason Dickinson scored for the Blackhawks, who dropped their fourth consecutive game. Petr Mrazek made 23 saves.

The game was tied at 1 when Marchand got a cross-ice pass from David Pastrnak and beat Mrazek on a one-timer 2:58 into the second period. The captain then used his backhand to clean up a rebound at 5:03, giving Boston a 3-1 lead with his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Pastrnak, Jordan Oesterle and Justin Brazeau each had two assists for Boston.
 

No. 19 Illinois visits Northwestern after Kasparas Jakucionis scored 23 points in Illinois’ 90-77 victory against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

The Wildcats have gone 5-0 at home. Northwestern ranks eighth in the Big Ten with 9.4 offensive rebounds per game led by Nick Martinelli averaging 2.6.

The Fighting Illini play their first true road game after going 6-1 with a 1-1 record in neutral-site games to start the season. Illinois leads college basketball with 44.0 rebounds per game led by Tomislav Ivisic averaging 8.9.

Northwestern makes 44.9% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.7 percentage points higher than Illinois has allowed to its opponents (36.2%). Illinois has shot at a 45.8% clip from the field this season, 2.9 percentage points higher than the 42.9% shooting opponents of Northwestern have averaged.

The Wildcats and Fighting Illini match up Friday for the first time in Big Ten play this season.

Cam Johnson scored 26 points, Nic Claxton had 16 and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Indiana Pacers 99-90 on Wednesday night to end a three-game losing streak.

Shake Milton had 15 points off the bench for the Nets.

T.J. McConnell had 14 points for Indiana, and Tyrese Haliburton had 13. The Pacers have lost four in a row and seven of 10.

After Indiana’s Pascal Siakam scored four consecutive points to tie it at 80 with 8:08 left, the Nets responded with a 10-0 run — making it 90-80 on Jaylen Wilson’s basket with 5:57 remaining.

Two longtime NASCAR executives were introduced at Andretti Global on Wednesday as part of the restructuring now that Michael Andretti has stepped aside.

Doug Duchardt, who has served multiple roles with race teams and with General Motors, was named chief performance officer of motorsports at TWG Group, which now oversees all of the former Andretti properties.

Jill Gregory, a former NASCAR vice president and marketing officer who also ran Sonoma Raceway, was named chief operating officer of a subsidiary of TWG and president of Andretti Global.

The two were introduced at the Andretti race shop in Indiana in a morning team meeting. They asked for anonymity because TWG does not plan to formally announce its leadership team until next week.

TWG Group is the investment company founded by Mark Walter, who as CEO of Guggenheim Partners is the controlling owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Premier League club Chelsea, and Dan Towriss, who became involved in motorsports initially as a sponsor for Andretti and took an ownership role in Andretti Global in 2022.

Towriss is now the majority owner of the Andretti race teams and the CEO of TWG Global’s motorsports arm. The branch in charge of motorsports will have its own name, to be revealed in next week’s official announcement of the restructuring of the executive team.

The Clinton Maroons Defeated the Peoria Heights Patriots by a final score of 69-18 on Wednesday night. 

The 51 point victory was led by our Servpro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties player of the game, Carly Anderson who was the leading scorer of the night with 18, 6 of those points being from beyond the arc. Regan Filkin followed with 14 points, while Clara Dempsey and Lilah Cluver put up 13. Avery Smith and Ozlyn Goar scored 6 and 2 respectively. 

The Patriots were led by Sylvia Thorton who scored 14 of their 18 total points with lay up after lay up under the rim. Mahala Mercer chipped in with 4. 

With the win, the Maroons improve to 5-2, while the Patriots find themselves still in search of a win at 0-7. 

The Lady Maroons will play again tomorrow night at Argenta-Oreana beginning at 7:30.

Tune in next week as the Clinton Boys Basketball Team takes on New Berlin at home on Friday December 13th, tip off is 7:30 PM.  Hear it right here on WHOW and all our digital platforms. 

The Argenta-Oreana Bombers fell to the Leroy Panthers Tuesday night in non-conference high school boys basketball actions. 

The Bombers were led by MJ Hall who scored 5 points and had 12 rebounds. The second-highest scorers on the team were Justin Flowers, Carter Logue, Tyson Tennin, and Damian Gude who all chipped in with 2 points. 

The Panthers had a little more luck scoring, with Sam Edmundson at the top of their stat sheet with 12 points and 35 rebounds. They held the bombers to only 2 points in the second quarter and 8 in the 4th quarter, ensuring their victory. 

Argenta-Oreana falls to 2-3 while Leroy improves to 4-1. 

Argenta-Oreana will play again this Friday, December 6th at Warrensburg-Latham.
 

The Blue Ridge Knights fought off the DeLand-Weldon Eagles to take the 34-29 victory. 

Corbin Colbert led the team with 17 points, which is half of the teams total, even without playing in the 4th quarter. Andon Slade had the second-highest point total for the Knights with 6. 

5' 2" Freshman Jaydin Anderson led the Eagles with 13 points and was followed by Trenton Smith with 6.

Blue Ridge will play Ridgeview High School this Friday at 7 PM in Ridgeview. 

Defending the run has been one of the Green Bay Packers’ weaknesses over the last several years.

Not so much lately, though.

Green Bay limited San Francisco to 16 carries for 44 yards in a 38-10 rout of the 49ers on Nov. 24, with two-time All-Pro Christian McCaffrey gaining 31 yards on 11 attempts. Four nights later, the Packers beat Miami 30-17 by holding the Dolphins to 39 yards on 14 carries.

t was the first time since 1995 — and only the second time since 1950 — that the Packers had allowed fewer than 45 yards rushing in back-to-back games within the same season.

Lewis Hamilton is looking back on an “amazing journey” and the most successful partnership in Formula 1 history as he prepares to bid farewell to Mercedes this week and join Ferrari.

The move offers a new start for the 39-year-old Hamilton, who’s had a difficult end to his last Mercedes season. Ferrari’s first task next year might be to get him back on form.

Hamilton’s last race for Mercedes at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday will bring down the curtain on a 12-year stay with the team. He won six of his seven world titles with Mercedes, the most by any F1 driver with a single team.

As an all-time great and the sport’s only Black driver, Hamilton’s influence extends far beyond the F1 grid.

Hamilton shook up F1 with the shock announcement in February that he would join Ferrari in 2025 — a decision he even kept secret from his parents — and the prospect of leaving Mercedes has overshadowed this season.

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Riverton held off a late charge by Monticello for a 63-53 win in non-conference high school boys' basketball from the Sievers Center Tuesday night in Monticello.

Monticello's football players who competed in Friday's state championship game returned Tuesday but only Carter Foran was inserted into the starting lineup and Nolan Buehnerkemper came off the bench. Ike Young sat out with a hip and back injury that kept him out of the second half of the Championship game Friday.

The Sages started the game with a 6-0 lead but Riverton stormed back thanks to miscues by Monticello to lead 10-6. 

The Sages would retake the lead to finish the first quarter, 16-14, and led 21-18 with 7:04 to play in the second quarter but the Hawks outscored Monticello the rest of the quarter 14-6 to lead 32-27 going to the break.

Riverton's lead would reach 15 points with 1:19 left in the third quarter at 47-32, however, the Sages scored the final seven points in the quarter to cut the deficit to 47-39 going to the fourth. 

Monticello would get within five at 3:26 after a Tyler Blythe layup made it 53-48 but they would not get any closer. 

Riverton sophomore Julian Rice had 21 points to lead all scorers. Carter Miller had 13 points while Jaxson Miller added 12 points for the Hawks. 

Blythe led Monticello with 13 points and Gatsby Grant scored 11 with seven rebounds.

While sophomores Ayden McCool and Jake Motsegood scored only five points and four points, respectively, the sophomores provided a defensive spark off the bench. Motsegood was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game for his impromptu productivity off the bench Tuesday.

Monticello shot just 42.9 percent from the floor to Riverton's 51 percent.

The Sages were uncharacteristically outscored in the paint 36-26. 16 Sages turnovers turned into 19 points for the Hawks. Riverton turned it over 18 times which led to 16 points for Monticello. 

The Sages were outrebounded 31-26 and did not shoot the free throw particularly well, going just 6-of-12. 

Riverton is 4-1 overall. Monticello starts its season 0-2. 

The Sages travel to Marshall Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 pm tip. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Clinton Girls Basketball won over Tolono Unity Monday night by outscoring the Rockets in all 4 quarters for a final score of 54-30. 

Clara Dempsey led the Lady Maroons with 7 points and 16 rebounds. Regan Filkin was the second high scorer of the night with 4 points and 9 rebounds. Lilah Cluver and Avery Smith both chipped in with 3 points, while Carly Anderson and Alania Helfand both had 2. 

The Rockets were led by Meharry and Haas who had 4 points and 9 rebounds each. 

The Maroons improve to 4-2 while the Rockets fall to 4-2.

Tune in to WHOW Wednesday night at 6 PM to hear coverage of the Lady Maroons game against Peoria Heights. 

The Chicago Bears will sell candidates for their head coaching job on the opportunity to develop Caleb Williams into the franchise quarterback they’re counting on him to become.

They will mention the salary cap space and the draft capital they have. They’ll probably show mockups of potential stadiums in the city and on the tract of land they own in Arlington Heights, too.

Warren said Ryan Poles will remain the Bears general manager and serve as the “point person” in the search for a coach to replace the fired Matt Eberflus. He said Poles would have the “final say” if the two have differing opinions on who should get the job.

Chicago (4-8) had never fired a coach during a season. But a six-game losing streak marked by questionable coaching decisions spurred the founding NFL franchise to change course. The Bears let Eberflus go Friday and replaced him on an interim basis with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.

Josh Giddey had 20 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, helping the Chicago Bulls beat the Brooklyn Nets 128-102 on Monday night.

It was Giddey’s first triple-double of the season and No. 12 for his career.

Nikola Vucevic had 21 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago, which had lost three of four. Matas Buzelis scored 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting, and Zach LaVine finished with 18.

Brooklyn lost its third consecutive game — all in the last four days. Dariq Whitehead scored 18 points for the Nets, and Dennis Schroder had 16 points and 10 assists.

Brooklyn played without forward Cam Johnson because of a sprained left ankle — part of a long list of injuries for the Nets. He scored 26 points in Sunday’s 100-92 loss to Orlando.

Chicago guard Coby White also was sidelined by a sprained left ankle.

The Bulls started to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 36-22 in the period. Buzelis’ basket off a pass from Giddey made it 92-72 going into the fourth.

Auston Matthews scored his first goal since returning from injury as the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 on Monday night.

John Tavares, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies, into the empty net, provided the rest of the offense for Toronto. Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves. Mitch Marner had two assists in his 600th regular-season game.

Lukas Reichel scored for Chicago, which has lost three straight. Arvid Soderblom stopped 18 shots.

Matthews missed nine games with an upper-body injury before picking up two assists in his return to the lineup Saturday in a 5-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The 27-year-old center opened the scoring in the first period before Tavares doubled Toronto’s lead on a deflected shot in the second. Reichel made it 2-1 early in the third, but Minten restored the home side’s two-goal cushion 21 seconds later.

Aidan Laughery rushed for three touchdowns and No. 22 Illinois topped Northwestern 38-28 on Saturday to reach nine victories for the first time since its 2007 Rose Bowl season.

Pat Bryant dashed in to score off Luke Altmyer’s 43-yard pass early in the third quarter as Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) struck for touchdowns just over 4 minutes apart early in the third quarter to open a 28-10 lead in what had been a tight game. Bryant's 10th receiving touchdown tied a school record.

Altmyer, who threw for 170 yards, had a TD himself on a keeper from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. David Olano added a field goal in the fourth to cap Illinois' scoring.

Laughery, a sophomore running back, rushed for a career-best 172 yards and topped 100 for the first time. He entered with only one TD this season and two for his career. He had a career-long 64-yard run for a score early in the second half.

Illinois is in line for a prestigious bowl game appearance and a chance to tie the school record of 10 wins, most recently set during their 2001 Sugar Bowl season. 

Tommy Rittenhouse threw two touchdown passes, Keondre Jackson had two interceptions, including one of two interception return scores, and Illinois State beat Southeast Missouri State 35-27 in the first round of the FCS playoffs on Saturday.

The Redbirds (10-3) advanced despite SE Missouri quarterback Paxton DeLaurent tying a FCS record with 85 passing attempts. DeLaurent was 48 of 85 for a career-high 567 yards with four touchdowns but he was intercepted five times. SEMO also lost three fumbles.

Illinois State, in its first playoff since winning at SE Missouri State 24-6 in the first round in 2019, plays at fifth-seeded UC Davis on Saturday.

Southeast Missouri State had turnovers on four consecutive possessions in the first half, including Anderson's 55-yard pick-6. That was in the middle of two Rittenhouse's touchdown passes.

Illinois State travels to UC-Davis next Saturday for its second-round matchup.