Pontiac, Fieldcrest claim nonconference decisions

Pontiac hit the road to score a victory and Fieldcrest protected its home court against Prairie Central in area basketball from Tuesday.

PTHS 56, Morris 53, OT

MORRIS — Pontiac scored the first four points in the overtime period and did not trail in the extra period in taking a 56-53 nonconference win over Morris on Tuesday.

The Indians got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0. PTHS trailed 15-7 after the first quarter but went on a 10-run in the second. Evan Wolf hit a 3-pointer to give the Tribe a 17-15 lead, and Pontiac led 25-21 at the break.

PTHS led 46-38 in the fourth before Morris rallied, eventually evening the score at 49-49 by the end of regulation.

Aden Brummel paced Pontiac (10-4) with 17 points and Wolf came off the bench to drop 16. Cayden Masching scored 9 points.

Fieldcrest 62, Prairie Central 44

MINONK — Layten Gerdes helped Fieldcrest get out of the chute quickly and the Knights cruised to a 62-44 nonconference win over Prairie Central.

Gerdes scored nine points in the opening lap as Fieldcrest took a 17-7 lead. He added eight in the second as the margin increased to 33-17 by the half.

The Knights had good balance all night with Gerdes leading the charge. Gerdes finished with 23 points while Kash Klendworth and Drew Overrocker added 13 points apiece. Braden Hahn chipped in 5.

Prairie Central’s balance was impressive with 10 players making the scoring column. Spencer Ray hit for 9 points while Dane Wheeler and Ashton Sheldrake each scored 8 points. Eastin Friedman contributed 6 points.

EPG 51, Heyworth 50

HEYWORTH — El Paso-Gridley dodged a bullet late that helped the Titans snap seven-game losing streak with a 51-50 win over host Heyworth in a Heart of Illinois Conference contest.

Tied at 40-40 after three quarters, EPG and the Hornets battled to the end with a missed free throw in the final seconds proving to be the difference.

Braden Hayes hit a 3-pointer to give the Titans a 50-49 lead with 55 seconds remaining. Cha’von Maxon added a free throw with 5.8 seconds to go make it a two-point game.

Chase Ruppert hit the first of two free throws with two-tenths of a second left, but missed the second to leave the home team short by one point. Ruppert had 28 points for the Hornets (9-9, 1-2).

Hayes and Owen Adams each netted 15 points for El Paso-Gridley (5-9, 3-2). Elijah Webster scored 11 and Maxon added 6 points.

Prairie Central 48, PBL 18

FAIRBURY — Prairie Central remained unbeaten in Illini Prairie Conference play and evened its season record with a 48-18 drubbing of Paxton-Buckley-Loda in girls’ basketball Tuesday.

The Hawks held an 18-11 lead at the intermission and then outscored the Panthers 12-5 in the third to take command. Prairie Central then outscored the visitors 18-2 in the final frame.

Lexi Donovan scored 11 of her game-high 18 points in the second half. She also collected 6 rebounds and 6 steals for the Hawks (10-10, 2-0). Addi Donley threw in 13 points while Cami Slagel snared 7 boards.

Bingo Magic Sports