Pontiac boys, EPG girls nab league victories

Here is a look at reported basketball contests from Thursday, Jan. 15.

Pontiac 70, IVC 63

CHILLICOTHE — Pontiac was able to outlast host Illinois Valley Central to bring home a 70-63 victory in Illini Prairie Conference boys’ basketball on Thursday.

Amazin King scored nearly as many points for Pontiac in the third quarter as the Grey Ghosts scored as a team in the frame. This turned out to be keys the Indians grabbed some semblance of momentum. PTHS outscored IVC 36-28 in the second half for the win.

The Tribe trailed 35-34 at the intermission, and then King scored nine points as the Indians tallied 17 in the third period. IVC scored 11 to fall behind 51-46.

“Down the final stretch we were able to hold the lead and answer every time they would make on to pull it within one point or tie,” PTHS head coach Matt Starker said. “Fortunately for us, we were able to pull away in the last minute.”

King finished with 20 points for Pontiac (11-4). Cayden Masching added 13 points and Aden Brummel scored 12. Ben Melchers tossed in 9 markers and was followed by Bryce Robison with 6 points, Henry DeYoung with 5, Evan Wolf’s 3 and Anderson Horning with 2 points.

Grady Read led IVC (8-10) with 23 points and Keegan School added 13 points.

Heyworth 63, Lexington 52

LEXINGTON — A fast start and a strong finish could not overcome the doldrums in the middle two frames as host Lexington suffered a 63-52 loss to Heyworth in a Heart of Illinois Conference boys’ basketball contest at The Fort on Thursday.

The Minutemen (14-4) jumped out to a 15-9 lead in the opening lap as Blaine Friedmansky scored eight points. But Heyworth tightened its defense and tuned up the offense in taking control in the middle two periods.

The Hornets (10-9) outscored Lexington 13-9 in the second to trail by two the half, and then stung the Minutemen 20-4 in the third to take the lead for good. Chase Ruppert scored 15 points in the middle two frames, and then saved his best for last with 14 points in the final lap. He finished with 35 points.

Friedmansky led Lexington with 22 points and Joe Cheever collected 19 points and 11 rebounds for his double double.

EPG 64, Tremont 45

EL PASO — A trio of double-digit scorers led El Paso-Gridley to a 64-45 mild upset of Tremont in HOIC girls’ basketball play Thursday at the Titan Center.

The Titans are seeded seventh in the upcoming McLean County Tournament while Tremont is the fifth seed.

EPG outscored the Turks in each of teh first three quarters to take command. The titans were up 15-8 after the opening period and led 34-25 at the half and 55-35 entering the last stanza.

Myli Ehrhardt paced El Paso-Gridley (9-9, 4-3) with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Sloan Gentes tallied 17 points and Edie Stauter checked in with 14 points. Lily Wettstein contributed 4 points and 7 rebounds.

Sophia Wagenbach recorded 13 points and 7 boards for Tremont (13-6, 4-2).

Dee-Mack 59, Fieldcrest 34

MACKINAW — Fieldcrest had a rough go against third-ranked Dee-Mack as the host Chiefs sent the Knights home with a 59-34 defeat in HOIC girls’ basketball Thursday.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 14-3 lead after the first quarter and extended the advantage to 33-14 by the break. The Knights rebounded to win the third frame 15-11, but they were outscored by 10 in the last stanza.

Fieldcrest (9-10) was led by Macy Gochanour with 17 points. TeriLynn Timmerman had 11.

Dee-Mack (18-1) is seeded second in the upcoming McLean County Tournament. The Knights (9-10) are seeded ninth. Dalia DeJesus guided the Chiefs with 21 points.

Fieldcrest won the JV contest 23-18. Leah Armes led FHS with 10 points.

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