Area Roundup: EPG boys post upset; Woodland takes care of business against Dwight; Prairie Central wins

Like the girls’ team, El Paso-Gridley’s boys pulled off an upset of state-ranked Dee-Mack in Heart of Illinois Conference play Friday. Woodland and Prairie Central also garnered victories in their respective leagues.

EPG 67, Dee-Mack 61

At El Paso, a fourth-quarter rally lifted El Paso-Gridley past state-ranked Dee-Mack 67-61 in Heart of Illinois Conference play Friday. For the combined EPG boys and girls programs, it was the second upset of the Chiefs in as many nights.

Dee-Mack, ranked 15th in Class 1A, seemingly had the momentum heading into the fourth period. The Chiefs led 33-28 at the half and 50-42 through three periods.

The Titans, who have won 11 of their last 14 games, put up 25 points in the final lap, including scoring eight in the final 1:10 for the win.

Braden Hayes, who tied the game at 61-61 to start the final push, finished with 18 points as four Titans (15-12, 8-3) reached double figures. Jayvion Macon added 16 points, including an exclamation dunk at the end. Jack Hempstead had 11 points and Cha’von Maxon scored 10 to go with 8 rebounds. Elijah Webster netted 6 points and Owen Bergquist scored 5.

Jerry Hahn collected 16 points and 9 rebounds for Dee-Mack (20-5, 7-3) and Shaun Denniston contributed 14 points and 10 boards.

Prairie Central 53, PBL 49

At Paxton, Ashton Sheldrake hit a pair 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to help Prairie Central fend off host Paxton-Buckley-Loda 53-49 in Illini Prairie Conference play.

The host Panthers rallied from a 38-27 deficit at the start of the fourth period by scoring 22 points in the last stanza. Sheldrake scored eight points for the Hawks in the frame as PC held off the charge.

Prairie Central led 17-12 after the first quarter and 30-20 at the half. Sheldrake led the Hawks (13-15, 4-5) with 14 points. Easton Friedman added 10 and Griffin Tredennick netted 8 markers. Bryson Gadberry checked in with 7 points and was followed by Dane Wheeler with 6 and Spencer Ray with 5 points.

Woodland 77, Dwight 69

At Dwight, Nolan Price added five more 3-pointers to his school record in leading Woodland to a 77-69 Tri-County Conference win over host Dwight.

Price made his last two treys as part of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors staved off Dwight’s comeback effort.

The Trojans fell behind 20-8 after the first quarter and was down 41-28 by the halftime break. Woodland led 53-43 by the start if the last stanza. DTHS put up 26 points in the final frame, but WHS made 12 of 18 free throws over the final eight minutes to help seal the win.

Price finished with 22 points and Jaron Follmer tallied 21 points to lead Woodland (19-9, 8-0). Noah Decker threw in 11 points and Nate Berry had 8 points. Grant Wissen hit for 7 points and was followed by Brezdyn Simons with 6 points.

Collin Bachand led the Dwight (15-12, 5-3) offense with 21 points. Joey Starks contributed 13 points and Kayden Wood tallied 12. Joe Duffy had 9 points, Evan Cox scored 7 and Trevor Jensen threw in 5 points.

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