Prairie Central, Dwight, Fieldcrest win boys’ games; EPG girls claim victory

Prairie Central garnered a nonconference win at home and Dwight scored a road victory in rare Monday games for the boys. Meanwhile, El Paso-Gridley secured a Heart of Illinois Conference decision at home in girls’ basketball.

In other contests, Fieldcrest topped Woodland in boys’ hoops, but the FHS girls fell to Normal (U-High).

Prairie Central 83, Olympia 27

At Fairbury, the host Hawks came firing by dropping 32 points on Olympia in the first quarter on the way to an 83-27 victory. Seven different players scored for Prairie Central, including four hitting 3-pointers.

The hottest shooter in the opening lap was Ashton Sheldrake, who connected for 12 points. Sheldrake finished with a game-high 20 points. Dane Wheeler added 14 points and Mason Fehr tossed in 11. Bryson Gadberry contributed 8 points and was followed by Acer Kratochvil with 7 and Travis Kelson with 6 points.

The Hawks led 32-10 after one quarter and 51-17 at the break. The margin reached 50 points after three periods as PC went up 71-21.

“We came out firing on the defensive end and turned into offense early,” PC head coach Trevin McCulloh said.

The Hawks (11-15) will host Monticello Tuesday and travel to Paxton-Buckley-Loda Friday to complete their Illini Prairie Conference slate.

Dwight 79, Serena 57

At Serena, Dwight got off the bus locked in on the basket and the Trojans hit the target often in taking a 79-57 nonconference victory against host Serena.

Dwight netted 23 points in the opening period and chalked up 26 points in the second to take control of its destiny on this night. DTHS led 23-15 after the first quarter and pushed the lead to 49-26 by the intermission. It was a 65-47 game through three periods.

Joey Starks was the hot shooter with 15 points in the first half and 19 for the game in leading the Dwight (14-10) offense. Collin Bachand added 15 points while Evan Cox checked in with 13 points. Joe Duffy tallied 9 markers, Trevor Jensen had 8 and Jack Stalter scored 6 points.

Dwight will host Wilmington Wednesday in a nonconference game and the host Woodland in a Tri-County Conference contest  Friday.

Fieldcrest 57, Woodland 45

At Minonk, Woodland’s good start was overshadowed by host Fieldcrest’s strong finish as the Knights topped their guests 57-45 in a nonconference boys’ game Monday.

Woodland jumped out to a 15-9 lead in the opening frame and held a 25-17 lead by halftime. Fieldcrest came out for the second half inspired as it scored more points in the third quarter (21) than the entire first half in taking a 38-31 advantage.

The bright spot in the end for Woodland was Nolan Price surpassing head coach Connor Kaminke as the all-time leader on 3-pointers in school history. Price is now sitting with 220 makes and counting for his career. Kaminke set the standard at 217.

The Warriors (18-8) will be at home against Class 1A fifth-ranked LeRoy (23-2) in a battle of former Midstate Conference rivals Tuesday. Fieldcrest (14-10), who’s won three straight, will host Flanagan-Cornell Tuesday.

EPG 63, Lexington 32

At El Paso, host El Paso-Gridley erupted for 39 points in the middle two periods to roll past Lexington 63-32 in a Heart of Illinois Conference girls’ game. The win was the seventh in the last eight games for the Titans.

EPG held a 13-10 edge after one quarter, but then outscored Lexington 17-4 in the second for a 30-14 halftime advantage. The lead expanded to 52-23 by the start of the fourth frame.

Myli Ehrhardt finished with 24 points and 8 rebounds for the Titans (17-11, 7-4). Sloan Gentes added 12 points while KayTe Herr and Kathleen Iorger netted 6 points apiece.

Kennedy Sennett paced Lexington (7-20, 2-9) with 12 points, 10 of which came from the charity stripe. Meredith Grunloh added 7 points and Destanee Cross had 6 points.

El Paso-Gridley will host Dee-Mack, top ranked in Class 1A, on Thursday in the regular-season finale. EPG will be hosting a Class 2A regional that begins Saturday. The Titans will open regional play against U-High on Feb. 17.

Lexington will travel to Ridgeview on Thursday and then open postseason tournament play against Calvary Christian Academy at Normal in the Armstrong Regional on Saturday.

U-High 62, Fieldcrest 37

At Normal, U-High protected its home floor with a 62-37 win over depleted Fieldcrest in girls’ basketball. The Pioneers finally brushed away the pesky Knights in the second half.

U-High held leads of 10-8 and 27-25 after the first two quarters. But Fieldcrest was held scoreless in the third frame in falling behind 43-25.

TeriLynn Timmerman led Fieldcrest with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 steals. Ivory Bryant and Leah Armes added 5 points apiece. Kenzie Matejka led the Pioneers with 16.

U-High also won the preliminary game 40-26 despite 13 points from Armes and 7 from Bryant.

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