Pontiac, Prairie Central, Lexington, EPG claim league victories

Pontiac and Prairie Central capture road wins in Illini Prairie Conference boys’ basketball, while Lexington and El Paso-Gridley claim wins in Heart of Illinois play Tuesday night.

And, Dwight nabbed a victory in the Tri-County Conference tournament.

Pontiac 45, Rantoul 36

At Rantoul, Pontiac’s defense was the difference as the Indians overcame a poor shooting night in topping host Rantoul 45-36. The highlight was PTHS shutting out the Eagles in the fourth quarter.

Trailing 36-35 entering the last stanza, Pontiac was able to force poor shots from the Eagles, as well as taking advantage of some unfortunate bounces for the home team.

Meanwhile, the Tribe was having trouble with its shot-making ability. PTHS managed just three field goals in the second half.

Where Pontiac came alive was at the free throw line, where it made 8 of 10 tosses in the fourth period. The Indians were just 7 of 16 from the charity stripe through the first three quarters, including going 2-for-8 in the first half.

Pontiac got out to a 16-14 lead in the first frame, and led 26-25 at the half. The Eagles won the third period by a basket for a 36-35 lead.

Cayden Masching led Pontiac (15-4, 4-0) with 17 points and Amazin King added 12. Evan Wolf tossed in 6 markers while Ben Melchers and Aden Brummel had 4 points apiece and Henry DeYoung scored 2.

Prairie Central 63, St. Thomas More 62

At Champaign, Prairie Central survived a last-second turnover underneath its own basket to eke out a 63-62 victory over host St. Thomas More in IPC play.

The Hawks survived getting the ball inbounded before one final attempt was stolen by Hayden Bates, who missed his game-winning effort when it kicked off the front of the rim.

Ashton Sheldrake’s final basket was the game-winner for the Hawks. Sheldrake took a pass while cutting down the lane to put PC up 63-62 with 55 seconds remaining. This came moments after the Sabers had taken a 62-61 lead at the other end.

Sheldrake’s capped a rally that saw Prairie Central trail by 10 points at one point in the third quarter. It gave the Hawks their first win in league play this season and left the Sabers looking for its first IPC victory in more than two years.

STM led 31-24 at the half after playing PC to a 13-13 tie after one period. The Hawks went on a 10-2 run late in the third to cut the margin to 45-43 by the stat of the last stanza.

Easton Friedman led the Hawks with 18 points. Spencer Ray added 15 points, Bryson Gadberry tallied 13 points. Sheldrake finished with 9 points and Acer Kratochvil chipped in 8 points.

The win was Prairie Central’s first since Jan. 5 and ups the season mark to 8-13 and 1-3 in the IPC.

Bates had 20 points for St. Thomas More (10-9, 0-3).

Lexington 56, Fieldcrest 49

At Minonk, Lexington was able to withstand a haymaker in the third quarter from host Fieldcrest to post a 56-49 Heart of Illinois Conference win over the Knights.

The Minutemen led 30-17 at the intermission, but had to fend off an aggressive Fieldcrest club in the third period. The Knights outscored their guests 23-10 to forge a 40-40 tie by the start of the fourth frame.

Lexington outscored FHS by seven in the last lap for the final difference.

Blaine Friedmansky scored 17 points for the Minutemen (17-6, 3-2). Joe Cheever contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds while Leo Davis and Joe Steffen also scored 11 points apiece.

Kash Klendworth dropped 25 points for Fieldcrest (11-9, 2-3). Drew Overrocker added 9 points and 5 boards and Layten Gerdes scored 7 points.

EPG 78, Fisher 53

At El Paso, five players reached double figures as El Paso-Gridley outscored Fisher in each period en route to a 78-53 HOIC win at the Titan Center.

The Titans jumped out to a 21-9 lead after one quarter and was ahead by a 40-26 lead by the break. A 21-12 third period pushed EPG to a 61-38 edge.

Braden Hayes led El Paso-Gridley (11-10, 5-2) with 17 points, all coming in the first three periods. Cha’von Maxon added 15 points, Elijah Webster contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds, and Jack Hempstead and Jayvion Maxon added 10 points each.

Trae Grant led the Bunnies (7-13, 0-5) with 17 points.

Dwight 63, St. Bede 55

At Granville, fifth-seed Dwight pulled off a mild upset with a 63-55 victory over fourth-seed St. Bede in Tri-County Conference tourney play.

The Trojans opened up a close game with a solid third-quarter effort. DTHS put up 20 points in the third in outscoring the Bruins by seven to take a 47-38 lead into the final period. DTHS led 12-10 after the opening lap and was up 27-25 at the half.

Joe Duffy paced Dwight with 20 points and Joey Starks threw in 18. Evan Cox hit for 15 points and Collin Bachand netted 6 points.

Dwight will meet top-seed Woodland Wednesday evening.

Prairie Central 62, St. Thomas More 21

At Fairbury, six different players scored in the first quarter as Prairie Central got off to a fast start en route to a 62-21 drubbing of St. Thomas More in IPC girls’ basketball Tuesday.

Lexi Donovan led the charge with 11 points as the Hawks built a 28-0 in the opening frame. PC went up 43-12 by halftime as was in charge with a 57-16 lead after three periods.

Donovan finished with 13 points for the Hawks (12-13, 3-3). Anna Cutrell and Abi Nimbler each scored 9 points and Jules Woodrey had 7 points.

Pontiac 67, Rantoul 39

At Pontiac, the Indians overwhelmed Rantoul in each of the first three quarters to cruise to a 67-39 IPC girls’ basketball victory.

Pontiac (15-10, 5-1) scored 23 points in the first quarter and added 17 in the second as it built a 40-20 lead by the break. The difference was 59-30 heading into the final frame.

No scoring was provided for Pontiac. Josie Roseman led Rantoul with 12 points.

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