In a game heard Friday night on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons outlasted the Eureka Hornets, 54-48, in a non-conference boys basketball matchup at Clinton High School.  
 

Both teams started slow offensively, and neither could pull away in the first half. Clinton took a 22-20 lead into the break.  The Maroons capitalized on several Eureka turnovers in the third quarter to build the lead up to as much as seven at one point, but The Hornets pulled within four at the end of the third, 40-36.  The fourth quarter saw the Maroons eat several minutes of clock by slowing the pace to a crawl.  Clinton shot 7 of 10 from the free throw line in the fourth, and held on for the 54-48 win. 
 

Dawson Graves led the Maroons with 20 points, and was named the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game.  Mason Walker added 18, and Brooks Cluver had 8 points. 
 

Eureka was lead by Tyler Heffren with 24 points.  The Hornets fall to 3-3 on the season, and host Ridgeview on Tuesday.  
 

The Clinton Maroons remain undefeated at 8-0 on the year.  They'll travel to Riverton on Tuesday.  Our next Maroons broadcast is next Saturday when Clinton takes on Lexington at the Eureka College Shootout at 6pm.  
 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, from the opening tip, Mt. Zion showed why they are the second-ranked team in Class 3A as they rolled Monticello 65-34 in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from the Sievers Center at Monticello High School.

Grant McAtee scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Braves while JC Anderson had 12 points.

The Braves dished out 17 assists on its 25 field goals and committed just nine turnovers. 

Mt. Zion shot 57 percent from the floor and made 8 of its 16 three-point attempts.

Monticello struggled against a suffocating and swarming Braves defense. The Sages were led by Raiden Colbert's nine points, all from beyond the arc. 

Trey Welter added seven points.

Monticello shot just 28 percent from the floor and committed 16 turnovers that led to 12 Mt. Zion points.

The Braves had 30 points in the paint. 

Welter played the most minutes for Monticello and earned the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game.

The Braves go to 7-0 while the Sages drop to 2-3.

It's a quick turnaround for Monticello who travels to Maroa-Forsyth for a 3:15 pm tip time in Maroa. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Warrensburg-Latham shook off a slow start and rallied past Meridian 70-65 win the Macon County Tournament Championship at Argenta-Oreana High School Friday night.

The Hawks jumped out to 23-9 lead and trailed 31-28 at the intermission. 

The Cardinals chipped way throughout the second half and held on for the win.

Sebastian Hill scored 38 points Thursday night to lead Meridian to the title game Friday and his encore performance matched his Thursday night performance with 38 points in the losing effort for the Hawks. 

The Cardinals used balanced scoring led by Brayden Hickey's 20 points. Catrell Lee added 17 points while Brennon Bonds and Jake Dominick scored 11 points apiece.

Warrensburg-Latham shot 11-for-16 from the foul line compared to Meridian's 14-for-23. 

The Hawks drop to 5-4 overall while Warrensburg-Latham goes to 8-1. 

Kaiden Maurer scored 16 of his team-high 18 points in the first half and led Maroa-Forsyth over Decatur St. Teresa 55-34 in the third-place game from Argenta-Oreana Friday night at the Macon County Tournament.

The Trojans started fast going up 15-6 after the first quarter and led 36-18 at the intermission. 

Zayne Giles scored ten of his 16 points in the second quarter. 

Trant Smith finished with ten for Maroa-Forsyth.

Ryheem Tyus scored 22 points to lead the Bulldogs.

St. T falls to 3-4 while the Trojans go to 2-3.

It's a quick turnaround after playing three games this week for Maroa-Forsyth. They host Monticello in non-conference action Saturday at 3:15 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Blue Ridge started fast and never looked back in a 63-40 route of Fisher on Friday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from Farmer City.

The Knights led 15-2 after the first quarter and never looked back. 

Four players scored in double figures for Blue Ridge. Colin Michaels and Wyatt Pearl scored 12 points apiece. Isaac Price added 11 points and Zach Lewis and Corbin Colbert scored 10 points each. 

Blue Ridge is 6-2 overall. Fisher falls to 3-6.

The Knights host Sullivan Monday night in the Lincoln Prairie Conference opener. 

Three players scored in double figures for Argenta-Oreana and the Bombers took home the Consolation Championship 62-52 at the Macon County Tournament at Argenta-Oreana High School Friday night.

Ethan Mahan had 19 points, Jalynn Jawon Flowers added 16 points, and Chase Logue scored 15 points for the Bombers.

Central A&M Falls to 2-4 while Argenta-Oreana moves to 5-5. 

Sebastian Hill scored 38 points and Meridian got by Maroa-Forsyth 66-56 in the semifinals of the Macon County Tournament from Argenta-Oreana High School Thursday.

The Trojans held a 28-20 advantage going to the half but two big final frames, led by Hill, allowed the Hawks to rally back.

Lleyton Miller was the only other Meridian player to reach double figures with ten points. 

Mitch Williams paced a balanced Trojans attack with 20 points. Kaiden Maurer added 11 points. Zayne Giles added nine points and Coby Lane scored eight. 

The Trojans will play for third place tonight at 6:30 pm.

In a game heardon WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Mt. Zion's size and athleticism was too much for a young Monticello squad as the Braves rolled to a 59-26 victory in non-conference girl's basketball action from the Sievers Center in Monticello Thursday.

6-foot-3 junior Jocelyn Turner led all scorers with 18 points and six-foot senior Denver Anderson added 14 points. 

The Lady Sages were able to keep the score close in the first quarter, trailing 16-8 going to the second perioud but the Lady Braves blew the game open with a 13-1 second quarter and led 29-9 at the intermission.

The Braves would lead by 30 at one point in the third quarter and engaged the 30-point running clock going back up by 31 at one point in the fourth quarter.

Monticello sophomore Maia High battled early foul trouble and went to the bench with five minutes left without any points. She returned in the second half and scored all of her team-high 12 points. 

High was the Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt Counties Player of the Game. 

Mt. Zion goes to 9-3 overall while Monticello falls to 3-5.

The next Monticello girl's basketball broadcast on WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com will come from the Holiday Hoopla Tournament after the Christmas Holiday.

Petr Mrazek made 37 saves in his 25th career shutout, and the Chicago Blackhawks stopped a four-game slide with a 1-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

Philipp Kurashev scored for last-place Chicago, which had dropped 10 of 12 overall. It was the Blackhawks' first win this season when they scored fewer than four goals.

Connor Bedard picked up an assist while Leo Carlsson was mostly quiet in a matchup of the top two picks in this year's NHL draft. Bedard went No. 1 overall to Chicago, followed by Carlsson going to Anaheim.

Lukas Dostal made 24 stops for Anaheim, which lost for the 10th time in 11 games.

Chicago went in front in the second period on its third power-play goal in five games and ninth this season. The team ranked 29th in the NHL at 10.7% with the man advantage coming into the day.

With Anaheim defenseman Tristan Luneau serving a double minor for high-sticking, Bedard skated into the left circle before serving the puck to Kurashev for a slap shot that he blew by Dostal for his fifth goal at 9:21.

The Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.

The Detroit Lions aren't too worried about the Chicago Bears looking for payback. Something else concerns them, though.

The Lions (9-3) look to beat the Bears (4-8) for the second time in four weeks when they visit Soldier Field on Sunday.

Detroit comes in having won four of five, including a wild comeback against Chicago at Ford Field on Nov. 19. The NFC North leaders scored 17 points in the final 2 minutes, 59 seconds to rally from 12 down in a 31-26 victory.

The Lions followed that with a loss to Green Bay before winning 33-28 at New Orleans last week behind a huge effort by tight end Sam LaPorta. The rookie from Iowa set career highs with nine receptions and 140 yards, including an early touchdown and a key first-down grab late in the game.

The Bears, meanwhile, bounced back from the loss at Detroit by winning the following week at Minnesota. They squeezed past the Vikings 12-10 when Cairo Santos nailed his fourth field goal in the closing seconds and Chicago stopped a 12-game losing streak against NFC North opponents.

Now, after a bye, they have a chance to post back-to-back wins for the first time since beating Seattle and the New York Giants in Weeks 16 and 17 of the 2021 season. And they would love nothing more than to do it at Detroit's expense.

The Bears have seven interceptions and eight takeaways over the past two games. But they've had some trouble turning the turnovers into points.

In the loss at Detroit, they had a touchdown and a field goal following turnovers. The following week at Minnesota, they had just one field goal to show for their four takeaways.

Running back David Montgomery returns to Soldier Field for the first time since signing with the Lions in the offseason.

He delivered a solid performance three weeks ago, rushing for 76 yards on 12 attempts and a go-ahead touchdown in the closing minute. Montgomery played his first four seasons in Chicago.

If the final five games are an audition for Fields, it starts against Detroit.

Fields comes in with 1,587 yards passing with 12 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 92.3 passer rating that ranks 14th in the NFL. He has also run for 400 yards and a score.

The Bears have to decide if they'll pick up a fifth-year option for 2025 on Fields' rookie contract. They could be in position to draft Caleb Williams or Drake Maye with two high picks - their own and the one they got from Carolina when they acquired DJ Moore last spring.

In a game heard Thursday night on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons downed the Shelbyville Lady Rams, 64-44, in their conference opener at Clinton High School. 
 

The Lady Maroons jumped in front early, and never trailed in the contest.  They led 18-10 at the end of the first quarter thanks in part to three early three-pointers. Clinton would go on to hit 12 3's on the night, one shy of the school record of thirteen. 
 

Carly Anderson connected on five from long range on the way to 19-points, and earning the WHOW / Serv Pro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game award.  The Lady Maroons also saw Heidi Humble and Reagan Filkin score 13 points each; and Lilah Cluver added 8 off the bench. 
 

Clinton improves to 4-5 on the year, and 1-0 in the Central Illinois Conference. They'll travel to Meridian Monday night. We'll next feature the Lady Maroons on WHOW next Thursday when they host Roanoke-Benson.  
 

Shelbyville falls to 2-8 on the season, and 0-2 in conference.  They'll travel to South Fork on Saturday. 
 

A reminder...

Join us Friday night for our next WHOW Maroons Game of the Week as the 7-0 Clinton Maroons play host to Eureka.  Varisty action should tip-off around 7:30pm on all WHOW platforms!  
 

Jalynn Flowers scored 25 points and paced Argenta-Oreana over Tri-City-Sangamon Valley 73-31in consolation action from the Macon County Tournament Wednesday in Argenta.

Carter Logue added 11 points for the Bombers and Chase Logue scored nine points. 

After Cerro Gordo-Bement's victory over Central A&M Wednesday, Argenta-Oreana and Cerro Gordo-Bement will play for the consolation championship Friday night.

DeMar DeRozan scored 29 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the short-handed Charlotte Hornets 111-100 on Wednesday for their third straight victory following a five-game skid.

Nikola Vucevic had 20 and 11 rebounds for the Bulls and Coby White added 19 points.

Gordon Hayward scored 27 points for Charlotte, and Terry Rozier had 25. The Hornets have lost two straight and four of five.

Chicago took control in the first six minutes of the second half by holding the Hornets to just a pair of field goals. White capped a 19-4 run with a 3-pointer that gave the Bulls a 67-48 lead midway through the third. Charlotte never got closer than eight points the rest of the night.

Chicago guard Zach LaVine missed his third straight game because of an injured right foot. The team said in a statement after the game that he’ll need an additional three to four weeks rest.

The Bulls pushed the lead into double-digits for the first time with a 16-3 run midway through the second quarter. Charlotte closed the half on a 15-3 spurt to trail 48-44 at intermission.

The Bulls are at San Antonio on Friday night.

 Kendall Lewis' 15 points helped Illinois State defeat Northern Kentucky 62-59 on Wednesday night.

Darius Burford's layup for Illinois State ended the scoring with 58 seconds left.

Lewis added six rebounds for the Redbirds (6-3). Dalton Banks added 14 points while going 5 of 8 (4 for 7 from 3-point range), and he also had six rebounds. Burford had 13 points and shot 5 for 14 (1 for 5 from 3-point range) and 2 of 3 from the free-throw line.

The Norse (5-4) were led by Marques Warrick, who recorded 15 points. Cade Meyer added 10 points for Northern Kentucky. In addition, Michael Bradley finished with eight points and four assists.

ISU hosts Norfolk Saturday night at 7 pm. 

Jonathan Marchessault scored his 200th career goal and Jack Eichel added a goal and an assist, leading the Vegas Golden Knights to a 6-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

Zach Whitecloud, Keegan Kolesar, Michael Amadio and William Karlsson also scored for Vegas, and Logan Thompson had 26 saves.

Jordan Kyrou, Jake Neighbours and Kevin Hayes had goals for St. Louis, and Jordan Binnington had a season-high 43 saves.

The two teams played Monday in Las Vegas with the Blues winning 2-1 in overtime. St. Louis has now alternated wins and losses in its past eight games.

The Golden Knights scored four second period goals, including two on the power play, to take command. The first three goals came in less than three minutes of play.

St. Louis then scored three goals to lead 3-1 going into the second period.

The Blues quickly tied it 1-1 when Neighbours scored at 9:20. Ivan Barbashev a former Blue, lost the puck in the neutral zone and St. Louis had a 2 on 1 advantage. Neighbours who skated in and snapped a wrist shot over Thompson for his 10th of the season.

The Blues went up 2-1 on a goal in front by Hayes at 10:33. From the corner, Torey Krug directed a shot toward the net and Hayes, who was just outside the crease, deflected it in for the goal.

Kyrou made it 3-1 when he scored at 17:11. Kyrou weaved his way through Whitecloud, Nicholas Hague and Barbashev and then beat Thompson. The goal snapped a 10-game goal drought that was the fourth-longest goalless streak of his six-year career.

But that was it for the Blues offensively.

The Blues are at Columbus on Friday night.

Yadier Molina will remain with the St. Louis Cardinals as a special assistant to John Mozeliak, their president of baseball operations after the longtime catcher wrapped up his 19-year big league career in 2022.

The 41-year-old Molina was a 10-time All-Star and nine-time Gold Glove winner who played all 2,224 games of his career for St. Louis. That included 2,184 games behind the plate, the most by any catcher for one team in major league history.

Molina trails only Stan Musial, who played 22 seasons for St. Louis, for the most with the club. Along the way, he helped the Cardinals reach four World Series and win championships in 2006 and 2011. His longevity coupled with the success of those Cardinals teams are a big reason why he retired as their career postseason leader in hits (102) and games played (104).

Molina, a fourth-round pick of the Cardinals in the 2000 first-year player draft, served as the manager of Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic in 2023. He also managed Navegantes del Magallanes in Venezuela.

Erick Fedde is returning to the majors with the Chicago White Sox after spending last season in South Korea.

The right-hander has agreed to a $15 million, two-year contract with Chicago, according to a person familiar with the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Tuesday because the move was pending a physical.

The 30-year-old Fedde was selected by Washington in the first round of the 2014 amateur draft. He made his big league debut in 2017 and pitched for the Nationals for six seasons, going 21-33 with a 5.41 ERA in 102 games, including 88 starts.

After he went 6-13 with a 5.81 ERA over 27 starts in 2022, he signed a one-year contract with the NC Dinos. Fedde went 20-6 with a 2.00 ERA and 209 strikeouts over 180 1/3 innings during his only season in South Korea.

Fedde likely slots into a Chicago rotation fronted by Dylan Cease. But the White Sox are under new leadership with general manager Chris Getz, and Cease could be traded before the beginning of next season.

Enrique Freeman scored 21 points as Akron beat Bradley 67-52 on Tuesday night.

Freeman added 18 rebounds, four steals, and four blocks for the Zips (5-3). Sammy Hunter scored 12 points while going 4 of 11 (2 for 4 from 3-point range). Nate Johnson was 3 of 8 shooting (2 for 4 from 3-point range) to finish with 10 points, while adding seven rebounds.

The Braves (6-3) were led by Duke Deen, who posted 14 points and two steals. Darius Hannah added 11 points and two steals for Bradley. Almar Atlason also had 11 points.

Bradley hosts Cleveland State on Friday night.

Marcus Domask and Terrence Shannon Jr. each scored 33 points, a career-high for both, as No. 20 Illinois shot 63% and surged ahead in the second half for a 98-89 victory over No. 11 Florida Atlantic in the Jimmy V Classic on Tuesday night.

Playing in this event for the second consecutive year, the Fighting Illini (7-1) won their fifth straight game thanks to Domask and Shannon, who combined for 49 points after halftime and finished a combined 25 of 35 from the field.

Domask shot 15 of 21 and surpassed his previous career high of 32 points set Jan. 29 for Southern Illinois at Illinois State. His big performance Tuesday came after he'd been held under double figures five times in seven games since transferring to Illinois.

Shannon went 10 for 14 and hit 11 of 13 free throws a year after leading Illinois to an overtime victory against Texas in this event. He topped his previous career high of 30 points set versus Monmouth in November 2022.

Domask and Shannon became the first Division I teammates to each score at least 30 points on 70% shooting in a game since Thomas Kenney and Drew Samuels did it for Marist in a 119-108 loss to Niagara in January 1999, according to OptaSTATS.

Vladislav Goldin had a career-best 23 points before fouling out in the final minute for Florida Atlantic (7-2), which made its first appearance at Madison Square Garden since beating Tennessee and Kansas State in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament in March to reach its first Final Four.

Johnell Davis added 19 points as the Owls shot 48% from the field. But they had few answers for Domask and Shannon on defense.

Shannon and Domask pushed Illinois to a 10-point lead with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Florida Atlantic twice cut it to two, but the Illini made nine free throws the rest of the way to ice it.

Coleman Hawkins returned to the starting lineup for Illinois after missing three games with a knee injury. The senior forward had six points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes.

Illinois plays at No. 17 Tennessee on Saturday.

Cleveland will have the No. 1 pick in next year’s amateur baseball draft for the first time, winning a lottery on the second try Tuesday after Washington came out with the top spot initially but was ineligible.

Major League Baseball and the players’ association agreed to the lottery in their March 2022 labor contract, an innovation to discourage struggling teams from deliberately trying for a top draft pick by getting rid of veterans.

The 18 teams that failed to make the playoffs entered the weighted lottery, and the first drawing of four ping-pong balls at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center came up with 3-9-11-13 — a winning combination for the Nationals among 1,001 combinations.

Washington was ineligible to pick in the top six because the collective bargaining agreement states a team that pays in the revenue-sharing plan cannot have a lottery pick in back-to-back years, and the Nationals chose outfielder Dylan Crews with the No. 2 selection this year.

Cincinnati will pick second in the July 14 draft at Arlington, Texas, followed by Colorado, Oakland, the Chicago White Sox, Kansas City, St. Louis, the Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh and Washington.

Detroit selects 11th, followed by Boston, San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs, Seattle, Miami, Milwaukee and Tampa Bay.

The New York Mets, Yankees and San Diego are each likely to drop 10 slots in the draft because they will exceed the threshold for the second luxury tax surcharge and were not winners of a top-six pick in the lottery. The Mets are projected to pick 19th, the Padres 25th and the Yankees 26th.

Oakland will be ineligible for a top-six selection in 2025 because it receives revenue-sharing money and already will have had two straight top-six picks.

Ryan O'Reilly scored in regulation and the shootout, and Nashville handed Chicago its fourth consecutive loss with a 4-3 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday night.

Gustav Nyquist and Filip Forsberg also converted their chances as Nashville went 3 for 3 in the tiebreaker against Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom. Connor Bedard scored in the shootout for Chicago, but Tyler Johnson was stopped by Juuse Saros.

Luke Evangelista and Mark Jankowski also scored for Nashville in regulation. Saros made 25 stops in regulation and overtime.

The Predators won for the eighth time in 10 games. They also improved to 21-4-4 in their last 29 games against the Blackhawks.

It was the first shootout game for each team this season.

Nick Foligno had two goals and an assist for Chicago, which has lost five of six overall. Jason Dickinson also scored, and Soderblom made 27 saves through OT.

Chicago had a chance to go in front about seven minutes into the third period, but Nashville defenseman Roman Josi swept a loose puck away from the goal line behind Saros.

The Blackhawks host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night.

Wesley Clark and Zach Lewis paced a balanced Blue Ridge scoring attack as the Knights blew away Urbana Uni-High Tuesday night in non-conference high school boy's basketball action from Urbana.

Clark and Lewis each had 13 points. Colin Michaels scored nine points and Isaac Price and Corbin Colbert added six points apiece. 

The Knights opened up a 24-3 lead after the first quarter and led 42-16 at the intermission. 

Blue Ridge goes to 4-2 overall and will host Sullivan next Monday night in its Lincoln Prairie Conference opener. 

In a game heard on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com, Monticello could not must any first-half offense, and the struggles allowed Williamsville to take control in a 55-27 blowout non-conference loss Tuesday night at the Sievers Center in Monticello.

Monticello was outscored 25-4 with only one field goal in the first half and ended up with the lowest offensive output in Coach Kevin Roy's 18 years as the boy's basketball coach.

The Sages finally got its offense going in the third quarter but it wasn't enough as the Bullets had an answer for each Sages basket and the lid came back on the hoop again in the fourth quarter as Monticello had just two fourth quarter field goals.

Monticello for the game shot 23 percent and committed 19 turnovers that turned into 17 points for Williamsville. 

Rai Colbert led Monticello with nine points on a trio of three-pointers. Trey Welter added six points. 

Perhaps the only bright spot for the Sages was they could outrebound Williamsville 28-24.

Cobert was the ServPro of Piatt/DeWitt County Player of the Game. 

Williamsville goes to 3-0 while the Monticello falls to 2-2.

The Sages return home Friday night hosting Mt. Zion at 7 pm. Hear the action on WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

After slowing down Peoria Heights early, Clinton could not keep up and Peoria Heights rolled the Maroons 49-24 in non-conference high school girl's basketball action Monday night in Peoria.

The Lady Maroons led 8-7 after one but were outscored 15-4 and 15-1 in the second and third quarters, respectively. 

Lilah Cluver led the Lady Maroons with seven points and Regan Filkin added six points. 

Clinton opens the Central Illinois Conference slate on Thursday when they host Shelbyville at Clinton High School.

After a slow start for both teams, a 15-2 third quarter scoring advantage allowed Decatur LSA to get by Blue Ridge 31-16 in non-conference high school girl's basketball action Monday night in Farmer City.

Phoebe Reynolds scored six points for the Lady Knights and Chelsea Lyle scored five points. 

Blue Ridge drops to 2-5 and will  host Fisher on Friday.