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WEZC To Broadcast Monticello Girls Postseason Games

Posted About Five Years Ago

95.9 FM WEZC will cover the postseason games for the Monticello girls basketball squad. The games will also be heard on dewittdailynews.com.
 
Starting next Wednesday night at 7:30 pm, WEZC and dewittdailynews.com will have live coverage of each girls basketball game from the Georgetown Ridge-Farm regional. 
 
The Lady Sages are ranked seventh in the state in Class 2A, but will likely have to get through fifth ranked Fithian-Oakwood in regionals.
 
The regional winner will head to the Iriquois West sectional. 
 
Should the Lady Sages win their regional semi-final, their Friday Regional Final will conflict with a Friday night boys basketball game. 95.9 FM WEZC will carry girls basketball, starting at 7 pm, and those wanting to hear boys basketball action can hear their matchup with Bloomington Central Catholic at 7:30 pm on dewittdailynews.com as a part of the WHOW stream.

St. T Gets By Clinton at CIC Tourney

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs used a big second quarter to get by the Clinton Maroons in the Central Illinois Conference Tournament semifinal, 54-36, Tuesday night at Tuscola High School.
 
Leading 14-11 after the first quarter, the Bulldogs held the Maroons to three points in the second quarter and opened up a 26-14 advantage at the half. The closest the Maroons would get would be 11 the rest of the way.
 
Seth Westfall led the Maroons with 13 points and Austin Baker added 10 points.
 
Isaiah Bond and Manny Green each scored 18 points to lead St. T, who will take on Meridian Friday night at 7:30 pm for the tournament title. 
 
The Maroons will take on Tuscola Friday night in the third/fourth place game at 6 pm. Hear the action on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Illinois, Illinois State Win Tuesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Illinois Drops Rutgers
 
Kipper Nichols scored 19 points and Trent Frazier had 17 points to lift Illinois to a 91-60 victory over Rutgers on Tuesday night.
 
In just the second start of his career, Nichols also recorded a team-high six rebounds and team-high three steals.
 
Frazier had the hot hand early, ripping off a personal 9-0 run in the first half to put Illinois (12-11, 2-8 Big Ten Conference) in the driver's seat. He scored 15 points in the opening period on five 3-pointers. He has scored in double figures for six consecutive games, averaging 17.7 points during that stretch.
 
Illinois pressured the ball all night, scoring 37 points off 25 turnovers by Rutgers. The Illini also outscored the Scarlet Knights 11-5 in fast break points.
 
Rutgers (12-12, 2-9) entered the contest averaging a Big Ten-worst 66.7 points per game and it showed. The Scarlet Knights went roughly 10 minutes in the first half without a made field goal and shot just 42.2 percent from the field.
 
Corey Sanders is Rutgers' leading scorer, but he struggled for the second consecutive game. He was held scoreless last week against Penn State and followed it up with a 10-point performance against Illinois. Over his last two games he has made just three shots on 19 attempts.
 
Geo Baker led the Scarlet Knights with 19 points, while the Illini had five players score in double digits.
 
Rutgers has now lost 11 straight conference road games and has won only one since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
 
The 31-point victory earned Illinois its first Big Ten winning streak since March of last season.
 
Illinois will hit the road and face No. 17 Ohio State on Sunday. The Buckeyes are led by Keita Bates-Diop, who is averaging a Big Ten best 19.9 points per game.
 
>>Illinois State Gets By Missouri State
 
Milik Yarbrough and Keyshawn Evans scored 15 points apiece as Illinois State had five in double-figure scoring to cruise to a 76-60 victory over Missouri State on Tuesday night.
The Redbirds (12-11, 6-5 Missouri Valley Conference) have won two straight and swept Missouri State (15-9, 5-6).
 
Yarbrough was just 4 of 13 from the field, but made 6 of 8 free throws and had a game-high six assists. Evans was 5-of-15 shooting and made three 3-pointers. Taylor Bruninga added 13 points for the Redbirds. Madison Williams had 12 points and Phil Fayne chipped in 11.
 
Alize Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead Missouri State, which shot 21 of 65 from the field and missed 19 3-pointers. Mustafa Lawrence and J.T. Miller also scored 12 points each.
 
Illinois State never trailed and built a 30-21 halftime advantage. Evans, Bruninga and Williams each made a 3-pointer during an 11-0 surge, and the Redbirds had a 46-28 lead early in the second.

Blackhawks, Blues Win

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Blackhawks Down Preds
 
Anton Forsberg made 42 saves, Vinnie Hinostroza had a goal and an assist, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Tuesday night.
 
Last-place Chicago, which needs a big finish to get into the playoffs, returned from the All-Star break with its second straight win. David Kampf also scored for the Blackhawks.
 
Kyle Turris had Nashville's only goal and Juuse Saros made 29 saves. The Predators lost in regulation for the first time since Jan. 2.
 
Kampf got the lead for the Blackhawks at 3:03 of the first.
 
On the right boards, Tomas Jurco knocked down an attempted clear by Saros and kicked the puck toward Hinostroza in the right circle. Hinostroza poked the puck off Nashville defenseman Roman Josi, and Kampf beat Saros with a wrist shot high to the glove side.
 
Turris tied it with his ninth goal 2:12 into the second.
 
Craig Smith forced a turnover by Forsberg behind the Chicago net. Smith passed to Scott Hartnell below the goal line, and he fed Turris all alone in the slot for his first goal since Dec. 29.
 
Hinostroza got the eventual game-winner at 14:33 of the second.
 
Nick Schmaltz carried the puck into the Nashville zone on the right side and sent a pass to Hinostroza at the top of the right faceoff circle. Aided by a screen from Predators defenseman Matt Irwin, Hinostroza fired a one-timer by Saros on the far side.
 
Forsberg denied Calle Jarnkrok from the low slot with 1:30 remaining to preserve the win for Chicago.
 
The Blackhawks are at Vancouver on Thursday.
 
>>Blues Stop Canadiens
 
Carter Hutton stopped 33 shots in his sixth straight start, helping the St. Louis Blues beat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 on Tuesday night.
The 32-year-old Hutton appears to have supplanted Jake Allen as St. Louis' No. 1 goaltender. He is 8-1-1 in his last 10 starts and has stopped 94 of 96 shots over the last three games.
 
St. Louis has won five of six overall. The struggling Canadiens have lost 11 of 15.
 
Ivan Barbashev, Patrik Berglund and Alexander Steen scored for St. Louis, which has won its last five games against Montreal.
 
Charles Hudon broke up Hutton's shutout bid with a 6-on-4 goal with 1:07 remaining.
 
Barbashev snapped a scoreless tie with his second goal of the season early in the second period. He whipped a wrist shot from the top of the faceoff circle past goalie Carey Price, who fell to 14-18-4. Barbashev spent 21 games in the minors earlier this season.
 
Berglund pushed the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal early in the third. He jumped on the rebound of a shot by Tage Thompson.
 
Steen added an empty-netter with 2:17 left.
 
The Blues visit Boston on Thursday.

Packers Have Another Vacancy To Fill

Posted About Five Years Ago

Safeties coach Darren Perry is leaving the Green Bay Packers in the wake of a staff overhaul by coach Mike McCarthy.
 
Perry plans to pursue other opportunities following nine seasons in Green Bay. McCarthy announced the move Monday.
 
Green Bay fired defensive coordinator Dom Capers following a 7-9 season and replaced him with Mike Pettine. Jason Simmons went from a special teams assistant to secondary coach, while cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt given the new title of pass-game coordinator.
 
The moves left Perry's role in question. He served as the position coach for one of the team's most experienced units with safeties Morgan Burnett and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
 
But pass coverage has been an issue the last couple years in Green Bay because of injuries at cornerback and inconsistent pressure on the quarterback.

Monticello Stymies St. Joe-Ogden

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello Sages used a big second quarter effort to get by St. Joseph-Ogden 53-37 in a crucial Illini Prairie Conference boys basketball game Tuesday night from St. Joseph-Ogden High School.

 

The Sages used a stellar defensive effort to turn a 14-13 deficit into a 30-19 advantage at the break.

 

Monticello opened the quarter with 11 straight points and the Spartans went 5:06 without a field goal.

 

Calvin Fisher led all scorers with 19 points. Luke Stokowski had a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds and Johnny Dawson chipped in with 10 points.

 

The Sages shot 60-percent from the floor on 24-60 shooting, including 10-for-18 in the second half and went 8-for-11 in the second quarter.

 

Monticello won the battle of the boards 27-20 and turned nine offensive rebounds into 11 second chance points. They also turned the Spartans over 13 times for 14 points off turnovers.

 

The Sages improve to 4-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference and are 15-1 overall.

 

The Spartans drop to 20-2 overall and 5-1 in league play.

 

Monticello will play at Illinois Valley Central Friday night. Hear the action live on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

The Sages then turn around on Saturday and head to Quincy for matchup with Quincy Notre Dame.

 

Maroons Resume Play in CIC Tournament

Posted About Five Years Ago

Fresh off a Saturday win over Warrensburg-Latham, the Clinton Maroons will  take on the Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs tonight in the semi-final of the Central Illinois Conference tournament in Tuscola.
 
The Maroons are in the winners bracket for the second straight year.
 
The winner of tonight's matchup will take on Tuscola or Meridian Friday night at 7:30 pm for the tournament title. The losers will meet at 6 pm for the third/fourth place game.
 
Hear Friday's action on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Pacers Beat Hornets

Posted About Five Years Ago

Victor Oladipo scored 25 points, Myles Turner added 22 and the Pacers had just enough energy to make two late charges in a 105-96 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
 
Six players scored in double figures, including Thaddeus Young with 16 points and Darren Collison with 13. Domantas Sabonis had his 12th double-double this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Collison had six assists, backup point guard Cory Joseph added five and Lance Stephenson provided a late burst of energy as he wound up with 10 points.
 
Charlotte scored only 14 points over the final 10 minutes and 18 in the fourth quarter, losing its second in a row.
 
Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 23 points, making a trio of 3-pointers. Dwight Howard had 22 points and 11 rebounds but took only three shots in the second half. Nicolas Batum made five 3s and scored 22 points.
 
After Oladipo made a 19-footer with 9:50 to go, the Pacers didn't look back. Sabonis scored Indiana's next five points and when the 13-4 spurt ended with Sabonis' 20-footer, the Pacers led 94-86 with six minutes remaining.
 
Then Turner's 3 spurred a 7-0 run, giving the Pacers a 103-89 advantage with 2:46 left. Charlotte never recovered.
 
The Pacers can sweep Memphis for the first time since 2012-13 with a win at home Wednesday night.

Monticello Gets By Unity

Posted About Five Years Ago

It was all about Zanna Myers Monday.
 
Myers started her Monday committing to play at Olivet Nazarene University then scored a game high 21 points, reaching 1000 career points, and led the Monticello Lady Sages past Unity 64-27.
 
Tatum McCall chipped in with 15 points and Emily Wilson added nine points. 
 
The Lady Sages finish out their regular season at Olympia Thursday night. Hear the game live on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Virginia Moving Up Polls This Week

Posted About Five Years Ago

Monday's latest AP top 25 poll once again has Villanova at the No. 1 spot for the fourth consecutive week. The red-hot Wildcats received 47 of a possible 65 first place votes after another perfect week that saw them win big over Providence and hang on to snag a win over Marquette on the road.
 
Jay Wright's team will be tested frequently over the next two weeks, but they're gearing up for a four-game home stand starting Thursday, where they have yet to lose this season.
 
Nipping at the heels of the Wildcats is Virginia. The Cavaliers put together an impressive 2-0 week with a win over Clemson and a statement road win over Duke in Cameron Indoor. UVA garnered 17 first place votes this week and, at 9-0 in ACC play, now has a comfortable 2.5 game lead in the conference standings and a clear path to a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs.
 
Virginia, which was picked in the preseason to finish sixth in the ACC, continued its remarkable ascension in the college basketball world on Saturday with a statement win over Duke on the Blue Devils' home floor.
 
The Cavaliers moved to 20-1 overall with the win and 9-0 in league play, and remained at No. 2 in the latest USA Today coaches poll released on Monday behind Villanova. UVA received eight first-place votes in the poll while Villanova garnered 22 and Purdue received one. 
 
Rounding out the new top five is Purdue, Michigan State and Duke.

Jason Day Takes Home First Win In Almost Two Years

Posted About Five Years Ago

Jason Day took home the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open in a six-hole sudden death playoff over Alex Noren with a birdie on the final hole to Noren's bogey. The birdie capped off a remarkable six holes of golf for the Aussie in which he made four birdies and secured the 11th win of his career.
 
On his second shot into the par-5 18th on Monday during the sixth playoff hole, Noren dropped a 3-wood into the water, and it was all but over. Day wedged a lay up to two feet and easily made the birdie and the win.
 
It's his first win since May 2016 at the Players Championship and his second in four years at this course. He joins a group that includes Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Arnold Palmer as multiple-time winners of the Farmers Insurance Open.

Bradley Drops Indiana State

Posted About Five Years Ago

Nate Kennell hit 7 of 9 3-point attempts and scored a career-high 25 points to lead Bradley over Indiana State 81-73 on Sunday.
 
After the Sycamores held a lead for nearly nine minutes in the second half, Kennell made consecutive 3-pointers for a 70-64 lead with 2½ minutes remaining. Kennell added his final 3-pointer - his fifth of the half - plus two free throws for a nine-point lead with 36 seconds left.
 
Elijah Childs added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Braves (16-7, 6-4), who won their third straight and first Missouri Valley Conference road game this season after four away losses. The Braves shot 51 percent overall and 61 percent from the arc (11 of 18). Darrell Brown had eight assists.
 
Jordan Barnes made 4 of 10 from the arc and scored 19 points with five assists for the Sycamores (10-12, 5-5). Brenton Scott added 17 points.

Monticello Girls Basketball To Play in Georgetown Ridge-Farm Regional

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello girls basketball squad will be headed to the Georgetown Ridge-Farm Regional next week as a part of the Iriquois West Sectional.
 
The Lady Sages have a matchup next Wednesday, February 7, awaiting them between either Bismarck-Henning or Georgetown Ridge-Farm, who meet Monday, February 5, at 7:30 pm.
 
Salt Fork and Westville will play Monday at 6 pm, with the winner to face Fithian Oakwood Wednesday night at 6 pm. 
 
The regional final will be played Friday night at 7 pm and the Sectional is scheduled to begin Monday, February 12.
 
The Lady Sages lost Saturday at Danville-Schlarman, who is top ranked in Class 1A. They will finish out their regular season this week with a matchup tonight at Tolono Unity and then a Thursday matchup at Olympia.
 
Hear Thursday's action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Bucks Beat Bulls

Posted About Five Years Ago

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 27 points and the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 110-96 on Sunday.
 
The All-Star forward added nine rebounds and eight assists to help the Bucks improve to 3-0 since interim coach Joe Prunty replaced the fired Jason Kidd.
 
Khris Middleton added 20 points and seven rebounds. Jason Terry came off the bench to score a season-high 12 points, nailing four of Milwaukee's 13 3-pointers.
 
The Bucks shot just over 53 percent overall for the game and used a big second quarter to build a 19-point halftime lead, sending Chicago to its fourth straight loss.
 
Denzel Valentine scored 18 for the Bulls. Lauri Markkanen added 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Zach LaVine had another rough outing. The two-time slam dunk champion finished with six points on 2-of-11 shooting in his eighth game back from a torn ACL in his left knee, after going 3 of 17 in a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.
 
The Bucks took a 61-42 lead to the locker room after outscoring Chicago 35-22 in the second quarter.
 
Milwaukee got back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the period from the 40-year-old Terry and bumped the lead to 20 near the end of the half.
 
Sterling Brown and Middleton nailed 3s and a cutting Antetokounmpo threw down a dunk to make it 56-36. The Bucks then shook off 3s for Chicago by Valentine and Nikola Mirotic, with former Bull Tony Snell hitting one of his own and Antetokounmpo burying a turnaround jumper from around the foul line to make it a 19-point game.
 
Bulls visit Portland on Wednesday.

Illinois Tops Valpraiso Saturday

Posted About Five Years Ago

Phil Fayne tied his career high with 24 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed nine boards to help Illinois State beat Valparaiso 76-65 on Saturday night.
 
Milik Yarbrough added 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Redbirds (11-11, 5-5 Missouri Valley Conference). Keyshawn Evans had three 3-pointers and scored 17.
 
Illinois State led the entire way and pushed its advantage to double digits shortly before the end of the first half. The Redbirds had a 7-0 run early in the second half to lead 45-29, and they kept the lead between 10 and 19 the rest of the way.
 
Bakari Evelyn had 20 points, Derrik Smits scored a career-high 17 and Tevonn Walker added 16 for the Crusaders (11-12, 2-8), who lost their fifth straight.
 
Valparaiso missed its first 14 3-point attempts and finished the game 3 of 19.

Farmers Insurance Open Playoff To Spill Into Monday

Posted About Five Years Ago

It wasn't pretty coming home down the back nine on Sunday as Alex Noren and Jason Day both shot 2-over 38 to close out Round 4 at the 2018 Farmers Insurance Open. But then the fireworks started. The two made birdie on the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, to oust the third member of their trio, Ryan Palmer.
 
Then Day hit one of the great shots of the year on the second playoff hole. He missed the putt for eagle, though, and Noren matched him with another birdie to send it to a third. Day then narrowly missed two birdie putts on the third and fourth playoff holes, and it was back to No. 18 for the fifth.
 
Day had to lay up out of the rough after Noren reached the green in two. He again put it close and again made the putt for birdie, this time in the darkness. Noren matched him with a two-putt, and a Sunday afternoon at Torrey turned into an eye-opening shootout between two of the top 20 players in the world.
 
Their prize for the Sunday soiree is a date on Monday at 11 a.m. ET to finish the playoff as it got far too dark to continue on Sunday. 

Clinton Maroons Defeat Warrensburg-Latham

Posted About Five Years Ago

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons defeated the Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals in the CIC Tournament Saturday night by a score of 55-37. The Maroons were led by Austin Baker with 15 points. Austin Rauch added 13 and Seth Westfall added 12. The Country Financial representative Brad James Maroons Player of the Game was Dalton Smith. Smith had 4 points and led the Maroons defensively.

 

The Cardinals were led by Joe Gustafson with 16 points.

 

With the win the Maroons improve to 11-7 on the season and Warrensburg-Latham falls to 8-11 overall.

 

Tune in Friday, February 9, as the Maroons take on Meridian. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Monticello Dominates Pontiac

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello Sages came out swinging and never let up as they routed Pontiac, 52-30 in Illini Prairie Conference boys basketball action Friday night at Monticello High School.

 

The Sages opened the game up on a 9-2 run and led 19-5 after the first quarter. They led 29-13 at the half and 44-17 at the end of the third.

 

Calvin Fisher paced a balanced Sages offensive attack with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Luke Stokowski added seven points, Johnny Dawson had six points and Ben Singleton added four points.

 

The Sages forced the Indians into 18 turnovers and only allowed two assists on 12 field goals.

 

They turned those 18 turnovers into 25 points and scored 28 points in the paint.

 

Monticello also dominated the glass, 38-25.

 

Pontiac drops to 7-9 overall, suffering their first Illini Prairie Conference loss to move to 2-1.

 

The Sages won their seventh in a row and are 14-1 overall and 3-0 in conference action.

 

Monticello will hit the road for three road games next week, starting Tuesday night at rival St. Jospeh-Ogden. Hear all the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Maroons Open CIC Tourney Play Saturday

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Maroons open the Central Illinois Conference Tournament in Tuscola as the third seed Saturday night.
 
The Maroons will take on sixth seeded Warrensburg-Latham at 7:30 pm.
 
Shelbyville is the top seed and Decatur St. Teresa is the second seed.
 
If the Maroons win, they will play Tuesday night at 7:30 pm and if they lose, they will play Monday night at 7:30 pm. 
 
They will play either Decatur St. Teresa or Sullivan. 
 
Hear the action Saturday night on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. WHOW will broadcast the Maroons placement game in the tournament either Wednesday night or Friday night. 

Blues, Blackhawks Win Thursday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Blackhawks Blast Red Wings
 
Alex DeBrincat had his second hat trick of an impressive rookie season and the Chicago Blackhawks chased Detroit goalie Jimmy Howard in the first period on their way to a 5-1 victory over the Red Wings on Thursday night.
 
DeBrincat, Anthony Duclair and Vinnie Hinostroza scored in the first 8:47 before Howard was pulled, and the Red Wings never got back in the game. DeBrincat added another goal in the second period and scored an empty-netter in the third, bringing his season total to 17.
 
Anton Forsberg came within 3:51 of his first career shutout before Anthony Mantha scored for Detroit.
 
DeBrincat opened the scoring after just 3:19 when he wheeled around and shot from near the top of the right circle. With Chicago's Jonathan Toews creating traffic in front, the puck went past Howard for a 1-0 lead.
 
Duclair made it 2-0 with a shot from the high slot. Then Hinostroza came in on a 2-on-1 and decided to shoot himself, beating Howard to give Chicago a three-goal advantage.
 
Howard headed to the bench after making only six saves, and Petr Mrazek replaced him.
 
Detroit's Gustav Nyquist hit the post shortly after the Red Wings fell behind 3-0, but Detroit didn't create much sustained pressure, even though it was Chicago that had played the night before. The Blackhawks had lost four in a row and are in last place in the Central Division, but after going just 1-4-1 on a six-game homestand, Chicago heads into the All-Star break on a better note with the win at Detroit.
 
Forsberg was closing in on a shutout in his 27th career game, but Mantha redirected a pass from Henrik Zetterberg into the net. Zetterberg moved into a tie with Pavel Datsyuk for fifth place on Detroit's career assists list with No. 604.
 
The Red Wings pulled their goalie at the end, and that gave DeBrincat an opportunity to shoot into the open net in the final minute.
 
The Blackhawks play at Nashville on Tuesday night.
 
>>Blues Down Avalanche
 
Carter Hutton made 36 saves, Brayden Schenn scored in his fourth straight game and St. Louis beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 on Thursday night.
Alexander Steen scored for the fourth time in his last five games, Paul Stastny also scored and Alex Pietrangelo had a pair of assists for the Blues, who have won four of five.
 
Hutton has stopped 61 of his last 62 shots and helped the Blues earn points in eight of his last nine starts, going 7-1-1 with a 1.81 GAA, a .938 save percentage and one shutout in that span.
 
Alexander Kerfoot scored for the Avalanche, who lost their second straight after winning 10 in a row. Jonathan Bernier made 31 saves. Colorado dropped consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 5-7.
 
Hutton came up big as the Avalanche controlled the third period. Hutton made tough saves on Gabriel Landeskog and Nikita Zadorov while Colorado sent 14 shots to the net.
 
The Blues have won eight of their last nine and have points in 11 straight games against the Avalanche.
 
The Blues host Montreal on Tuesday night.

Monticello Girls Third Seed in Iriquois West Sectional

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello girls basketball squad is the third seed in the Iriquois West Sectional in Class 2A girls basketball postseason play as announced by the IHSA yesterday afternoon.
 
St. Joseph-Ogden is the top seed, who defeated Monticello earlier this year. 
 
Fithian-Oakwood is the second seed followed by Monticello and then Champaign St. Thomas More, who beat the Lady Sages earlier this week.
 
The regional sites for the Iriquois West Sectional are Champaign St. Thomas More and Georgetown-Ridge Farm in sub-sectional A.
 
Also in the Iriquois West Sectional, Heyworth is the fifth seed, Argenta-Oreana is the ninth seed, Blue Ridge received the tenth seed adn Tri-Valley is the 11th seed.
 
In sub-sectional B, the Regional sites are Watseka, who is the top seed, and Braidwood Reed-Custer, the fifth seed.
 
Paxton-Buckley-Loda is the second seed while GCMS received the fourth seed. 
 
Elsewhere Class 2A, the Farmington sectional regional sites Havana and Tremont in sub-sectional A, and Knoxville and Hamilton in sub-sectional B. 
 
In sub-sectional A, Eureka is the top seed. El-Paso Gridley is the second seed. Olympia received the seventh seed and Dee-Mack the ninth seed. 
 
In sub-sectional B, Illini West is the top seed. 
 
In the Riverton sectional, Maroa-Forsyth is the seventh seed in sub-sectional B, Warrensburg-Latham is the tenth seed.
 
The pairings for each sectional will be announced this afternoon.

Brewers Acquire Yelich From Marlins, Sign OF Cain

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Marlins strip down rebuild continues, as Christian Yelich has been traded to the Brewers for multiple players, including outfielder Lewis Brinson. The Brewers officially announced the deal early Thursday evening. 
 
The return to the Marlins is Brinson along with minor-leaguers Monte Harrison, Isan Diaz and Jordan Yamamoto. 
 
Yelich, 26, hit .282/.369/.439 (117 OPS+) with 36 doubles, 18 homers, 81 RBI, 100 runs and 16 stolen bases last season. He was even better in 2016 when he won a Silver Slugger and got some down-ballot MVP votes. He transitioned to center field from left last season.
 
More good news for the Brewers is Yelich's contract. He's set to make $43.25 million over the next four seasons and there's a $15 million club option for 2022. It's very team-friendly, given Yelich's talent level and pedigree. 
 
Before the proverbial dust even settled, they went out and signed free agent center fielder Lorenzo Cain for five years and $80 million, per Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com. 
 
Cain, 31, hit .300/.363/.440 (112 OPS+) last season while producing 5.3 WAR, which is above All-Star level. 
 
The Brewers have also been reportedly involved in talks with starting pitchers Yu Darvish, Jake Arrieta and Alex Cobb at different points through the offseason as well. 

Maroons Third Seed in Upcoming CIC Tournament

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Maroons are the third seed of the upcoming Central Illinois Conference Tournament in Tuscola.
 
Shelbyville is the top seed and Decatur St. Teresa is the second seed.
 
The Maroons will take on sixth seeded Warrensburg-Latham. 
 
Central A&M is the fourth seed, followed by Meridian, Warrensburg-Latham, Sullivan and Tuscola.
 
The Maroons will play at 7:30 on Saturday night. Hear the action on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Illinois Gets First Big Ten Win; ISU Loses

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Illinois Holds Off Indiana
 
Trent Frazier and Leron Black each scored 19 points to help Illinois squeeze out a 73-71 victory over Indiana Wednesday night.
 
The two-point victory was the team's first Big 10 Conference win of the season and the first of coach Brad Underwood's career. It also snapped the Illini's six-game losing streak.
 
Indiana jumped all over Illinois early, taking a 12-4 lead but freshman Frazier kept the Illini afloat in the first half. With just over six minutes left in the period, he reeled off 13 straight points.
 
Illinois entered the break trailing by six but made 22-of-30 free throws in the second half. The Illini outscored the Hoosiers 41-33 in the final period, highlighted by a three-pointer from Kipper Nichols.
 
Leading by three, Illinois swung the ball to Nichols for a wide open look. He buried the long jumper and the fans at State Farm Center erupted as he put the Illini ahead by two possessions.
 
That six-point lead proved to be big, as Indiana cut the lead to two with just 8.3 seconds left. But it wasn't enough. Devonte Green turned it over on Indiana's last possession.
 
Juwan Morgan scored 25 points, his seventh 20-point game of the season, and Zach McRoberts scored a season-high 10 points.
 
Illinois had four players score in double figures.
 
Illinois has nearly a week off until it faces Rutgers at home next Tuesday. The Scarlet Knights have three players averaging over 11 points per game.
 
>>Big Run Fuels Northern Iowa Past Illinois State
 
Isaiah Brown scored 20 points and Bennett Koch scored 11 of his 17 points from the foul line and Northern Iowa beat Illinois State 83-72 on Wednesday night.
Northern Iowa (11-10, 3-6 Missouri Valley Conference) led 15-14 then exploded on a 25-0 run that included six 3-pointers, including three by Brown. Illinois State went scoreless for 9½ minutes and trailed 41-19 at halftime.
 
Koch made 3 of 4 free throws for a 76-54 lead with 5:12 left before the Redbirds (10-11, 4-5) ended with an 18-7 run to make the score respectable. Illinois State shot 7 of 27 (26 percent) in the first half but turned it around after intermission on 22-of-38 (58 percent) shooting.
 
Wyatt Lohaus scored 14 for the Panthers and Juwan McClouds had career highs with nine assists and six steals. Northern Iowa has won three of its last four following a seven-game losing streak.
 
The Redbirds' Keyshawn Evans made six 3-pointers and scored 25 points. Milik Yarbrough added 20 points and tied his career high with 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.

Bulls Lose, Pacers Win Wednesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>'Sixers Get By Bulls
 
Ben Simmons had 19 points, 17 rebounds and 14 assists for his fifth triple-double of the season to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 115-101 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night.
 
Dario Saric added 21 points and 10 rebounds and Joel Embiid had 22 points for the 76ers, who have won seven of 10.
 
Bobby Portis scored 22 points and Zach LaVine had 21 for the Bulls.
 
Philadelphia played without guards JJ Redick (left leg), T.J. McConnell (personal) and Jerryd Bayless (left wrist), but Simmons picked up the slack.
 
The rookie was just two assists away from a triple-double in the first half when he helped the 76ers to a 55-41 halftime lead with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists. His slam dunk with 7:40 left in the third quarter was part of a dominating period for Philadelphia.
 
Embiid's 3-pointer with 4:23 left in the third stretched the 76ers' lead to 25 points at 79-54. Embiid, who last week was named an All-Star starter for the Eastern Conference, threw his hands up to get an already excited Philadelphia sports crowd even more revved up.
 
Philadelphia has had difficulty protecting late leads this season and blew a 15-point second-half advantage in Monday's 105-101 loss at Memphis, but the 25-point cushion was more than enough for the hot-shooting 76ers.
 
Philadelphia made 16 3-pointers, finishing 16 for 32.
 
The Bulls, who began play five games behind the eighth-place 76ers in the East, have been playing better basketball of late. But Chicago still could have been reeling from Monday's 132-128 double-overtime loss to New Orleans in which the Bulls blew an 18-point fourth-quarter lead.
 
Chicago did get some good news before the game as Kris Dunn and Lauri Markkanen were selected by the league's assistant coaches to the Rising Stars game, which features first- and second-year players and will be played on Feb. 16. Dunn will play on the U.S. team while Markkanen will compete for the World squad.
 
Embiid, Simmons and Saric will team with Markkanen on the World team in the Rising Stars game.
 
The Bulls host the Lakers on Friday night.
 
>>Pacers Blast Suns
 
Victor Oladipo had 21 points and nine assists to help the Pacers pull away from the Phoenix Suns 116-101 on the night he was named to the NBA All-Star team. 
Indiana was efficient and dominant despite playing without two starters. The Pacers never trailed, never allowed the Suns to get closer than 10 points after the first quarter, built a 38-point lead in the third and still led by 27 with 4:41 left to play.
 
Five Pacers scored in double figures and Oladipo wasn't even Indiana's top scorer. Thaddeus Young had 22 points.
 
Josh Jackson scored 20 points and Greg Monroe had 16 points and a season-high 17 rebounds for the Suns, who have lost two straight and five of six.
 
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 17 points and grabbed seven rebounds while Al Jefferson had 10 points, Lance Stephenson had seven points, nine rebounds and four assists. 
 
The Pacers can sweep the four-game season series by winning Friday at Cleveland.

Toronto Outlasts Chicago in Overtime

Posted About Five Years Ago

William Nylander scored on a penalty shot 6 seconds into overtime to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 3-2 win over the sagging Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.
 
Nylander was awarded the attempt after he broke in alone on Jeff Glass from the opening faceoff in the extra period, but was hooked from behind by Chicago's Duncan Keith. Nylander scored the game-winner and his 10th goal by faking Glass and then burying a high backhander to send the Blackhawks to their fourth straight defeat.
 
Toronto's Nazem Kadri connected for his 15th goal, a power-play score that snapped a seven-game scoring drought and was just his second goal in 20 games. Mitch Marner also scored for the Maple Leafs, who won the second time in seven games.
 
Brent Seabrook and Nick Schmaltz scored power-play goals for Chicago, which snapped an 0-for-16 drought with the man advantage. Schmaltz's goal, at 7:55 of the third period, tied it at 2.
 
Seabrook's first-period score was the Blackhawks' first power-play goal at home since Dec. 8 against Buffalo, ending a span of 33 failed chances over 10 games.
 
Toronto's Frederik Andersen made 34 saves. Glass finished with 33.
 
Eight of Toronto's last nine games have been decided by one goal. In the Maple Leafs' 4-2 loss to Colorado on Monday, the Avalanche's Gabriel Landeskog finished the scoring with a late empty-netter.
 
Seabrook's power-play goal opened the scoring 5:29 in. His shot from the top of the right circle deflected off the stick of Toronto's Leo Komarov and flipped past Andersen.
 
An apparent goal by Toronto's Connor Carrick, from a faceoff at 14:11, was waved off when James van Riemsdyk ran into Glass from the side of the crease.
 
Marner was credited with tying it 1-all with 3:23 left in the first to cap a scramble in the Chicago zone. After Glass made a couple of tough saves, Jake Gardiner's shot from the top of the left circle struck Marner in traffic and deflected in.
 
Andersen came up with the sharper stops in the scoreless second. He made a glove save on Anthony Duclair from the slot at 1:33, then a pair of close-in rapid-fire saves on Patrick Sharp and Ryan Hartman midway through the period.
 
Kadri put Toronto ahead 2-1 with a power-play goal at 4:58 of the third. He connected from the right edge of the crease when he one-timed in a pinpoint, cross-ice feed from Tyler Bozak.
 
Schmaltz's goal 2:57 later tied it at 2 and withstood a video review. From a goalmouth scrum, Schmaltz fired in a loose puck from the right side of the crease and with Andersen down. The puck crossed the goal line just before Chicago's Artem Anisimov tumbled over the Toronto goalie.
 
Glass stopped Nylander point-blank with 4:02 left following Jorden Oesterle's turnover to preserve the tie.
 
The Blackhawks are at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.

Packers Bring Back Philbin To Run Offense

Posted About Five Years Ago

A familiar face on offense and a fresh voice on defense headline the changes to Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy's revamped staff in the wake of the team's first losing season since 2008.
 
Joe Philbin, a Packers assistant from 2003 until 2012, was hired Wednesday as offensive coordinator, a job he held for his final five seasons before being named the Miami Dolphins' head coach in January 2012. On defense, the Packers tabbed Mike Pettine, the ex-Cleveland Browns head coach who built successful defenses with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills but was largely out of football the last two years, serving as a consultant with the Seattle Seahawks in 2017.
 
McCarthy has also installed run- and pass-game coordinators on each side of the ball. On defense, former cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt was promoted to pass-game coordinator, while new inside linebackers coach Patrick Graham will serve as the run-game coordinator. On offense, longtime offensive line coach James Campen will be the run-game coordinator, while new hire Jim Hostler, who coached wide receivers with Philbin in Indianapolis the past two seasons, will serve as the pass-game coordinator.
 
The changes come on the heels of a 7-9 season in which two-time NFL MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers missed 10 games with a broken right collarbone. It marked the end of an eight-year streak of playoff appearances - the longest in franchise history - and led to defensive coordinator Dom Capers, offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett and multiple position coaches being let go.
 
It's all part of a staff overhaul that was the biggest of McCarthy's tenure as he enters his 13th season as head coach.

Thome, Chipper Jones, Vlad, Hoffman Added To Baseball Hall of Fame

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The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. is set for a huge ceremony this coming July. The Veterans Committee already elected Tigers greats Jack Morris and Alan Trammell to join the 2018 Hall class and the BBWAA has added four more names to the list on Wednesday night: Braves third baseman Chipper Jones, Indians (and several others) first baseman/designated hitter Jim Thome, Expos/Angels (and some others) outfielder Vladimir Guerrero and Padres (and others) closer Trevor Hoffman. 
 
The four-man BBWAA class is tied for the second-most ever, after the original 1936 class. 
 
Jones played 19 years, all for the Braves. He hit .303/.401/.529 (141 OPS+) with 2,726 hits, 549 doubles, 468 home runs, 1,623 RBI and 1,619 runs. He won the MVP in 1999, won the 1995 World Series and carries a career .287/.409/.456 slash in 93 postseason games. He deservedly makes it in on his first ballot. 
 
Thome spent 13 of his 22 years with the Indians. He was with the Phillies for four, White Sox for four, Twins for parts of two, Dodgers for 17 games and Orioles for 28 games. In all, he hit .276/.402/.554 (147 OPS+) with 2,328 hits, 451 doubles, 612 home runs, 1,699 RBI and 1,583 runs. He hit 17 home runs in 71 career postseason games and won two AL pennants. He ranks seventh in career walks, eighth in home runs and 26th in RBI. Thome is also a first-ballot Hall of Famer. 
 
Guerrero spent eight years with the Expos, six with the Angels, one with the Rangers and one with the Orioles. He hit .318/.379/.553 (140 OPS+) with 2,590 hits, 477 doubles, 449 home runs, 1,496 RBI and 1,328 runs. He won the 2004 AL MVP in his first season with the Angels. With a cannon in right, he ranks ninth all-time in assists from right field, and that can't measure how much impact he had in terms of runners not taking the chance of going for the extra base. Guerrero made it on his second try. 
 
Hoffman spent 16 years with the Padres, coming out from the bullpen to AC/DC's "Hell's Bells." He also spent his first half season with the Marlins and final two years with the Brewers. In all, Hoffman saved 601 saves, which was a record when he retired and he's still second to just the great Mariano Rivera. Hoffman pitched to a 2.87 ERA (141 ERA+), 1.06 WHIP and struck out 1,133 hitters against 249 unintentional walks in 1,089 1/3 innings. He helped the Padres to the 1998 NL pennant. Hoffman gains induction on his third attempt. 
 
Hall of Fame weekend is July 27-30 with the induction ceremony beginning at 1:30 on Sunday, July 30. 

Lady Maroons Defeat Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals

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The Lady Maroons defeated the Warrensburg-Latham Cardinals by a score of 41-33 in overtime on Wednesday night in the consolation championship game.
 
The Lady Maroons were led by Madi Filkin with 14 points and Country Financial's Player of the Game, Arya Scott, chipped in with 8 points.
 
The Cardinals were led by Jensen Cearlock with 8 points.
 
Tune in Saturday at 7:30 pm as the Clinton Maroons take on Tuscola. You can hear the game live on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Lady Maroons in CIC Tournament Consolation Championship Tonight

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Lady Maroons will take on Warrensburg-Latham tonight for the Central Illinois Conference Girls Baskebtall Tournament Championship at Meridian High School.
 
Clinton was the fifth seed, they lost the tournament opener Saturday to Sullivan, 49-43. They came back Monday to defeat Shelbyville 50-17.
 
The Lady Cardinals fell to third seeded Decatur St. Teresa Saturday, 50-31. They came back and beat Meridian 38-35 Monday.
 
Tonight's game tips at 7:30 pm. Hear the action on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.
 
Tuscola and Central A&M will play for the CIC Tournament title Thursday night at 7:30 pm.

Decatur St. Teresa Knocks Off Maroa-Forsyth

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Isaiah Bond scored a game 31 points and the Decatur St. Teresa Bulldogs knocked off the happless Maroa-Forsyth Trojans 57-31.
 
Cayden Brilley added 12 for St. T.
 
Daanish Mahmood paced th Trojans with 13 points. 
 
A 19-6 second quarter allowed the Bulldogs to open up a 29-15 halftime advantage.
The Bulldgos will compete next at the Central Illinois Conference Tournament in Tuscola, taking on Sullivan. 
 
The Trojans are at New Berlin Friday.

Bradley Downs Missouri State

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Darrell Brown scored 20 points with eight assists, Elijah Childs added 12 points with 12 rebounds and Bradley pulled away in the second half to defeat Missouri State 72-52 Tuesday night, maintaining a perfect record on its home court this season.
 
Jayden Hodgson made a 3-pointer to start a 16-2 breakaway run that turned a one-point lead into 17, 47-30, midway through the second half, and Bradley (15-7, 5-4 Missouri Valley Conference) wasn't challenged again.
 
Ronnie Rousseau III and Jarrid Rhodes each scored 10 points to lead Missouri State (15-7, 5-4), which made just eight field goals - at one point it was 1-for-12 - in the decisive second half, finishing 18 of 57 for 32 percent. The Bears, preseason favorites, haven't won a conference road game in five tries this season.
 
Bradley pushed its home-court record to 11-0 this season.

Blues Blank Senators

Posted About Five Years Ago

Carter Hutton made 25 saves for his 10th career shutout as the Blues got goals from Vladimir Sobotka and Vladimir Tarasenko in a 3-0 victory over the struggling Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
 
Brayden Schenn, who also had an assist, added an empty-net goal at 17:34 of the third period. It was his 20th goal of the season.
 
The game was a bounce-back effort for Hutton, yanked after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Arizona.
 
The Blues have earned at least one point in 11 of their last 12 games against Ottawa (7-1-4). St. Louis had lost four straight home games to the Senators before snapping that skid.
 
The loss was Ottawa's fourth in a row overall.
 
The Blues' first goal came when Schenn hit Sobotka in stride. Sobotka snapped a wrist shot that defenseman Cody Ceci could not block. The puck hit the skate of Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson, who faced 38 shots in all, and caromed in at 16:21 for a 1-0 lead in the first period.
 
St. Louis made it 2-0 when Tarasenko ripped a slap shot for his 21st goal at 6:10 of the third.
 
Tarasenko had just jumped onto the ice when the puck came to him along the boards. Colton Parayko took a shot from the right side that Anderson blocked. The puck slid to Tarasenko, who pounced on it for the goal.
 
It was Parayko's 20th assist. He is the first defenseman in team history with 20 or more assists in his first three seasons.
 
Tarasenko has points in six straight games against Ottawa, with five goals and two assists.
 
A double minor to Robert Bortuzzo for high-sticking gave Ottawa a four-minute power play in the second. The Senators managed just two shots on goal.
 
The Blues host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.

Monticello Dispenses Rantoul

Posted About Five Years Ago

Four players scored in double figures for Monticello, including a career high for Ben Singleton, and the Sages dispensed Rantoul 71-46 Tuesday night in Illini Prairie Conference action from Monticello High School.

 

Singleton’s career high, 17 points, paced all scorers. Calvin Fisher and Johnny Dawson added 13 points apiece and Luke Stokowski scored six points in the final quarter to finish with 11 points.

 

Trailing 21-17 in the second quarter, Monticello closed the half on an 18-3 run to open up a 39-24 lead at the break and didn’t look back in the second half.

 

Rantoul was led by 15 points from Jametriel Hudson. Hayden Cargo added 14 points.

 

The Sages and Eagles were even in the rebounding margin at 28 apiece. Rantoul grabbed 16 offensive, converting them into 14 points.

 

The Sages shot 57% from the floor and 18-for-21 from the free throw line. They held Rantoul to 30-percent shooting (14-for-47) but Rantoul made 12-of-15 free throws.

 

The Sages dished out 12 assists to 11 turnovers. They turned the Eagles over 18 times for 26 points off turnovers.

 

They also dominated points in the paint, 40-16.

 

Monticello is 13-1 on the season an 2-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference.

 

They’re back in action Friday night, hosting Pontiac. Hear the action at 7:30 pm on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Michigan State Topples Illinois

Posted About Five Years Ago

Miles Bridges scored 31 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points and 11 rebounds and No. 6 Michigan State got a harder-than-expected 87-74 win over Illinois on Monday night.
 
Michigan State (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten) shot 68.2 percent, which set a record at State Farm Center for an opponent's shooting percentage. Illinois shot 43.1 percent.
 
Kipper Nichols led Illinois (10-11, 0-8) with a career-high 27 points. Trent Frazier and Leron Black added 13 and 12, respectively.
 
Michigan State turned the ball over 25 times. It was the third straight game in which the Spartans gave it away more than 20 times and still won by double digits.
 
Michigan State out-rebounded Illinois 37-15. The Illini didn't record their first rebound until nearly 10 minutes into the game.
 
Jackson took an elbow to the side of the head late in the first half while fighting for the ball. He was helped off the court and taken to the locker room, but returned to start the second half.
 
Illinois remains at home against Indiana on Wednesday and Rutgers on Jan. 30.

Kentucky Falls Out of AP Top 25

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Kentucky is out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in nearly four years while another bunch of Wildcats — Villanova — maintained their hold on No. 1.
 
Kentucky slid out of Monday’s latest poll from No. 18 after losses to South Carolina and Florida, snapping a 30-game home winning streak for the Wildcats in Southeastern Conference play. That dropped coach John Calipari’s Wildcats out for the first time since March 2014 and snapped a 68-week stretch in the poll.
 
The top three of Villanova, Virginia and Purdue remained the same, with the Wildcats (18-1) remaining firmly in place by collecting 63 of 65 first-place votes. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers (18-1) and the Boilermakers (19-2) have combined to win 25 straight games, 19 by double-digit margins, and split the remaining first-place votes.
 
Duke inched up a spot to No. 4, while Kansas jumped five spots to No. 5 after winning at West Virginia. Michigan State, West Virginia, Xavier, Cincinnati and reigning national champion North Carolina rounded out the top 10, which saw three teams — Oklahoma, Wichita State and Texas Tech — each lose twice last week to take big tumbles.
 
Kentucky (14-5, 4-3 SEC) started the year at No. 5 and remained in the top 10 until Christmas Day, but the Wildcats have lost three of five overall and are 0-2 against ranked teams this year.
 
They also rank outside the top 25 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive and defensive national rankings through Sunday’s games. Calipari’s teams in Lexington have finished outside the top 25 in both categories only once before: the 2012-13 season that ended with 12 losses and a first-round NIT loss to Robert Morris.
 
Then again, the last Kentucky team to fall out of the AP poll in 2014 went from being a 10-loss disappointment to playing for the NCAA championship in the span of weeks.

Lightning Blank Blackhawks

Posted About Five Years Ago

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 40 saves in his NHL-best seventh shutout, Chris Kunitz scored a short-handed goal in the second period and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 on Monday night.
 
Yanni Gourde also scored as Tampa Bay stopped a season-high three-game slide and leapfrogged idle Vegas for the best record in the NHL. The Lightning, who lost to Chicago in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, improved to 11-0-2 against the Blackhawks in their last 13 regular-season meetings.
 
Chicago controlled most of the second period, but one little lapse proved costly. With Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev serving a double minor for high sticking and unsportsmanlike conduct, Jake Dotchin shot the puck wide of the net and Kunitz found it before anyone else, taking it off the backboard and banking it in off the right skate of goaltender Jeff Glass.
 
Kunitz's sixth goal of the season was enough for Vasilevskiy, who got his 28th win of the season. Patrick Kane shot the puck off the right post during a power play in the first and Anthony Duclair was stopped by Vasilevskiy on a breakaway 6:41 into the third.
 
Gourde put the game away when he beat Glass with a slap shot low on the goaltender's glove side with 1:34 left. It was Gourde's 15th goal of the season.
 
Tampa Bay (32-12-3) improved to 1-1 on an eight-game trip overlapping the All-Star festivities at its home arena. It's the longest road trip in the NHL this season.
 
Glass made 29 saves, but last-place Chicago (22-19-6) lost for the fourth time in five games. It was a much better performance than its previous two games, when Chicago was outscored 11-3 in losses to Detroit and the New York Islanders, but the Blackhawks are running out of time in the competitive Central Division.
 
The Blackhawks host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Cousins Triple-Double Leads Pelicans By Bulls

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DeMarcus Cousins had 44 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists, Anthony Davis scored 34 points, and the All-Star pair led a 17-point New Orleans comeback in the final five minutes of regulation before the Pelicans pulled out a 132-128 victory over the Chicago Bulls in double overtime Monday night.
 
Cousins scored seven points in the second overtime on a 3-pointer, a turnaround jumper and two free throws with 8.2 seconds left. He became the first NBA player since Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1972 to have as many as 40 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
 
E'Twaun Moore scored 15 points, including a 3 in the second overtime to help the Pelicans win for the fifth time in six games.
 
Jerian Grant had 22 points and 13 assists, and Robin Lopez also scored 22 for the Bulls, who appeared well on their way to their fifth victory in six games when they opened the fourth quarter with a 23-5 run to take their largest lead at 104-86.
 
Chicago still led by 17 when Bobby Portis hit a pair of free throws with 5:06 left in the fourth quarter. But Cousins and Davis led New Orleans back with a stunning 21-2 run. Jrue Holiday tied it at 110 on a 3 with 46 seconds left, and Davis briefly gave New Orleans the lead with an alley-oop dunk of Holiday's lob.
 
Lauri Markkanen, who had 14 points and 17 rebounds, tied it with a driving layup before Davis hit two free throws to give New Orleans the lead again with 3.2 seconds left.
 
Darius Miller fouled Chicago's Justin Holiday on a 3-point attempt in the final second of regulation, and the Bulls' guard was perfect on his first two free throws, only to miss the potential winner.
 
New Orleans had the last shot to win at the end of the first overtime, but Ian Clark's 3-point attempt was short and Jrue Holiday's rushed putback also rattled out.
 
Davis fouled out with 2:05 to go in the first overtime, but Cousins, who logged a career-high 51 minutes, summed the will to close it out for an exuberant home crowd.
 
Before his night was finished, Davis scored on numerous dunks, several set up by Cousins on alley-oop lobs and a couple of long passes for breakaway baskets.
 
Jrue Holiday finished with 12 points and Miller had 10 for New Orleans.
 
Zach LaVine had 19 points, Justin Holiday 15 and Nikola Mirotic 14 for Chicago.

Champaign St. Thomas More Drops Monticello

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The Monticello managed just two second half field goals as Champaign St. Thomas More stymied the Lady Sages for a 42-29 victory in Illini Prairie Conference girls basketball action at Monticello High School.

 

The Lady Sages led at the break 22-21, and it looked like the two Illini Prairie Conference rivals were in for a heavyweight bout in the second half, but the Lady Sages were outplayed at every turn and could not find any momentum, as they were outscored 21-7 in the second half.

 

Tatum McCall scored 11 points to lead the Lady Sages. Zanna Myers scored ten points, battling foul trouble most of the game.

 

Hayes Murray led the Lady Sabers with 18 points.

 

Champaign St. Thomas More improves to 13-9 overall while Monticello drops to 15-2. The Lady Sages host Pontiac Tuesday night.

 

Heyworth Names New Football Coach

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Heyworth High School has named their next football coach. 
 
At the Heyworth Community Unit School District’s Board of Education meeting on January 16th, Derek Logue, a Normal Community High School graduate was unanimously approved as the new Head Football Coach and Driver Education Teacher for next school year. 
 
Logue was a member of the 2006 State Championship football team his junior year of high school and attended Eastern Illinois University for undergraduate school. He has been coaching and teaching at Effingham High School for the last four years and has been the defensive coordinator for the past three years. 
 
While student teaching, he coached football at Mattoon High School for one year. Prior to coaching at Mattoon, he was the varsity special teams coordinator and defensive line coach at Arcola High School. His first high school coaching experience was with his alma mater, Normal Community High School, as a freshman coach for one year.
 
He and his wife Megan have one son Lucas, 2 years old, and another son due any day. 
 
Heyworth High School will be hosting a Meet and Greet for Coach Logue at the high school in the near future.

Patriots Rally Past Jaguars

Posted About Five Years Ago

Tom Brady shook off a hand injury and threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Danny Amendola with 2:48 remaining , rallying the Patriots to a 24-20 comeback victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC championship Sunday.
 
Brady, wearing a black bandage on his right hand after needing stitches to close a cut that happened on a play during practice earlier in the week, showed no signs of being hampered.
 
Brady finished 26 of 38 for 290 yards and two touchdowns to Amendola for the Patriots (15-3), who'll play Philadelphia in Minneapolis on Feb. 4.
 
It's the eighth Super Bowl appearance for Brady and coach Bill Belichick, who have won five times - including last year's 34-28 overtime rally against the Atlanta Falcons.
 
Blake Bortles and the Jaguars (12-7) led 20-10 early in the fourth quarter, but couldn't hold against the defending champions. The NFL's second-ranked defense kept Brady and the Patriots at bay for most of the game, but lost linebacker Myles Jack and defensive tackle Marcell Dareus on consecutive plays on New England's winning drive.
 
With New England trailing 20-17, Amendola returned a punt 20 yards to put the ball at the Jaguars 30. Brady hit James White for 15 yards, Amendola for 8 and then the quarterback ran up the middle for 2 yards and a first down.
 
On first-and-goal from the 5, White ran for a yard to set up the go-ahead score from Brady to Amendola.
 
Jacksonville - looking to reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history - had one more shot, but Bortles' throw on fourth-and-15 to Dede Westbrook was knocked away by Stephon Gilmore.
 
  • The Patriots ran out the clock, with Dion Lewis' 18-yard scamper with 90 seconds remaining sealing the victory. And they played most of the game without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who left late in the first half and didn't return.

Pacers Down Spurs

Posted About Five Years Ago

Victor Oladipo scored 19 points and the Pacers defeated San Antonio 94-86 on Sunday night, snapping the Spurs' 14-game home winning streak.
 
With Manu Ginobili, Rudy Gay and Kawhi Leonard out with injuries, San Antonio made a last-minute lineup change, bringing Tony Parker off the bench for the 14th time in 1,165 career games.
 
Dejounte Murray had eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and four turnovers in 28 minutes.
 
Parker responded with 12 points, five assists and one turnover, but LaMarcus Aldridge struggled without the veteran point guard.
 
The Pacers stymied Aldridge offensively even without the injured Myles Turner, limiting the Spurs forward to a season-low 10 points. Aldridge finished 5 for 14 from the field.
 
Indiana, which led by as many as 17 points, had 15 steals while forcing 20 turnovers.
 
Darren Collison added 15 points for Indiana, which snapped a three-game losing streak in San Antonio.
 
The Spurs pulled within 83-76 with 5:03 remaining on Davis Bertans' 3-pointer, but San Antonio committed two turnovers on the next two possessions.
 
The Pacers host Phoenix on Wednesday night.

Tommy Fleetwood Wins At Abu Dhabi

Posted About Five Years Ago

Tommy Fleetwood came into Sunday's round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship trailing the leaders by two strokes. After nine holes of 1-under golf in Round 4, he still trailed by two. Then the back nine happened. And on the back nine, Fleetwood made six remarkable birdies, no bogeys and won this event for the second consecutive year.
 
He took the tournament by two over Ross Fisher and four over Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, and he did it with a flurry of cutting shots into the wind and long, winding birdie putts. He was as flawless as a golfer can be on a course in the Middle East that was bathed with whipping winds throughout the day. His 7-under 65 was tied for the best round of the day, and he did it with the tournament in the balance.
 
The back nine started and ended with birdies, and there were four others in between those two.
 
Tommy Fleetwood came into Sunday's round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship trailing the leaders by two strokes. After nine holes of 1-under golf in Round 4, he still trailed by two. Then the back nine happened. And on the back nine, Fleetwood made six remarkable birdies, no bogeys and won this event for the second consecutive year.
 
He took the tournament by two over Ross Fisher and four over Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, and he did it with a flurry of cutting shots into the wind and long, winding birdie putts. He was as flawless as a golfer can be on a course in the Middle East that was bathed with whipping winds throughout the day. His 7-under 65 was tied for the best round of the day, and he did it with the tournament in the balance.
 
The back nine started and ended with birdies, and there were four others in between those two.
 
There wasn't really anything McIlroy could do on Sunday, barring a complete disaster, to sully the week he'd had. His 70 in Round 4 was a mild disappointment, especially since he only made three bogeys during the entire week. But the week as a whole was a fantastic return for someone who hadn't played in over 100 days. He picked up largely where he's left off at this tournament in the past.
 
Johnson shot a 70 on Sunday this year, and last year he shot a 68. The second problem was a bigger one. Last year, 17 under won the tournament, and Johnson finished second. This year, 22 under won it, and he had no chance.
 
Ultimately, he was undone by a Thursday when he shot 72 in easy scoring conditions.

Fisher leads Monticello Past Meridian

Posted About Five Years Ago

Calvin Fisher scored 15 of his game high 27 points in the first half, helping the Monticello Sages overcome a fast start by the Meridian Hawks in a 63-53 win in non-conference boys basketball action Saturday night from Monticello High School.

 

The Hawks made five three-point shots in the first quarter to open up a 17-10 lead but the Sages buckled down defensively and outscored Meridian 19-10 in the second quarter to take a 29-27 lead and never looked back.

 

The Hawks cut it to eight late in the fourth quarter but they could not recover from a sequence on defense that including a personal foul by Cameron Getz, blocking Fisher on a dunk in transition, and then picked up a technical foul after the play, and Fisher sank three of the four free throws and the Sages finished the quarter on a 9-2 run.

 

Fisher grabbed nine rebounds for Monticello.

 

Luke Stokowski added 14 points and Ben Singleton added 10 points.

 

Garrett Meisenhelter led Meridian with 22 points. Nate Durbin had 14 points and Connor Hurelbrink had a game high 10 rebounds.

 

The Hawks drop to 10-9 overall while Monticello improves to 12-1 .

 

The Sages host Rantoul Tuesday night at 7:30 pm. Hear the action on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Monticello Holds Off Prairie Central

Posted About Five Years Ago

It wasn’t an efficient performance but the Monticello Sages did just enough to hold off the Prairie Central Hawks Friday night, 52-39 in the first game of the Illini Prairie Conference from Fairbury.

 

The Sages shot just 37-percent from the field, making just 15 field goals, committing 11 turnovers and handed out just six assists.

 

The Hawks however, committed 17 turnovers, also shooting 37-percent with 15 made field goals and hung with Monticello on the boards, getting edged out 33-32.

 

But the Hawks committed 25 fouls and Monticello mad 19-of-33 free throws.

 

The Sages were led by Luke Stokowski’s 15 points. Calvin Fisher added 14 points and nine rebounds. Ben SIngleton chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds.

 

Jake Bachtold led the Hawks with 12 points and Billy Printz added 11 points and eight rebounds. Noah Lewallen added six points and six rebounds.

 

The Sages improve to 11-1 overall and are 1-0 in the Illini Prairie Conference. They’ll host Meridian Saturday night. Hear the game live on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Blues Blast Senators

Posted About Five Years Ago

Alex Pietrangelo celebrated his 28th birthday by scoring his first goal in more than two months. And, it ended up being a winner for the St. Louis Blues.
 
Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn each scored in the second period of the 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night.
 
Alexander Steen scored into an empty net at 18:42 to close out the scoring for St. Louis (28-17-3), while Carter Hutton made 20 saves.
 
Bobby Ryan had the lone goal for the Senators (15-19-9), and Craig Anderson made 33 saves. Ottawa was coming off its bye week and hadn't played in eight days.
 
The first period produced no goals and only one good scoring chance, when Hutton stopped Zack Smith on a breakaway after the Senators forward stole the puck at his own blue line and broke toward the St. Louis goal.
 
The second period was not a good one for the Senators as they were outshot 19-6 and, more importantly, outscored 3-1.
 
Tarasenko struck 6:13 into the period with a tip in front while spinning away from Robert Bortuzzo's point shot in front of Anderson.
 
The Blues took a 2-0 lead at 12:51 thanks to Anderson who, after making a save, batted the puck out of midair directly to Pietrangelo who had an empty net to shoot at from the left faceoff circle.
 
Anderson could also be blamed for the Blues taking a 3-0 lead at 16:53 as he misplayed a backhand from Schenn and allowed the puck to pass through his legs.
 
The Senators got one of those back at 17:21 when Ryan's shot from 10 feet inside the blue line redirected off the stick of Dmitrik Jaskin and over the shoulder of Hutton to cut the lead to 3-1.
 
The Blues host Arizona on Saturday night.

Pacers Win; Bulls G Dunn Out Indefinitely

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Blazers Dump Pacers
 
Damian Lillard scored 26 points and Jusuf Nurkic had 19 points and a season-high 17 rebounds to lead Portland (24-21). C.J. McCollum scored 16 points and Shabazz Napier 13 for the Blazers as they beat the Indiana Pacers 100-86.
 
Tied at 74 after three quarters, the Blazers outscored Indiana 26-12 during the final period to pull out the win.
 
Portland took control late in the third quarter, when the Blazers held Indiana scoreless for more than five minutes. It was part of Portland's 21-2 run, during which Shabazz Napier scored eight points to help erase a six-point deficit and give the Blazers an 89-76 lead midway through the fourth quarter.
 
Napier kick-started the rally during the final seconds of the third quarter, when he made a backcourt steal, then hit a corner 3-pointer as time expired to tie the game at 74.
 
Victor Oladipo and Darren Collison scored 23 points each for Indiana (24-21).
 
Portland outrebounded Indiana 57-46, and scored 24 second-chance points to the Pacers' 10.
 
Indiana was without forward Myles Turner, the team's second-leading scorer this season. Turner has missed five consecutive games with a right elbow injury.
 
Portland led 52-47 at halftime, and the difference was a pair of buzzer-beaters: McCollum's 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, and Lillard's desperation layup off a drive to finish the second quarter.
 
The Pacers head to Los Angeles to take on the Lakers on Friday night.
 
>>Bulls G Dunn Out Indefinitely After Going Into Concussion Protocol
Chicago Bulls guard Kris Dunn is out indefinitely after being placed into the NBA's concussion protocol following a fall during a game that ended up with him dislocating two front teeth.
 
The Bulls said Thursday that Dunn's two teeth have been splinted with braces. He was re-evaluated for concussion symptom and will not travel with the team to Atlanta for Saturday's game.
 
Dunn was injured Wednesday night during a home loss to Golden State. He made a fast-break dunk with 2:55 left, but landed awkwardly on the play and his face slammed into the floor.

Pitch Clock Likely Coming To Baseball in 2018

Posted About Five Years Ago

In all likelihood, a pitch clock is coming to major-league baseball this season.
 
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports the MLB Players Association is expected to reject commissioner Rob Manfred's latest pace-of-play proposal, paving the way for Major League Baseball to implement rule changes unilaterally.
 
From Rosenthal:
 
"The players' union is expected to reject Manfred's revised proposal on new rules to improve the pace of play, sources told The Athletic on Thursday.
 
Such a decision by the union would set the stage for Manfred to unilaterally implement his original proposal, which included a 20-second pitch clock and reduced mound visits.
 
"The players are not opposed to pace-of-play improvements and will act professionally if Manfred orders new rules, sources said. But in addition to objections to the pitch clock, players have expressed a variety of other concerns, including the dead time resulting from instant replay and innings break. Some players also worry that speeding up the game will increase the risk of injury. Others want to preserve baseball's timeless aspect and fear losing fans who want the sport to maintain its traditions."
 
MLB and the commissioner's office has always had the ability to implement rule changes unilaterally, but they prefer to work with the union to maintain labor peace. In this case though, Manfred very much wants more pace-of-play measures, and the MLBPA isn't playing ball, so to speak.
 
By rule, Manfred can only implement rule changes proposed last offseason, which includes a pitch clock. A 20-second pitch clock has been used in the minors -- pitchers who take too long to throw a pitch are charged with a ball, and hitters who are not in the box in time are charged with a strike -- and it has cut down on the overall time of game dramatically.
 
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports has obtained the memo with the proposed rule changes, with more specifics. The pitch clock starts when the pitcher has the ball and is on the mound (not the rubber, so he can't stay off of it for a while) and stops when either he starts his windup or comes set in the stretch. The pitcher can step off to reset the clock, though. Batters have to step into the box within five seconds of the clock starting. 
 
Pitchers who violate the rule will get one warning and then it's an automatic ball each time after that. 
 
On mound visits, anyone visiting the mound -- including the catcher -- means it counts as a trip. If the pitcher leaves the mound to talk with anyone, that's also a trip. Two trips in the same inning means the pitcher must be removed and the team only gets six total trips in a game before each ensuing trip has to be a pitching change.
 
MLB is also tightening up the time between innings and between batters. 

Monticello Uses Big Second Half To Power Past Maroa-Forsyth

Posted About Five Years Ago

Zanna Myers scored 15 of her game high 28 points in the second half and the Monticello Sages outscored the Maroa-Forsyth Lady Trojans 23-6 to propel them to a 62-36 win Thursday night in non-conference girls basketball action.
 
Monticello opened the game with a 10-2 lead but M-F senior guard Kate Beckemeyer hit back-to-back three pointers, and was fouled on the second one, making the free to draw the Lady Trojans within 10-9, but the Lady Sages finished the quarter on a 16-2 run that would open up a 26-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Trojans cut the deficit to 33-23 after a 12-7 second quarter where the Lady Trojans simply made more shots and did not turn the ball over, limiting the Monticello transition opportunities, 
 
But the Lady Sages turned up the defensive pressure and used their up-tempo offense to blow the game open. 
 
Tatum McCall scored nine of her 18 points in the first quarter. 
 
Beckemeyer led the Lady Trojans with 11 points, nine coming in the first quarter.
 
Maroa-Forsyth drops to 12-11 overall.
 
The Lady Sages are 14-1.

Clinton Lady Maroons Defeat Warrensburg-Latham

Posted About Five Years Ago

In a game heard on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons defeated the Warrensburg-Latham Lady Cardinals by a score of 43-36 on Thursday night. The Lady Maroons' leading scorer was senior Madi Filkin, the Country Financial representative Brad James Maroons Player of the Game, with 10 points. Sophomore Destiny Schlesinger added 9. Freshman Kaile Beck and senior Alyssa Saulsbery both chipped in with 7 points.

 

Junior Makenzie Yaroch led the Lady Cardinals with 11 points.

 

With the win, the Lady Maroons improve to 8-12 on the season and 2-3 in the CIC. Warrensburg-Latham falls to 6-12 overall and 2-3 in the conference.

 

Stay tuned to Regional Radio News for the Lady Maroons schedule in the CIC tournament. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Illinois State Gets By Bradley

Posted About Five Years Ago

Milik Yarbrough scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Illinois State knocked off Bradley, 70-57 in a Missouri Valley Conference battle Wednesday night.
 
The game marked the 125th meeting between the schools. Bradley holds a 63-62 edge in the series that dates to the 1904-05 season.
 
William Tinsley hit a 3-pointer with :03 left to send Illinois State into halftime with a 29-22 advantage and Yarbrough hit two free throws to start the second half to push the lead to 31-22 and it hovered around double digits the rest of the way.
 
Yarbrough was 12-for-12 shooting from the free-throw line. Keyshawn Evans added 11 points and Daoda Ndiaye grabbed 12 boards for the Redbirds (10-9, 4-3).
 
Winless on the road in the MVC, Bradley (13-7, 3-4) got 13 points and 13 rebounds from Donte Thomas and Dwayne Latier-Ogunleye added another 13 points.

Former Bull, Dennis Rodman, Checks in to Rehab After DUI Arrest

Posted About Five Years Ago

The agent for former NBA star Dennis Rodman says the Hall of Famer has checked into an alcohol rehabilitation center after a weekend DUI arrest.
 
Rodman's agent, Darren Prince, tells The Associated Press that Rodman checked into Turning Point Rehabilitation Center in Paterson, New Jersey, on Wednesday to deal with his longtime struggle with alcoholism.
 
Rodman was arrested in Southern California late Saturday on suspicion of DUI after being pulled over for a traffic violation. Newport Beach police say Rodman failed field sobriety and breath tests.
 
This is Rodman's second time in rehab. He spent three weeks at Turning Point in 2014 after returning from North Korea, where he organized an exhibition basketball game involving retired NBA players for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Rodman said he needed to decompress from the trip.

Thompson Leads Short-Handed Warriors Past Bulls

Posted About Five Years Ago

Klay Thompson scored 38 points, Stephen Curry added 30 and the Warriors beat the Chicago Bulls 119-112 on Wednesday night for their franchise record-tying 14th straight road win.
 
Thompson was 7 for 13 from 3-point range and Curry was 6 for 11 from behind the arc; no other player made a 3 for the Warriors.
 
Kevin Durant had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as Golden State moved into a tie for the third-longest road winning streak in a season in NBA history. The Los Angeles Lakers hold the record with 16 straight road wins during the 1971-72 season.
 
Next up for the NBA-leading Warriors (37-9) is a prime-time showdown with Houston on Saturday in the finale of a five-game trip.
 
Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points for Chicago, which dropped to 14-8 since its 3-20 start. Robin Lopez scored 12 of his 16 points in the first half, and Kris Dunn also had 16.
 
The Warriors played without Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala due to injuries, and Jordan Bell sprained his left ankle when he challenged Lopez's dunk on the Bulls' first possession. Bell stayed down for a while and then was helped to his feet. He tried to put pressure on his leg and grimaced before he opted for a wheelchair ride off the court.
 
The 23-year-old Bell was selected by the Bulls in the second round of the June draft and then dealt to the Warriors for financial considerations. X-rays were negative, but he was using crutches and a walking boot after the win and will have an MRI on Thursday.
 
Thompson and Curry led the way as Golden State outscored Chicago 32-12 in the third quarter to open a 95-78 lead. Curry made a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 9:23 left in the period, sparking a 19-0 run for the Warriors.
 
The Bulls made a late charge, closing to 112-107 on Dunn's fast-break dunk with 2:55 left. Dunn landed awkwardly on the play and his face slammed into the floor. 
 
The NBA champion Warriors responded with Thompson's driving layup and a three-point play for Durant. Thompson also made two foul shots with 17.4 seconds left to help Golden State secure the win.
 
The Bulls open a three-game trip Saturday at Atlanta. They also visit New Orleans and Philadelphia next week.

PGA Notes

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Abu Dhabi Field Loaded
 
This week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship features a loaded field including Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and Tommy Fleetwood. This event is always one of the favorites early in the season. With McIlroy's much anticipated return to the course and Johnson and Fleetwood trying to replicate their shootout from a year ago, this year should be especially good.
 
Dustin Johnson: 5-1
Justin Rose: 8-1
Rory McIlroy: 8-1
Henrik Stenson: 18-1
 
It has been just over 100 days since we've seen McIlroy, and he was both optimistic and excited at his season-opening press conference. After what most would call a lost year in 2017, McIlroy said he worked on both his fitness and health over the winter and felt well enough to work on his game continuously.
 
Just like Torrey Pines on the PGA Tour, Abu Dhabi always seems to be a marker on the European Tour side of things. It's one of the biggest tournaments of the first quarter of the year on either side of the pond, and we've gotten tremendous winners in past years. Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey (twice) and Martin Kaymer (three times) have all won this tournament since its inauguration in 2006. The runner up list might be even more impressive. Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose, Thomas Pieters, Louis Oosthuizen, Henrik Stenson (twice), Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy (four times).
 
>>Masters Field At 80 With Three Months To Tournament
 
The Masters is less than 100 days away, and the smallest annual major field is starting to round into shape. There are a variety of ways to qualify for the most prestigious event in golf, but only 80 golfers have done so thus far. 
 
According to the Augusta Chronicle, 82 had qualified by the end of 2016 and last year's field eventually included 93 golfers. So there's time, but it's running out as more tournaments elapse and spots go unfilled. 
 
21 previews winners is the biggest category that comprises the 80, although it's not the most loaded. With Tiger Woods' return in December, this group includes him, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott and Bubba Watson. 
 
12 major winners in the last three to five years' worth of U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship winners as well as the last three years' worth of Players Championship victors. Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka are all in this group.
 
The Masters tees off April 5 and runs until April 8. 

Cubs, RP Duensing Agree to 2-Year Deal

Posted About Five Years Ago

A person with direct knowledge of the situation says the Chicago Cubs and free agent reliever Brian Duensing have agreed to a $7 million, two-year contract.
 
Duensing returns to Chicago after signing a one-year deal with the Cubs last winter. The left-hander went 1-1 with a 2.74 ERA in 68 appearances last season.
 
Duensing, who turns 35 next month, broke into the majors with Minnesota in 2009. He is 43-38 with a 4.01 ERA in nine seasons.

Clinton Maroons Fall to St. Teresa

Posted About Five Years Ago

As heard on WHOW, the Clinton Maroons fell to the St. Teresa Bulldogs by a score of 55-44 on Tuesday night. The Country Financial representative Brad James Maroons Player of the Game Seth Westfall led the Maroons squad with 20 points. Austin Baker chipped in with 12 points.

 

The Bulldogs were led by Isaiah Bond with 25 points.

 

With the loss the Maroons fall to 9-7 and 1-2 in Central Illinois Conference action. St. Teresa improves to 13-4 on the season and 3-0 in conference play.

 

Stay tuned to Regional Radio news for the Maroons schedule in the Central Illinois Conference tournament. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Nebraska Holds Off Illinois

Posted About Five Years Ago

James Palmer Jr. hit a 3-pointer just before the buzzer to give Nebraska a 64-63 win over Illinois on Monday night.
 
Michael Finke had converted a 4-point play with 8.1 seconds left to give Illinois the lead. After a Nebraska timeout, Isaac Copeland inbounded to Glynn Watson Jr., who found Palmer on the left wing for the winning shot.
 
The Huskers had led 61-57 with under a minute to play when Palmer dunked off a steal. But Finke scored in close on Illinois' next possession, and after Palmer missed the front end of a one-and-one, Illinois called timeout with 18.7 seconds left. Finke hit his 3 in front of the Illini bench, got fouled by Isaiah Roby and made the free throw for what looked to be the play that would give Illinois its first Big Ten win under first-year coach Brad Underwood.
 
Palmer finished with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting after a dismal 1-for-9 outing in a loss at Penn State on Friday. Evan Taylor added 13 for the Huskers (13-7, 4-3 Big Ten).
 
Trent Frazier scored 19 points, Finke added 16 and Leron Black had 13 for the Illini (10-9, 0-6), who are winless in six true road games.
 
Illinois visits Wisconsin on Friday.

Villanova Still No. 1 In Country

Posted About Five Years Ago

Michigan State suffered its second loss in three games on Saturday. A combination of too many turnovers and a stalling offense has jolted Sparty into a funk that has blown the Big Ten race wide open, allowing Purdue and Ohio State to take firm control atop the standings just one-third of the way into league play.
 
The result for Michigan State after a disappointing week is a free fall in the latest AP Top 25, dropping from No. 4 to No. 9 after going 1-1 and falling by double digits to Michigan at home this week. There's silver lining for Spartans fans: there's not a ranked opponent on the schedule until Purdue comes to town on Feb. 10.
 
Purdue looks like it might be the best team in the conference and a national title contender. Winners of 13 straight, the Boilermakers are 6-0 in the Big Ten, tied for first with Ohio State, and now up to No. 3 in the AP Top 25, behind top-ranked Villanova and No. 2 Virginia.
 
The top five of the USA Today coaches poll released on Monday is completely revamped.
 
After last week's second and fourth ranked teams lost this weekend, the new order -- which again begins with Villanova at No. 1 -- is Virginia, Purdue, Wichita State and Duke to round out the new-look top five.
 
Trailing closely behind in the six through 10 slots are four Big 12 teams and the struggling Spartans: No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 7 West Virginia, No. 8 Texas Tech, No. 9 Michigan State and No. 10 Kansas.
 
New to the coaches poll this week is Ohio State and Michigan, both of which have notched wins over Michigan State over the past eight days to fuel momentum in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes improved to 6-0 in the league with a win over Rutgers on Sunday -- good for a first-place tie in the standings alongside Purdue while Michigan bounced back with a 1-point loss to Purdue last Tuesday with its best win on the season Saturday over Michigan State.
 

Bulls, Pacers Win Monday

Posted About Five Years Ago

Victor Oladipo scored 28 points and the Indiana Pacers shot 54 percent from 3-point range in a 109-94 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday.
 
Oladipo got going late in the second quarter during a 15-2 run that gave Indiana a 14-point lead. Then his back-to-back buckets early in the third capped a 9-0 surge to push the advantage to 67-47. He also had six rebounds and six assists.
 
Domantas Sabonis finished with 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pacers, and Thaddeus Young scored 17.
 
Donovan Mitchell scored 23 for the struggling Jazz, while Derrick Favors added 16 points and seven rebounds. Utah has lost 15 of 19.
 
The Jazz put themselves in a hole with seven first-quarter turnovers, but rallied with a 14-0 spurt in the second to cut the deficit to 38-37. They never got that close again.
 
The Pacers were efficient on offense all night, shooting 53 percent from the field and 14 of 26 from 3-point territory. Indiana is 15-0 when shooting better than 50 percent.
 
Myles Turner did not play due to a ligament sprain and muscle strain in his right elbow. He will not play the remaining three games of the road trip.
 
The Pacers travel to face Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

Pirates Trade McCutchen To Giants

Posted About Five Years Ago

The rebuild is officially on in Pittsburgh.
 
On Monday, two days after sending Gerrit Cole to the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates have traded franchise player Andrew McCutchen and cash to the San Francisco Giants for right-handed pitcher Kyle Crick, outfielder Bryan Reynolds, and international bonus pool money. The Pirates confirmed the trade on Twitter.
 
Earlier this offseason the Giants were in on Giancarlo Stanton -- they agreed to a trade with the Miami Marlins only to have Stanton veto it with his no-trade clause -- so it was no secret they wanted to upgrade their outfield. In fact, prior to the McCutchen deal, FanGraphs projected San Francisco to have the worst outfield in baseball. 
 
McCutchen was one of several Pirates players who figured to be on the move in the wake of the Cole trade. He had been on the trade block since last offseason, and the Giants had been interested in him for weeks.
 
In addition to McCutchen, the Giants have also added Evan Longoria this offseason, so they've acquired two players who were the faces of their old franchise. 

Red Wings Blank Blackhawks

Posted About Five Years Ago

Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi each had a goal and an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings beat the sloppy Chicago Blackhawks 4-0 on Sunday.
 
Dylan Larkin and Mike Green also scored for Detroit, which had dropped two in a row after a four-game win streak. Petr Mrazek made 27 saves in his second shutout of the season and 12th of his career.
 
Bertuzzi, the nephew of former NHL forward Todd Bertuzzi, made it 4-0 when he punched in his first career goal on a rebound 13:37 into the third period. He also has five assists in 10 games this season.
 
The Red Wings (18-18-7) played without forwards Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm, who were sidelined by lower-body injuries after they got hurt during Saturday's 4-1 loss at Pittsburgh. Dominic Turgeon, the son of former NHL star Pierre Turgeon, made his NHL debut after he was promoted from Grand Rapids of the AHL.
 
Chicago (22-17-6) had won three of four, including a 2-1 victory against Central Division-leading Winnipeg on Friday night. But the Blackhawks looked sluggish for most of their final game before their bye week.
 
Detroit grabbed control with a pair of goals in a 2:10 span in the first period.
 
First, Andreas Athanasiou drove to the net before throwing the puck in front to Larkin, who knocked it in for his seventh of the season. Mantha then made a great pass to a trailing Green, who sent a one-timer past Jeff Glass at 6:18.
 
Chicago killed off three power-play chances for Detroit in the second, but was unable to put much pressure on Mrazek. The Red Wings then iced the game when Mantha pounced on a pass from Henrik Zetterberg and shot it by Glass' right shoulder from the right circle for a 3-0 lead at 5:46.
 
It was Mantha's team-high 15th goal. Zetterberg picked up his 603rd career assist, moving him within one of tying Pavel Datsyuk for fifth on the Red Wings' career list.
 
The crowd of 21,830 booed as the final seconds ticked off. Glass finished with 22 saves for Chicago, which dropped to 12-8-2 at home.
 
The Blackhawks host the New York Islanders on Saturday night.

Pacers Beat Suns

Posted About Five Years Ago

Darren Collison had 19 points to lead seven players in double figures and the Pacers jumped on the Suns early and never let up in the Indiana Pacers' 120-97 rout of the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night 
 
Victor Oladipo scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half for the Pacers, who were coming off a home victory over Cleveland and have won four of five after a five-game losing streak. Cory Joseph added 16 points, and Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 for Indiana.
 
Rookie Josh Jackson scored a career-best 21 points for Phoenix, which has lost four of five. Devin Booker added 15, but on 5-of-16 shooting, 1 of 6 from 3-point range.
 
In an otherwise bad night for Phoenix, 17-year NBA veteran Tyson Chandler grabbed 14 rebounds to become the 40th player in league history to top 10,000 for his career (10,003).
 
Indiana committed a season-low six turnovers.
 
The Pacers are at Utah on Monday night.

NFL Playoffs Recap

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Jaguars Upset Steelers
 
Dominant at the start and resilient at the finish, the Jacksonville Jaguars stunned the Pittsburgh Steelers 45-42 on Sunday to advance to the AFC title game for the third time in franchise history and maybe, finally, earn a bit of respect.
 
Leonard Fournette ran for 109 yards and three scores . Embattled quarterback Blake Bortles added 214 yards passing and a pivotal fourth-quarter touchdown as the third-seeded Jaguars (12-6) beat the second-seeded Steelers (13-4) at Heinz Field for the second time in three months.
 
A week removed from an ugly performance in a wild-card round win over Buffalo in which he passed for 87 yards and struggled with the easiest of throws, Bortles went 14 of 26 for a touchdown without an interception. He ran for 35 more and wasn't sacked by a defense that led the NFL and set a franchise record with 55 during the season. Jacksonville's 45 points tied the most ever allowed by the Steelers in the playoffs.
 
Ben Roethlisberger threw for 469 yards and set a franchise record with five touchdown passes, but was also intercepted once and had a fumble returned for a score. All-Pro Antonio Brown caught seven passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns in his return from a left calf injury. Bell had 155 yards of total offense and two scores.
 
Twice Pittsburgh had fourth-and-1 in Jacksonville territory. Twice the Steelers did something other than have the 6-foot-5 Roethlisberger sneak. Pittsburgh ran wide in the first quarter and Bell was stuffed for a 4-yard loss. The Jaguars responded immediately by going 75 yards in 11 plays, the final one a 4-yard sprint by T.J. Yeldon that put them up 21-0.
 
The Steelers were down a touchdown early in the fourth quarter and had fourth-and-inches at the Jacksonville 39. Roethlisberger checked at the line of scrimmage, faked a handoff to Bell and instead threw incomplete to diving rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster .
 
The Jaguars travel to New England, where they were beaten in the 1996 AFC title game.
 
>>Vikings Stun Saints
 
Case Keenum completed his last-ditch heave near the sideline Sunday on the game's final play to Stefon Diggs, who slithered away from the Saints for a 61-yard touchdown to give the Vikings a 29-24 victory and a spot in the NFC championship game at Philadelphia.
 
Drew Brees steered the Saints in position for Wil Lutz's 43-yard kick with 25 seconds remaining that punctuating a forceful rally from a 17-point deficit that stood until 1:16 was left in the third quarter.
 
The field goal was set up by a fourth-and-10 completion by Brees to Willie Snead for 13 yards to the Minnesota 33 with 40 seconds left. Brees connected with Michael Thomas for two of his three touchdown passes in a span of 3:09 that spilled into the fourth quarter. The second score was set up at the Minnesota 40 by an interception by Marcus Williams, when an off-balance throw into traffic by Keenum served as his one costly moment of recklessness, a ''bonehead play,'' as he put it.
 
Keenum settled back in. He guided the Vikings to two more field goals by Kai Forbath, including a 53-yarder with 1:29 left that was his third of the game against his former team and gave them their lead back after a blocked punt by George Johnson had set up the Saints for a touchdown pass by Brees to Alvin Kamara.
 
Keenum, the undrafted and undersized all-time leading passer in NCAA history who was making his first career playoff start and has long looked up to Brees, was having a hard time finding the words to describe the experience. He finished with 318 yards, going 25 for 40, with Diggs catching 137 yards on six catches. 
 
Brees saw his 13th career postseason game end in a crushing final moment, his 25-for-40 performance for 294 yards tainted a bit by two interceptions before halftime. 
 
The Vikings move on to Philadelphia for the 10th championship game appearance in franchise history, the fifth in the last 30 years. They won the first four, losing in the Super Bowl each time.

Astros Acquire RHP Cole From Pirates

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Houston Astros added another big name to their collection on Saturday, acquiring right-handed starter Gerrit Cole from the Pittsburgh Pirates for four players: third baseman Colin Moran, outfielder Jason Martin, and pitchers Joe Musgrove and Michael Feliz, the teams confirmed.
 
Cole, 27, made 127 starts over parts of five seasons with the Pirates. Over that time, he accumulated a 3.50 ERA (112 ERA+) and 3.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His best season came in 2015, when he made the All-Star Game and finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting. Times haven't been as sweet recently. His ERA+ has dropped in each of the last two years, and he allowed a career-worst 1.4 home runs per nine innings in 2017.
 
Cole has had the reputation for having better stuff than results dating back to his collegiate days at UCLA. He throws a 96 mph fastball in addition to a hard slider, a curveball, and a changeup -- each of which generated whiffs on at least 20 percent of the swings taken against them last season.
 
Cole has two years of team control remaining. He's set to become a free agent after 2019. He should help cover the Astros' hole if they decide to let Dallas Keuchel walk after the season.

Maroons Defeat Central A&M

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Maroons defeated Central A&M by a score of 50-40 on Friday night.
 
The Maroons were led by Country Financial's Player of the Game, Chase Reynolds, who had 16 points. Dalton Smith also chipped in with 9 points.
 
Central A&M were led by Connor Heaton with 18 points.
 
With the win, the Maroons improve to 9-6 on the season and 1-1 in CIC action.
 
Tune in Tuesday as the Maroons take on St. Teresa. You can hear the game live on The Big 1520 AM/ 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Iowa Rallies Past Illinois

Posted About Five Years Ago

Jordan Bohannon scored 29 points as Iowa rallied from a 20-point deficit for a 104-97 overtime win over Illinois on Thursday night.
 
It was Iowa's second-largest comeback win in school history. The biggest comeback was 22 points, also against Illinois in 1987. Thursday's game marked the Hawkeyes' first Big Ten victory, and dropped the Illini to 0-5 in conference play.
 
Iowa (10-9, 1-5) outscored Illinois (10-8, 0-5) 14-7 in overtime after Illinois guard Trent Frazier sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
 
Tyler Cook scored 21 points and Luka Garza added 19 for Iowa. Frazier led Illinois with 27 points, while Leron Black and Aaron Jordan added 18 points each.
 
Illinois, fueled by runs of 13-and 10-0 run early in the game leaped to a 54-41 halftime lead and seemed headed to an easy home win. Iowa outrebounded the Illini 45-26, including 20-9 in the second half, and outscored Illinois 33-11 from the free throw line.
 
Iowa first took the lead 83-82 - its first since 4-2 - with 3:01 left in regulation on a 3-point play by Luke Garza.
 
Illinois plays at Nebraska on Monday.

Gonzalez, White Sox Agree To One Year Deal

Posted About Five Years Ago

The White Sox have agreed to a $4.75 million, one-year contract with pitcher Miguel Gonzalez and are bringing back the right-hander after trading him late last season.
 
The 33-year-old was 8-13 with a 4.62 ERA in 27 starts last season for Chicago and Texas, which acquired him on Aug. 31 for infielder Ti'quan Forbes. He was 7-10 with a 4.31 ERA in 22 starts for the White Sox.
 
Gonzalez is 52-54 with a 3.95 ERA with Baltimore (2012-15), Chicago (2016-17) and Texas.
 
Chicago cleared a roster spot by designating outfielder Jacob May for assignment on Thursday.

Warriors Defeat Maroons

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Lady Maroons fell to the Tuscola Lady Warriors by a score of 46-31 on Thursday night.
 
The Maroons were led by Country Financial's Player of the Game, Madi Filkin, who had 7 points. Alyssa Saulsbery also chipped in with 7 points.
 
The Warriors were led by Cassie Russo who had 25 points.
 
With the loss the Lady Maroons fall to 7-12 on the season.
 
Tune in Friday night as the Maroons' boys team take on Central A&M. You can hear the game live on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Loyola-Chicago Gets By Illinois State

Posted About Five Years Ago

Aundre Jackson and Clayton Custer combined to score 16 of their 29 points in the final seven minutes to help Loyola-Chicago beat Illinois State 68-61 on Wednesday night.
 
Jackson finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Custer added 14 points, going 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the last 26 seconds. Marques Townes had 12 points and Bruno Skokna scored 11 for Loyola (13-4, 3-2 Missouri Valley). The Ramblers snapped a six-game skid against Illinois State (9-8, 3-2).
 
Phil Fayne scored seven straight points to give the Redbirds a 46-45 lead - their first since 2-0 - with seven minutes left. Custer made two free throws and then hit a 3 to spark a 12-2 run that gave the Ramblers a nine-point lead with three minutes to go. They made their last five field-goal attempts and hit 6 of 6 free throws in the closing seconds to seal it.
 
Fayne led the Redbirds with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Milik Yarbrough added 13 points and eight assists, but committed nine of Illinois State's 18 turnovers.
 
Loyola made 23 of 44 (52 percent) from the field, hit 16 of 18 from the free-throw line and scored 25 points off turnovers.

Bulls Win; Pacers Lose Wednesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Bulls Get By Knicks in Double Overtime
 
Rookie Lauri Markkanen scored a season-high 33 points, Kris Dunn shook off a nightmarish shooting night to make the tiebreaking basket in the second overtime, and the Chicago Bulls beat the New York Knicks 122-119 on Wednesday night.
 
Dunn had missed 14 of his first 17 shots before banking in a runner with just under a minute left in the second extra period, and Markkanen finished it off by making two free throws with 6.8 seconds remaining.
 
Robin Lopez and Denzel Valentine each scored 20 points for the Bulls in their third narrow victory over the Knicks this season. Markkanen made eight 3-pointers though his highlight play was at the rim, when he threw down a dunk over Knicks center Enes Kanter.
 
Michael Beasley 26 points and 12 rebounds off the bench for the Knicks, who lost for the eighth time in 10 games. Kristaps Porzingis finished with 24 points, including a dunk at the buzzer to force the second OT.
 
Lopez then had the first two baskets of the second OT, and after the Knicks got the next two, Dunn made his shot to make it 118-116.
 
Jarrett Jack had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for the Knicks, but threw away a pass after coming up with a steal with the Knicks down two late in the second OT.
 
Nikola Mirotic missed his second straight game with an illness.
 
The Bulls host Detroit on Saturday.
 
>>Heat Beat Pacers
 
Goran Dragic scored 20 points and backup Wayne Ellington made the decisive 3-pointer with 25.5 seconds left Wednesday night to help the Heat fend off a late charge to hold on for a rare 114-106 victory at Indiana.
Ellington, Johnson and Bam Adebayo all played more than 30 minutes, all scored 15 points off the bench and all made key plays throughout the game as Miami won its sixth in a row and snapped a 10-game road losing streak against the Pacers.
 
Hassan Whiteside added 16 points and 15 rebounds.
 
Victor Oladipo had 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Lance Stephenson gave Indiana a late boost of energy that nearly led Indiana back from a 10-point deficit in the final 9:57. Stephenson wound up with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
 
Indiana blew its first chance to tie the score, or take the lead, when Al Jefferson drew an offensive foul late in the third. The Heat then retook an 84-78 lead after three and extended the margin to 90-80 early in the fourth on a basket by Adebayo.
 
That's when the Pacers turned it on. They scored six straight to make it 92-89 and used another 6-0 spurt to finally tie it at 97 on Stephenson's 18-footer with 5:09 left.
 
But Miami broke the tie on Johnson's 3 and put it away when Ellington's shot dropped in for to make it 109-103.
 
The Pacers are seeking their third straight win against Cleveland this season when the Cavaliers come to town Friday.

Blackhawks Lose Wednesday, Make Trade

Posted About Five Years Ago

Ryan Suter gave Minnesota the lead on a 4-on-4 early in the third period, Devan Dubnyk made 34 saves and the Wild held off the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Wednesday night to end a two-game slide.
 
Jonas Brodin scored in the second period for Minnesota (23-17-4). The Wild pulled two points ahead of Chicago (21-16-6) in the tight Central Division and tussle for playoff spots in the Western Conference.
 
Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook, a healthy scratch in Chicago's 8-2 win in Ottawa on Tuesday night, was back in the lineup and celebrated with his first goal since opening night.
 
Chicago's Anton Forsberg made 25 saves in his third straight start. Corey Crawford, the Blackhawks No. 1 goalie, missed his seventh game with an upper-body injury and hasn't resumed skating. There's no timetable for his return.
 
Blackhawks defenseman Jan Rutta left early in the third, then returned late in the period, after taking an illegal hit to the head from Minnesota's Marcus Foligno.
 
Both teams played their second games in two nights. Minnesota lost 3-2 in overtime at home to Calgary on Tuesday night.
 
The Blackhawks acquired winger Anthony Duclair and defenseman Adam Clendening from Arizona before the game in a trade for right wing Richard Panik and minor league forward Laurent Dauphin.
 
Getting the speedy 22-year-old Duclair is another step for Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman as he tries to shake up and add quickness to a perennial contender that's looked sluggish at times this season while fighting to maintain a playoff position.
 
The talented but inconsistent Duclair has nine goals and six assists in 33 games this season, scoring in each of his last two games after reports surfaced that he had asked for a trade.
 
The Blackhawks host Winnipeg on Friday night.
 
>>Blackhawks Acquire Duclair From Coyotes
 
The Chicago Blackhawks have acquired winger Anthony Duclair from the Arizona Coyotes in a four-player trade.
 
The teams announced the deal Wednesday night that sends winger Richard Panik and minor leaguer Laurent Dauphin to Arizona. Chicago also gets defenseman Adam Clendening along with Duclair in a move that seeks to shake up a perennial contender fighting to maintain a playoff position.
 
Duclair has nine goals and six assists in 33 games this season, scoring in each of his last two games after asking the Coyotes to trade him.
 
Acquired from New York in 2015 in the deal that sent Keith Yandle to the Rangers. Duclair had 20 goals and 24 assists in 81 games in 2015-16, then had only five goals and 10 assists in 58 games last season.
 
Panik has six goals and 10 assists in 37 games after signing a $5.6 million, two-year contract. By trading the 26-year-old and his $2.8 million hit for Duclair's $1.2 million and pending restricted free agency, the Blackhawks clear valuable salary-cap space this season and next.

Bears, Packers Notes

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Bears Hire Offensive Line Coach
 
The Chicago Bears have hired Harry Hiestand for a second stint as their offensive line coach.
 
With the Bears announcing the move Wednesday, Hiestand becomes the first assistant to join new coach Matt Nagy's staff.
 
Hiestand was Chicago's offensive line coach under Lovie Smith from 2005-09. With six-time Pro Bowl center Olin Kreutz leading the line, Hiestand oversaw a group that helped the Bears reach a Super Bowl.
 
He spent the past six seasons coaching Notre Dame's offensive line. The Fighting Irish averaged 190 yards rushing during that time.
 
Hiestand has 36 years of coaching experience.
 
Nagy spent 10 seasons working under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He was the Chiefs' sole offensive coordinator this season.
 
>>Browns Adding Packers Executives To Front Office
 
The Cleveland Browns' roster still needs major work. Their front office is starting to shape up.
 
New general manager John Dorsey tapped into his NFL connections to improve the winless Browns, adding former Green Bay executives Eliot Wolf and Alonzo Highsmith on Wednesday in the club's first major moves in a significant offseason.
Dorsey played linebacker for the Packers and spent time working in the club's front office with Wolf and Highsmith, two highly regarded talent evaluators with solid reputations.
 
The 35-year-old Wolf, who is considered a rising star in the league, will serve as Dorsey's assistant while Highsmith, a former NFL running back, is the Browns' vice president of player personnel.
 
Wolf spent 14 seasons with the Packers, working as the club's director of football operations for the past two. He recently interviewed for the Green Bay GM job that went to Brian Gutekunst and Wolf was reportedly offered a spot to work in Oakland with Raiders' GM Reggie McKenzie. Dorsey, McKenzie and Wolf all worked together in Green Bay.
 
Highsmith spent 19 years in Green Bay's scouting department. After starring at Miami, Highsmith was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1987 draft by the Houston Oilers.

Cubs in Miami For Season Opener

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Miami Marlins will host the Chicago Cubs in this year's major league opener on March 29, the earliest start in the sport's history excluding international openers.
 
The game at Marlins Park is scheduled for 12:40 p.m., a half-hour before the New York Mets start at home against St. Louis and Detroit hosts Pittsburgh in the lone interleague opener.
 
World Series champion Houston opens at Texas. Every team is scheduled to open on the same day for the first time since 1968, and the season starts on a Thursday for the first time since 2011.
 
The rest of the NL opening-day schedule has Philadelphia at Atlanta, Washington at Cincinnati, San Francisco at the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee at San Diego and Colorado at Arizona.
 
The AL opening-day schedule has Minnesota at Baltimore, the New York Yankees at Toronto, the Los Angeles Angels at Oakland, the Chicago White Sox at Kansas City and Cleveland at Seattle.

CHS Golfer Signs National Letter of Intent

Posted About Five Years Ago

Clinton Senior golfer Chase Reynolds signed his National Letter of Intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Roosevelt University in Chicago.
 
The NAIA school offered Reynolds a lot to like and he says he's excited to finally have the commitment made official.
 
 
Reynolds says the college game of golf is going to be a lot different as he'll be playing a lot more.
 
 
Reynolds recalled setting the schools season low average and making state this past year as the highlights of his high school career. Reynolds was also a two-time Central Illinois Conference golfing champion. 

Bradley Drops Southern Illinois

Posted About Five Years Ago

Donte Thomas scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds as Bradley extended the Missouri Valley Conference's longest home winning streak by holding off Southern Illinois 68-62 on Tuesday night.
 
The Braves are 8-0 at home this season and have won 10 straight dating back to last season.
 
Armon Fletcher hit two free throws with :35 left to get the Salukis within two, 64-62, but Jayden Hodgson hit four straight free throws to seal the victory.
 
Thomas hit 8 of 10 from the field and was 5 of 5 from the free throw line in leading Bradley (13-5, 3-2). Darrell Brown and Hodgson each added 11 points.
 
Bradley shot 47.1 percent from the field (24 of 51), including 5 of 21 from distance.
 
Sean Lloyd Jr. had 14 points and dished six assists to lead Southern Illinois (10-8, 2-3). Tyler Smithpeters and Fletcher added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Maroa-Forsyth Blows By Sangamon Valley

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Maroa-Forsyth Trojans used a balanced attack to blow by the Sangamon Valley Storm 80-33 in non-conference boys basketball action Tuesday night in Niantic.
 
Daanish Mahmood and Hayden Mitchell paced the attack with 16 points. Justin Livingood chipped in with 13 points. Aaron Agee had nine points as 12 players scored for the Trojans.
 
The Storm was led by Kale Pollard with 11 points and Jachin Wiese added nine points.
 
The Trojans led 15-6 after the first quarter, as Mahmood scored nine of 16 points in the first. They led 37-16 at the break, as Mitchell scored ten of his 16 points in the second quarter.
 
The Trojans outscored Sangamon Valley 43-17 in the second half. Livingood scored nine of this 13 points in the third quarter. 
 
The Trojans are 5-8 overall and are at Illini Central Friday night. 

Bears Introduce New Coach

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Bears introduced their new head coach today. Matt Nagy is taking over the Bears after being the Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator this year. Something that might have helped Nagy’s cause was his shared enthusiasm of the potential of quarterback Mitchell Trubisky. But he says it wasn’t the only thing that went into him getting the job.
 
 
Nagy has his work cut out for him. The Bears have made the playoffs only once in the past 11 seasons.

Dodgers Send Cash To White Sox, Royals To Complete Three Team Trade

Posted About Five Years Ago

The NL champion Dodgers will send $3 million to the Chicago White Sox and receive $1 million from Kansas City as part of last week's three-team trade that sent left-handed reliever Scott Alexander from the Royals to Los Angeles.
 
Los Angeles agreed to give the White Sox equal installments of $1.5 million on June 1 and Sept. 1. Kansas City will pay the Dodgers $500,000 on each of those two dates.
 
Chicago got relievers Luis Avilan and Joakim Soria iin Thursday's trade, and the Dodgers obtained minor league infielder Jake Peter. The Royals added two minor leaguers, 24-year-old right-hander Trevor Oaks and 23-year-old infielder Erick Mejia.
 
Soria has a $9 million salary this year, and his contract includes a $10 million mutual option with a $1 million buyout. Avilan is eligible for arbitration and is expected to have a salary of about $2.5 million.

Blackhawks Win; Blues Lose Tuesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Kane Leads Blackhawks Past Senators
 
Nick Schmaltz and Jonathan Toews each scored a pair of goals and Patrick Kane had a goal and four assists Tuesday night and the Chicago Blackhawks routed the Ottawa Senators 8-2.
 
Richard Panik, Patrick Sharp and Jan Rutta also scored for the Blackhawks, while Anton Forsberg made 25 saves.
 
Mark Stone and Derick Brassard scored for the Senators. Craig Anderson allowed four goals on 26 shots before giving way to Mike Condon, who also allowed four goals on 17 shots.
 
The loss snapped Ottawa's two-game winning streak and was the worst loss of the season since an 8-3 defeat on Oct. 30 against Montreal.
 
Toews scored his second of the game at 3:24 of the third period to extend the lead to 7-2 before Kane chipped in with his team-leading 18th on the power play.
 
The second period, which has been awful for the Senators of late, was once again troubling as Anderson gave up three goals on four shots in a span of 4:39.
 
Sharp gave Chicago a 2-0 lead at the five-minute mark with a wrist shot from the top of the circle. Schmaltz made it 3-0 with his first power-play goal of the game, beating Anderson five-hole and, 1:38 later, the Blackhawks took a 4-0 lead as Toews scored on a rebound to end Anderson's night.
 
The Senators managed to cut the lead in half when Stone, with his third in as many games, beat Forsberg short side. Brassard then made it 4-2 by driving to the net and tipping Stone's shot in off his chest.
 
But two late power-play goals allowed Chicago to regain its four-goal advantage.
 
Schmaltz scored his second of the game, picking up Sharp's rebound to beat Condon high and Rutta made it 6-2 with a one-timer.
 
Combined, Anderson and Condon gave up five goals on nine shots in the second period. Bobby Ryan added to the misery by leaving the game favoring his hand and didn't return for the third.
 
The Senators looked good in the first period, but were still outshot 17-8 and gave up the first goal as Panik picked up the puck near the slot and threw it at the net to beat Anderson through traffic.
 
The Blackhawks host Minnesota on Wednesday night.
 
>>Panthers Outlast Blues
 
Vincent Trocheck had two goals and an assist, leading Florida to a 7-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night.
 
The Panthers rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to snap a three-game losing streak.
Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov each had a goal and two assists, and James Reimer stopped 26 shots in his 15th straight start.
 
St. Louis has lost three straight against Florida at Scottrade Center. Vladimir Tarasenko and Paul Stastny each had a goal and an assist for the Blues, and Colton Parayko and Tage Thompson also scored.
 
St. Louis got off to a fast start on goals by Stastny and Parayko in the first 8:05 of the game.
 
Aaron Ekblad and Barkov responded for Florida in the first, and the Panthers grabbed control with three more goals in the second.
 
After Tarasenko made it 3-2 with a wrist shot from the right circle at 4:17, Radim Vrbata replied for Florida from in front of the net at 12:23. Huberdeau scored from the left circle at 15:55 and Trocheck got his 16th of the season 42 seconds later, making it 5-3 with a snap shot from the slot.
 
Colton Sceviour added a short-handed goal 13:02 into the third. After Thompson got St. Louis within two again, Trocheck tacked on an empty netter at 17:56.
 
St. Louis goaltender Jake Allen stopped 18 of 23 shots before he was replaced by Carter Hutton, who finished with 11 saves.
 
The Blues head into their league mandated bye week. Their next game is Jan. 16 at Toronto.

Monticello Races Past Clinton

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello Sages scored 23 unanswered first half points and ran past Clinton 67-30 in non-conference boys basketball action Tuesday night at Monticello High School.

 

The Maroons took a 6-5 lead at the 5:27 mark of the first quarter and didn’t score again until Dalton Smith 4:20 in the second quarter when Dalton Smith made a layup and was fouled. Smith made the and-one free throw. The Maroons would make just one other field goal for the quarter.

 

Calvin Fisher scored 12 of his game high 20 points in the second quarter. He finished with six rebounds as well.

 

Johnny Dawson scored 11 points with five assists and four rebounds as the Sages dished out 15 assists to go with their 29 field goals and committed only six turnovers.

 

Ben Singleton added ten points and five rebounds.

The Maroons were led by Seth Westfall’s eight points and seven rebounds. Austin Rauch had seven points. Dalton Smith and Austin Baker added five points apiece.

 

The Maroons committed 17 turnovers that led to 16 points for the Sages. Monticello outscored Clinton in the paint 42-16 and the Sages added 10 second chance points on nine offensive rebounds.

 

Monticello also had 14 fast break points and their bench outscored Clinton’s 19-2.

 

The Maroons have dropped their last three games and are 8-6. The Sages are now 10-1 on the season.

 

The Maroons are back in action against Central A&M Friday night for the Wall of Honor night. Hear the game on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

The Sages are at Prairie Central next Friday. Hear the game on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Bears Hire New Coach

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Bears have a new head coach. 
 
Acting quickly after the Kansas City Chiefs lost this weekend Chicago hired away KC’s offensive coordinator. Matt Nagy is going to be the Bears new head coach. 
 
He replaces John Fox who was fired after winning 14 games in three years. 
 
Nagy is just 39 and will be expected to turn QB Mitchell Trubisky into a top of the line starter in the NFL. 

Clinton, Monticello Matchup Tonight on WHOW, WEZC

Posted About Five Years Ago

The resurgent Clinton Maroons and the upstart Monticello Sages will meet tonight in at Monticello High School in a special simulcast broadcast on WHOW, WEZC and at dewittdailynews.com. 
 
Despite two tough losses over the weekend, the Maroons sit confidently at 8-5 overall.
 
Monticello is winners of  9 of their first 10 games.
 
The Maroons are 1-11 all time against Monticello. The last time Clinton beat the Sages was in 2011, a double overtime win at Clinton High School. 
 
Tonight's broadcast will get going around 7:15 pm and can be heard on 92.3 FM WHOW, 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Pacers Win; Bulls Lose

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Rockets Beat Bulls
 
Eric Gordon and Chris Paul each had 24 points and nine assists, Gerald Green scored 22 and the Houston Rockets beat the Chicago Bulls 116-107 on Monday night.
 
Trevor Ariza hit six 3-pointers and scored 18 to go with nine rebounds. Clint Capela added 15 points and 16 rebounds, and the Rockets won for the third time in 10 games despite blowing a 21-point lead.
 
Bobby Portis led the Bulls with 22 points. Denzel Valentine and Kris Dunn each scored 19, but Chicago lost for the fifth time in six games.
 
With NBA scoring leader James Harden missing his fourth consecutive game because of a strained hamstring, the Rockets regained control after falling behind early in the third.
 
They scored eight straight to stretch a two-point edge to 10 late in the quarter and took an 87-76 lead into the fourth after Green and Paul nailed back-to-back 3s. Houston was in charge the rest of the game.
 
Houston nearly put this one away early, going up by 21 late in the first quarter after Paul's four-point play. But the Bulls got more physical in the second and cut it to 60-55 at halftime.
 
The Bulls tied it on a 3 by Valentine to start the third and two free throws by Robin Lopez. Dunn gave Chicago its first lead since the early going, 64-62, just under three minutes into the quarter.
 
The Bulls visit the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
 
>>Pacers Down Bucks
 
The Indiana Pacers seized control early by forcing 13 turnovers in the first 17 minutes, built a 29-point lead and never allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to make a serious run over the final 42 minutes of a 109-96 victory.
 
Domantas Sabonis finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pacers. Victor Oladipo, Myles Turner and Thaddeus Young each had 15 points on a night when seven Pacers players scored at least 10.
Indiana has won two straight since a five-game losing streak.
 
Khris Middleton led Milwaukee with 19 points and Giannis Anetetokoumpo had 17 - not nearly enough against an intense defense on a mission.
 
Indiana broke it open by scoring 20 straight points in the first quarter to turn a 15-14 game into a blowout. The Pacers finished the period on a 22-2 spurt to make it 37-16.
 
The Pacers extended the lead to 48-21 midway through the second quarter before the Bucks finally fought back with a 9-1 run to cut the deficit to 19. Indiana immediately answered with seven straight points and led 64-38 at halftime.
 
Milwaukee couldn't get any closer than 16 until the final two minutes.
 
The Pacers will host Miami on Wednesday, looking for their 11th straight regular-season home win in the series.

Villanova New No. 1 In CBB

Posted About Five Years Ago

After a week that saw 14 of the AP top 25 teams lose -- including five of the top seven -- a shakeup in the poll was inevitably in order and has been made in the latest rankings released on Monday.
 
The result is a new No. 1 team in the rankings and an entirely reshuffled top 5. At the top is Villanova, which is no stranger to the top spot this season, followed by West Virginia at No. 2, Virginia at No. 3, and Michigan State and Wichita State rounding out the top 5.
 
Previous No. 2 Duke fell to No. 7, a spot below Purdue and ahead of Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
 
The biggest mover up the poll this week is No. 18 Texas Tech, which jumped from No. 18  after going 2-0 last week with wins at Kansas and vs.  Kansas State at home as the Red Raiders built their record to 14-1 in the process. North Carolina, meanwhile, was the biggest mover down the poll, as the Tar Heels went 0-2 this week with losses to Florida State and Virginia as part of a grueling two-game road trip and fell from No. 12 to No. 20.
 
There is once again a new No. 1 team at the top of the USA Today coaches poll released on Monday.
 
After three of last week's top five teams fell over the weekend including 11 of the top 25, Villanova is the top team in the country and the rest of the rankings is now a beautifully muddled mess as no team is ranked the same as it was a week ago.
 
Just like the AP Top 25, West Virginia and Virginia are in at Nos. 2 and 3, followed by Michigan State and Wichita State rounding out the top 5.

'Bama Rallies Past Georgia

Posted About Five Years Ago

Freshman quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who had played mostly mop-up duty this season, came off the bench to spark a comeback and threw a 41-yard touchdown to DeVonta Smith that gave No. 4 Alabama a 26-23 overtime victory against No. 3 Georgia on Monday night for the College Football Playoff national championship.
 
Tagovailoa entered the game at halftime, replacing a struggling Jalen Hurts, and threw three touchdown passes to give the Crimson Tide its fifth national championship since 2009 under coach Nick Saban.
 
Smith streaked into the end zone and moments later confetti rained and even Saban seemed almost giddy after watching maybe the most improbably victory of his unmatched career.
 
After Alabama kicker Andy Pappanastos missed a 36-yard field goal that would have won it for the Tide (13-1) in the final seconds of regulation , Georgia (13-2) took the lead with a 51-yard field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship in overtime.
 
Tagovailoa took a terrible sack on Alabama's first play of overtime, losing 16 yards. On the next play he found Smith, another freshman, and hit him in stride for the national championship.
 
Tagovailoa was brilliant at times, though he had a few freshman moments. He threw an interception when he tried to pass on a running play and all his receivers were blocking. He also darted away from the pass rushers and made some impeccable throws, showing the poise of a veteran. Facing fourth-and-goal from 7, down seven, the left-hander moved to his left and zipped a pass through traffic that hit Calvin Ridley in the numbers for the tying score with 3:49 left in the fourth quarter.
 
He finished 14 for 24 for 166 yards. The winning play was, basically, four receivers going deep.
 
Saban now has six major poll national championships, including one at LSU, matching the record set by the man who led Alabama's last dynasty, coach Paul Bear Bryant.
 
The Tide trailed 20-7 in the third quarter after Georgia's freshman quarterback, Jake Fromm, hit Mecole Hardman for an 80-yard touchdown pass that had the Georgia fans feeling good about ending a national title drought that dates back to 1980.
 
Fromm threw for 232 yards for a while it looked as if he was going to be the freshman star for the game, the first to true freshman to lead his team to a national title season since Jamelle Holieway for Oklahoma in 1985.

Monticello Overcomes Slow Start To Beat Rantoul

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello Lady Sages used an 11-0 run as part of a 23-9 second quarter to overcome a slow start and run past Rantoul 57-36 in Illini Prairie Conference girls basketball action from Monticello High School Monday night.

 

The Lady Sages opened up a 30-21 halftime advantage after trailing 12-7 after a sluggish first quarter then outscored the Lady Eages 19-4 in the third quarter and put the game away.

 

Zanna Myers scored 12 of her game high 16 points in the second quarter. Jayna Burger finished with 11 points and Tatum McCall added 10 points for the Lady Sages, who improved to 13-0 overall and 1-0 in Illini Prairie action.

 

Emily Wilson added nine points for Monticello.

 

The Lady Eagles were led by Kaylie Wilson’s 12 points. Faith Johnson added eight and Courtney Sutherland added seven points.

 

Rantoul drops to 4-15 overall.

 

The Lady Sages return to action Thursday at home. The next Lady Sages girls basketball broadcast on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com will be Thursday, January 18 when Monticello hosts Maroa-Forsyth at 7:30 pm.

 

Bears Continue Coach Interviews

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Chicago Bears say they were interviewing Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo for their head coaching job.
 
In his second year as the Eagles' QBs coach, DeFilippo has helped Carson Wentz emerge as one of the best passers in the league. The No. 2 overall draft pick in 2016, he threw for 3,296 yards with 33 touchdowns and seven interceptions before suffering a season-ending knee injury last month.
 
In Chicago, DeFilippo would be working with another quarterback drafted second overall - Mitchell Trubisky last spring.
 
The Bears were meeting with DeFilippo in Philadelphia on Saturday. They have also interviewed Minnesota and New England offensive coordinators Pat Shurmur and Josh McDaniels, Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards and Chicago defensive coordinator Vic Fangio.
 
The Chicago Bears were interviewing Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy for their head coaching job.
 
Nagy has spent 10 seasons working under Andy Reid in Philadelphia and Kansas City. He did not call plays until late this season, but has drawn praise for his work with Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith. In Chicago, he would be trying to develop No. 2 overall draft pick Mitchell Trubisky.
 
The Chiefs won the AFC West, only to blow an 18-point halftime lead in a playoff loss to Tennessee on Saturday. The Bears met with Nagy in Kansas City on Sunday.
 
The Bears fired John Fox after a 14-34 record in three years and a .292 winning percentage that ranks as the second-lowest in franchise history. They were 5-11 this past season.

Illinois State Wins; Illinois, Bradley Loses This Weekend

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Illinois Loses Fourth Straight Big Ten Game
 
Isaiah Livers helped Michigan through a first-half struggle, and Moe Wagner scored 11 of his 14 points in the second to lift the Wolverines to a 79-69 victory over Illinois on Saturday.
 
Michigan (14-3, 3-1 Big Ten) won its seventh straight game, but only after a difficult first half in which the Fighting Illini caused problems with their defensive pressure. The Wolverines trailed 19-11 when Livers came in. The 6-foot-7 freshman contributed a 3-pointer and three dunks, the last of which put Michigan up 25-23.
 
Illinois was ahead 34-31 at halftime, but while the Wolverines took better care of the ball in the second half, turnovers remained a problem for the Illini (10-7, 0-4). Michigan had 12 turnovers in the first half to nine for Illinois. In the second half, the Wolverines only had three, and the Illini had eight.
 
Charles Matthews, Michigan's leading scorer, was called for a foul in the first minute of the game and immediately came out. When he returned a few minutes later, he picked up a quick second foul and sat the rest of the half. Matthews and Wagner were both called for their third fouls early in the second half, but that didn't stop the Wolverines from keeping Illinois at bay.
 
Michigan shot 64 percent from the field in the second half and finished with six players in double figures.
 
Kipper Nichols led Illinois with 17 points.
 
The Illini play four of their first five games on the road this month. The lone home game is up next, against Iowa on Thursday.
 
>>Illinois State Gets By Missouri State
 
Phil Fayne and Milik Yarbrough scored 23 points each as Illinois State forced Missouri State into uncharacteristic turnovers, handing the Bears their first Missouri Valley Conference loss, 72-68, Sunday.
Illinois State (9-7, 3-1) showed why it owns the best turnover margin in the MVC, forcing Missouri State into a season-most 18 turnovers, 11 in the first half, turning those into 23 points while the Redbirds only turned the ball over six times. The Bears had the fewest turnovers in conference.
 
Missouri State, which lost a four-game win streak as well as its 3-0 start in MVC, fell behind by as many as 10 in the second half but fought back into a 58-56 lead on a J.T. Miller tip-in and foul shot with 4:44 to play.
 
Fayne regained the lead with back-to-back dunks inside the final two minutes, converting the second dunk into a 3-point play. Illinois State was up 65-62 and Yarbrough, Keyshawn Evans and Fayne made 5 of 8 free throws in the last 15 seconds while a 3-pointer and a drive by Jarred Dixon couldn't regain the lead.
 
Miller, Ronnie Rousseau and Alize Johnson scored 16 each for the Bears (13-4, 3-1).
 
>>Evansville Topples Bradley
 
Ryan Taylor hit four 3-pointers and scored 21 and Dru Smith had 14 points and six assists to lead Evansville to a 68-44 romp over Bradley on Saturday.
Blake Simmons chipped in with 12 points, five assists and three steals for Evansville (11-6, 1-3 Missouri Valley Conference), which shot 49 percent from the floor, made 8 of 15 from 3-point range and made all 10 of its free throws. Dainius Chatkevisius grabbed seven rebounds to help Evansville control the boards 35-22.
 
Taylor scored the last five points in a 20-4 run and the Purple Aces pulled away from a tie at 10 to lead 30-14. Noah Frederking's jumper pushed the lead to 21 midway through the second half and Evansville coasted to snap a four-game slide.
 
Donte Thomas topped the Braves (12-5, 2-2) with 12 points, while Elijah Childs scored 10. Bradley made just 15 of 43 shots (35 percent) and hit 3 of 14 from long range.

Blackhawks Win; Blues Lose Sunday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Blackhawks Get By Oilers
 
Anton Forsberg made 32 saves, Nick Schmaltz and Alex DeBrincat scored in the first period, and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the slumping Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Sunday.
 
Brandon Saad and Jordan Oesterle also scored for the Blackhawks, who got their first home win since a 4-1 victory against Minnesota on Dec. 17. Jonathan Toews extended his point streak to four games.
 
It was Forsberg's first win since Nov. 11 and just the second of his first season in Chicago. Forsberg had been the backup all year, but his role had come into question after Jeff Glass came up the minors and played well with starter Corey Crawford sidelined by an upper-body injury.
 
Edmonton has dropped six of seven, including a 5-1 loss at Dallas on Saturday. The Oilers have been outscored 20-3 in their last five games.
 
Darnell Nurse's sharp-angled backhander trimmed Chicago's lead to 2-1 at 4:12 of the second. Jujhar Khaira got a look at the tying goal after Brent Seabrook's turnover with about six minutes left in the period, but Forsberg smothered his shot.
 
Chicago's top line of Vinnie Hinostroza, Toews and Saad then combined for a big play in the final seconds of the second. Hinostroza got the puck up to Toews, who muscled his way toward the net before shaking free for a shot that Saad deflected past Talbot at 19:50.
 
Oesterle added his third of the season midway through the third. Talbot finished with 25 saves.
 
Chicago was coming off a disappointing 5-4 loss to expansion Vegas on Friday night, prompting coach Joel Quenneville to shuffle his lineup. Defensemen Connor Murphy and Cody Franson were benched in favor of Michal Kempny and Jan Rutta, and John Hayden was a healthy scratch with Ryan Hartman returning from an upper-body injury.
 
The Blackhawks got off to a slow start against the Golden Knights and then blew a 4-3 lead in the third period. They were much better in the first against the Oilers.
 
Schmaltz jumped on a loose puck and slipped a backhand through Talbot's legs for a 1-0 lead at 8:03, extending his goal streak to three straight games with his 10th of the season. Chicago then caught a break when DeBrincat's centering pass went off the right skate of Edmonton forward Mark Letestu and past Talbot for the rookie's 14th goal at 9:29.
 
The Blackhawks visit Ottawa on Tuesday night.
 
>>Washington Outlasts St. Louis in Overtime
 
Nicklas Backstrom scored at 4:17 of overtime and Alex Ovechkin had a power-play goal and an assist to help the Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 on Sunday.
 
The Capitals have won four in a row overall and nine consecutive home games, the longest active streak in the NHL. Since Nov. 22, the Metropolitan Division leaders are 15-3-2.
Vladimir Tarasenko had a goal and an assist for the Blues. They have lost two in a row and six of their last seven road games.
 
Recognizing a change of possession in Washington's end late in overtime, Backstrom headed down ice, received a long pass from T.J. Oshie and beat goalie Carter Hutton for his ninth goal of the season.
 
Backstrom scored his 197th goal to tie Alexander Semin for fifth on the Capitals' goals list. Backstrom also assisted on Ovechkin's goal.
 
Ovechkin tied it at 2 on the power play 8 eight minutes into the third with his league-leading 27th goal, and Lars Eller gave the Capitals the lead with 9:11 left. The lead did not last long, with Carl Gunnarson credited with a goal after his shot into pack of players evaded goaltender Braden Holtby with 4:09 remaining.
 
Holtby made 30 saves for the Capitals including save key stops late in regulation and overtime.
 
Alexander Steen snapped a lengthy power-play drought and put St. Louis up 2-1 5:02 into the second period. St. Louis had failed to score on 21 consecutive power plays dating to its Dec. 20 loss at Calgary.
 
St. Louis dominated the second with had two goals on 12 shots before Washington recorded its first shot on goal in the period.
 
The Blues tied it at 1 1:18 into the second period on Tarasenko's 18th goal.
 
The Blues host Florida on Tuesday night before receiving a weeklong break without games.

Saints Defeat Maroons

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Clinton Maroons fell to the Bloomington Central Catholic Saints by a score of 66-39 on Saturday night. The Maroons were led by Country Financial's Player of the Game, Austin Baker, with 10 points. Seth Westfall also contributed 10 points.
 
The Saints were led by James Morris with 14 points and Austyn Ellison added 13 points.
 
With the loss the Maroons fall to 8-5 on the year.
 
Tune in Tuesday for a 7 pm tip as the Maroons take on the Monticello Sages. You can hear the game live on The Big 1520 AM/ 92.3 FM WHOW and on our sister station 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Maroons vs BCC

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Saints won the game with a score of 66-38.

Monticello Uses Big Second Half To Get By Olympia

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Monticello Sages outscored Olympia 39-11 in the second half and ran away after a slow start, 66-39 in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Monticello Middle School.

 

The game was filled with a few quirks. To start, the two teams are now Illini Prairie Conference opponents, but Saturday’s matchup did not count towards their conference marks. Additionally, a water main break earlier in the day Friday shifted the site of the game to Monticello Middle School.

 

Monticello shot 8-for-23 in the first half then finished 12-for-22 in the second half and shot 22-for-25 at the foul line.

 

Ben Singleton scored 11 of his game high 16 points in the second quarter and accounted for 11 of Monticello’s 15 points in the second quarter to help keep the Sages close as their leading scorers Luke Stokowski and Calvin Fisher combined for nine points in the first half and finished 11 apiece.

 

The Sages forced 22 turnovers resulting in 28 points.

 

Leading 34-30 with 3:05 left in the third, Spartans leading scorer, Trey Wilson picked up his fourth personal foul and was hit with a technical foul as he was being substituted for and was subsequently out of the game.

 

Prior to the technical foul, Singleton made the first of two free throws, he made both technicals foul shots but missed the second of the two personal foul free throws and Stokowski made a layup to complete the five-point possession.

 

The Spartans converted just one field goal in the third quarter and Olympia went scoreless for 10:49 between the third and fourth quarters.

 

Dalton Spencer led the Spartans with 14 points and dished out a game high four assists. Wilson added 12 points, all in the first half.

 

Singleton pulled down a game high six rebounds.

 

The Spartans drop to 6-8 overall. The two squads will match up in mid-February for the Illini Prairie Conference finale for both teams.

 

Monticello is not 9-1 overall and will host Clinton Tuesday night at 7:30 pm.

 

Hear the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. Also simulcast on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

 

Monticello High School Changes Site of Saturday Varsity Boys Basketball Game

Posted About Five Years Ago

A change in the location for tomorrow's Monticello High School boys basketball games has been announced by the district early Friday.
 
Due to a water main break at the high school, the junior varsity and varsity boys basketball games have been shifted to Monticello Middle School, located at 2015 East Washington Street.
 
Game times are still set for 1 pm JV tip and 2:30 pm varsity tip. 
 
The last time the varsity played at Monticello Middle School, they wrapped up a 2017 Sectional title against Paxton-Buckley-Loda. 
 
Hear the action Saturday on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Maroons In Action Friday, Saturday This Weekend

Posted About Five Years Ago

It's a big weekend for the Clinton Maroons boys basketball squad who is off to the team's best start in nearly two decades.
 
The Maroons start the weekend tonight in Shelbyville to meet up with the Central Illinois Conference's leaders and then plays at home in the night-cap of the New Year's Shootout at Clinton High School.
 
The Rams sit atop the conference at 12-2 overall while Clinton is 8-3, the conference's third best out of conference mark. It will be the conference opener for both squads.
 
The Maroons will host 4-5 BCC Saturday night at 7:30 pm. You can hear the action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com. 

Blues Double Up Vegas

Posted About Five Years Ago

Paul Stastny broke a third-period tie with his eighth goal of the season, Carter Hutton continued his hot play in goal and St. Louis beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 on Thursday night.
 
Alexander Steen also scored for the Blues, who won their third straight. Hutton made 32 saves, including two tough stops early in the third while the game was tied.
 
Erik Haula scored for Vegas, which had its NHL expansion record eight-game winning streak snapped. Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves but lost for the first time in six starts.
 
Stastny's first goal in 12 games gave the Blues a 2-1 lead at 5:58 of the third period. Stastny poked in his own rebound after Fleury lost sight of it.
 
Steen gave the Blues a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. It was his second goal in 23 games and his first non-empty-net goal since Nov. 16 at Edmonton.
 
The tally also tied Steen with Keith Tkachuk for eighth on the Blues' career points list with 427.
 
Fleury kept Vegas within a goal by making several saves during a prolonged flurry by Steen's line early in the second period.
 
Haula tied it on a one-timer from James Neal midway through the second. A check from former Blue David Perron created the turnover that led to the Vegas goal.
 
Hutton kept the game tied with a glove save on Neal early in the third period. He then ranged way out of the crease to stall Alex Tuch's potential breakaway.
 
Hutton also stood tall late, making four saves in the game's final minute as the Golden Knights made a final push with the extra attacker.
 
The Blues play at Philadelphia on Saturday.

Sages Return Action Saturday Afternooon

Posted About Five Years Ago

Fresh off their second straight third place finish in the Holiday Hoopla Tournament at Monticello High School, the Sages will play host to Olympia Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm.
 
While the two squads are in the Illini Prairie Conference, the matchup Saturday will not count towards their conference record.
 
The two squads were seeking a final game during the scheduling process and decided they would meet ahead of conference play in a non-conference format.
 
The Sages enter action 8-1 overall and will have a week between games when they tip at 2:30 Saturday from Miller Gym at Monticello High School. They were recently ranked 8th in the first poll of 2018 in Class 2A following their first loss of the season to Ridgeview, the top team on 1A. 
 
The Spartans enter action at 6-7 overall.
 
The teams conference matchup will be the final game of conference play later in February.
 
Hear all the action Saturday afternoon on 95.9 FM WEZC and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Dodgers, White Sox, Royals Make Three Team Trade

Posted About Five Years Ago

The NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers have acquired left-handed reliever Scott Alexander from Kansas City in a three-team trade that also included the Chicago White Sox.
 
The White Sox got veteran relievers Luis Avilan and Joakim Soria and cash. The Dodgers also obtained minor league infielder Jake Peter and the Royals added a pair of minor leaguers in the deal Thursday.
 
The 28-year-old Alexander emerged as a key pitcher for the Royals last season, going 5-4 with four saves and a 2.48 ERA in 58 games. The Dodgers lost durable Brandon Morrow from their bullpen when he signed with the Chicago Cubs, and lefty Tony Watson became a free agent.
 
Avilan was 2-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 61 games last season for the Dodgers. The 28-year-old lefty struck out 52 in 46 innings.
 
Soria was 4-3 with one save and a 3.70 ERA in 59 games for the Royals last season. The 33-year-old righty has 204 career saves.
 
The 24-year-old Peter hit a combined .279 at Double-A and Triple-A in the White Sox organization.
 
Kansas City got 24-year-old starter Trevor Oaks, a righty who went 4-3 with 3.83 ERA at Triple-A for the Dodgers, and 23-year-old infielder Erick Mejia, a switch-hitter who spent most of the season at Double-A for Los Angeles, batting .278 with 28 stolen bases overall in the minors.

Bears Interview Vikings DC Edwards for Coaching Job

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Chicago Bears say they have interviewed Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator George Edwards for their coaching job.
 
The 50-year-old Edwards has coached 28 seasons - 20 in the NFL - and has been Minnesota's defensive coordinator since 2014. The NFC North champion Vikings gave up a league-low 275.9 yards and 15.8 points per game. They were also second against the run and the pass.
 
The interview with Edwards in Minnesota on Thursday was the Bears' second since they fired John Fox this week. Chicago also met with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio at the team's headquarters on Wednesday.
 
Fox was let go after posting a 14-34 record in three years and a .292 winning percentage that ranks as the second-lowest in franchise history. The Bears were 5-11 this past season.

Clinton Lady Maroons Defeat Tri-Valley

Posted About Five Years Ago

In a game heard on WHOW, the Clinton Lady Maroons defeated the Tri-Valley Lady Vikings by a score of 42-27 on Thursday night. The Lady Maroons were led by senior Alyssa Saulsbery with 12 points. Freshman Kaile Beck was named the Country Financial representative Brad James Maroons Player of the Game for chipping in with 12 points.

 

For Tri-Valley, they were led by junior Libbie Kussmann with 10 points.

 

With the win, the Lady Maroons improve to 7-11 on the season and Tri-Valley falls to 2-14.

 

Tune in Thursday, January 11, as the Lady Maroons take on Tuscola. You can hear the game live on the Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW, online at dewittdailynews.com, and on the WHOW app.

Blackhawks Pull Away From Rangers

Posted About Five Years Ago

Patrick Sharp broke a tie early in the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night.
 
Nick Schmaltz, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane also scored, and Jeff Glass made 23 saves. The 32-year-old Glass made his third straight start with Corey Crawford on injured reserved.
 
Nick Holden and Mika Zibanejad scored for New York in the Rangers' second regulation loss at home since Nov. 28.
 
Sharp, a three-time Cup winner with Chicago who returned this season after spending the previous two years in Dallas, scored at 2:24 of the third when his wrist shot sailed past goalie Henrik Lundqvist's glove.
 
Toews and Kane had empty-net goals in the final minute.
 
Hinostroza opened the scoring with 3:51 left in the first period. After an offensive zone faceoff win, Toews retrieved a loose puck in the corner and slipped a backhand pass to Hinostroza.
 
The Rangers tied it two minutes later when Nick Holden fired a slap shot from the right point past Glass.
 
Chicago took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Nick Schmaltz converted a breakaway. Rangers defenseman, Marc Staal, inadvertently put the puck in his own net before knocking the net off the moorings.
 
Zibanejad tied it on a one-timer with 7:28 to go in the period.
 
The Blackhawks host Vegas on Friday night.

Bradley Wins; Illinois, Illinois State Lose Wednesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Minnesota Holds Off Illinois
 
Jordan Murphy had 17 points and 17 rebounds while Nate Mason added 17 points and 6 assists as Minnesota defeated Illinois 77-67 on Wednesday.
 
All five starters scored in double figures for Minnesota (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten). Amir Coffey had 16 points, Dupree McBrayer scored 12, and Reggie Lynch finished with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.
 
Leron Black led Illinois (10-6, 0-3) with 14 points, all in the second half, while Trent Frazier added 12. The Illini shot a season-low 35 percent from the floor, including a 1-for-19 stretch to open the game.
 
Murphy, the Big Ten's scoring and rebounding leader, had 11 boards by halftime as he extended the nation's longest double-double streak to 16 games.
 
Minnesota scored the game's first 11 points as the Illini missed their first 11 shots. The Gophers run eventually stretched to 17-2, capped by two long Mason passes that led to dunks by Murphy and Coffey.
 
Mason returned after missing Minnesota's last game recovering from a sprained ankle he suffered on Dec. 23 against Florida Atlantic. He didn't miss a beat, shooting 6-for-13 from the field and hitting three 3-pointers on the night.
 
Mark Alstork hit a 3-pointer with 7:38 to go in the first half, the only 3-pointer the Illini made out of 13 first-half attempts. They finally concentrated on working the ball inside in the latter stages of the half and Greg Eboigbodin scored eight points to help cut the halftime deficit to 39-26.
 
Illinois played much of the first half without Black, who picked up his second foul just three minutes into the game. The junior forward, who averages a team-high 14.8 points per game, ended the first half scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting in just five minutes.
 
Minnesota led by 15 when the Illini went on a 13-2 run midway in the second half to climb back into the game. The key play was a steal and 3-pointer by Frazier off a sloppy Minnesota inbounds pass.
 
The Gophers appeared to get some breathing room when Mason corralled a McBrayer airball in the corner and drained a 3-pointer to make it 68-60. But the Gophers missed three of four free throws before Lynch hit a short jumper and Mason found Murphy for a dunk to put it away.
 
The Illini opened Big Ten play in early December with a pair of overtime losses to Northwestern and Maryland and started a stretch of four road games in their next five by missing 18 of their first 19 shots.
 
Illinois is at Michigan on Saturday. 
 
>>Bradley Rallies Past Valpo
 
Donte Thomas scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Bradley beat Valparaiso 80-71 in Missouri Valley Conference action on Wednesday night.
Koch Bar and Nate Kennell added 14 points apiece for the Braves (12-4, 2-1). Darrell Brown had 12 points and seven assists and Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to his six points.
 
The teams were tied 33-all at intermission and Bradley pulled away on a 16-11 run early in the second half to lead 49-44 with 13:03 to play. The Braves led the rest of the way.
 
Valparaiso closed to 70-65 with 2:30 left but Thomas, Brown, Kennell and Jayden Hodgson combined to hit 8 of 8 from the line after that to help keep the Braves on top.
 
Tevonn Walker scored with 25 points and seven rebounds for the Crusaders (9-7, 0-3) who have lost four straight. Markus Golder added 11 points off the bench.
 
>>Drake Trounces ISU
 
Reed Timmer hit six 3-pointers and finished with 28 points and Nick McGlynn had his fourth double-double of the season to help Drake beat Illinois State 87-62 on Wednesday night for the Bulldogs' fourth win in a row.
McGlynn finished with 11 points, a career-high 13 rebounds and two blocks. De'Antae McMurray had 12 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and Jalen Gibbs also scored 12 for Drake (9-7, 3-0 Missouri Valley).
 
McGlynn's dunk about seven minutes in made it 10-9 and the Bulldogs led the rest of the way. Drake scored 11 of the final 14 points, including seven by Timmer, to take a 40-26 lead into the break and Illinois State trailed by double figures throughout the second half.
 
Keyshawn Evans scored 13 points and Milik Yarbrough added 11 points, five rebounds, seven assists and two blocks for Illinois State (8-7, 2-1). The Redbirds tied their lowest scoring output of the season and had their four-game win streak snapped.
 
Drake hit 15 of 30 from 3-point range.

Bulls, Pacers Lose Wednesday

Posted About Five Years Ago

>>Raptors Beat Bulls
 
DeMar DeRozan had 35 points, Delon Wright set career highs with 25 points and 13 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat the Chicago Bulls 124-115 on Wednesday night.
 
DeRozan came up big again after scoring a franchise-record 52 points in a win over Milwaukee on New Year's Day. Held to nine in the first half this time, he scored 18 in the third quarter. He also shot 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and converted all 10 free throws.
 
Wright had his first career double-double and hit four 3s.
 
Serge Ibaka scored 16 points for Toronto. Fred VanVleet added 13 and the Raptors pulled away in the fourth quarter for their ninth win in 11 games.
 
Justin Holiday led Chicago with 26 points, and Lauri Markkanen added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Nikola Mirotic scored 20, but the Bulls dropped their third straight.
 
Chicago was leading 92-90 early in the fourth when Toronto went on a 16-2 run. Kyle Lowry hit a 3 to make it 106-94 with 6:39 remaining, and the Raptors remained in control the rest of the way.
 
The Bulls visit the Dallas Mavericks on Friday.
 
>>Bucks Get By Pacers
 
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 31 points and 10 rebounds before getting a well-earned break in the fourth quarter, and the Bucks pulled away for a 122-101 win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.
 
Antetokounmpo had his way around the rim with his usual array of dunks and layups, shooting 12 of 18. He clinched his double-double with 1:01 left in the third quarter, passing an offensive rebound to Thon Maker in the corner.
Maker hit an open 3-pointer to extend what had been a 10-point halftime lead to a 93-74 edge. It was one of the Bucks' five 3s in the third to put the game out of reach.
 
Khris Middleton added 27 points, while Malcolm Brogdon added 17 off the bench for the Bucks.
 
The lead was so safe that Kidd rested Antetokounmpo for the entire fourth quarter. The 6-foot-11 star played just 29 minutes, nine fewer than his season average.
 
Minus leading scorer Victor Oladipo (24.9 points per game) for a fourth straight game because of a knee injury, the Pacers couldn't keep up with Antetokounmpo's athleticism on both ends of the floor .
 
Domantas Sabonis had a career-high 24 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Indiana, which lost its season-high fifth straight. Darren Collison added 17 points.
 
The Pacers shot just 20 percent (3 of 15) from 3-point range.
 
The Pacers open a four-game homestand on Saturday by hosting the Chicago Bulls.

Bears Interview Fangio

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Chicago Bears say they have interviewed defensive coordinator Vic Fangio for their head coaching job.
 
The interview on Wednesday was the first for the Bears since they fired John Fox two days earlier.
 
In his three seasons as Chicago's defensive coordinator, Fangio has helped transform a unit that ranked among the worst in franchise history prior to his arrival. The Bears' defense ranked 10th overall this season despite injuries to several key players, including linebacker Leonard Floyd.
 
Fangio was defensive coordinator for Carolina (1995-98), Indianapolis (1999-2001), Houston (2002-05) and San Francisco (2011-14).
 
Fox was let go after posting a 14-34 record in three years and a .292 winning percentage that ranks as the second-lowest in franchise history. The Bears were 5-11 this past season.

Maroons Drop LeRoy

Posted About Five Years Ago

Clinton held LeRoy to single digit outputs in the first two quarters and ran away from the Panthers for a 63-50 non-conference win Tuesday night in boys basketball action at LeRoy.
 
Austin Baker paced the Maroons with 16 points and Seth Westfall added 13 points. Chase Reynolds also added 11 points as the Maroons were balanced in the scoring column Tuesday night.
 
Nick Perry led the Panthers with 18 points and Will Dooley chipped in with 10 points.
 
After the game, head coach of the Maroons, Clay Haurberg said quote - "We got our to a good start in the first half.. We played solid defense and made them take tough shots. We did a really good job of keeping Perry out of his rhythm (4 first half points). Offensively we were getting inside looks and transition baskets which helped us stretch our lead. They (LeRoy) made a really strong run at us in the second half, as Perry got into a groove and we had a few too many turnovers. We were able to maintain our composure and hit our foul shots in the fourth (7 of 8) to come away with the win."
 
The Maroons improve to 8-3 overall and the Panthers drop to the same record. 
 
The Maroons have a busy weekend as they open Central Illinois Conference play with Shelbyville at Clinton High School Friday then host the Saints of Bloomington Central Catholic Saturday in the New Year's Shootout at Clinton High School.
 
Hear Saturday's action on The Big 1520 AM/92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.

Blues Outlast Devils

Posted About Five Years Ago

Carter Hutton stopped 24 shots through overtime and both attempts he faced in the shootout to help the Blues to a 3-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night.
 
Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko scored in the tiebreaker to give St. Louis its ninth straight win against New Jersey, dating back to a 7-1 loss to the Devils on Jan. 21, 2014. Tarasenko and Vladimir Sobotka scored in regulation for the Blues, who have a 30-11 scoring edge during the win streak.
 
Hutton improved to 7-3-0 on the season. He made an eye-popping pad save on Marcus Johansson with 2:09 left in overtime, and then stopped Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri in the shootout.
 
Nico Hischier and Hall scored for New Jersey. Keith Kinkaid made 27 stops through overtime, but failed on both shootout shots. The Devils have lost three straight.
 
Hall tied the score at 2-2 by banking a shot off the back of Hutton from a wide angle at 1:17 of the third period. The power play goal was the first in 24 chances for the Devils.
 
Jesper Bratt appeared to give New Jersey a 3-2 lead six minutes into the third but the goal was disallowed due to Johansson being offside on the entry after a four-minute video review.
 
Tarasenko scored his 17th goal of the season midway through the opening period, tying Schenn for the team lead and giving St. Louis a 1-0 lead.
 
Hischier tipped in a shot by Sami Vatanen to tie it with 7 1/2 minutes left in the second period.
 
Sobotka then put St. Louis ahead with just under two minutes to go in the period.
 
Blues: Host Vegas on Thursday night.
 

Michigan State No. 1 in Coaches Poll

Posted About Five Years Ago

There's a new No. 1 team in college basketball. A week filled with upsets and previously unbeaten squads falling has shaken up the top of the latest USA Today Coaches Poll and ushered in Michigan State's first appearance at the top of the poll this season.
 
The Spartans (14-1) survived an upset-heavy week that saw the three undefeated teams in the sport all fall on Saturday, while they knocked off Cleveland State and Savannah State by a combined margin of 92 points last week. They will face an uptick in competition this week, however, as they resume Big Ten play on Thursday by welcoming Maryland into town Thursday before a daunting trip to Columbus, Ohio, to face Ohio State.
 
Rounding out the new-look top five behind Michigan State this week is Duke, Villanova, Xavier and West Virginia. 

Packers Moving on From Thompson as GM

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Green Bay Packers, one of the most stable franchises in football, are apparently ready to transition to a new era by shaking up their front office.
 
Packers general manager Ted Thompson wasn't expected to be on the hot seat, but on Monday night, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported that Thompson will transition to a new role with the team and the Packers will search for a new GM. 
 
Thompson has been the Packers' GM since 2005 and he's posted a 125-82-1 record.

Georgia Rallies Past Oklahoma in Epic Rose Bowl

Posted About Five Years Ago

Sony Michel burst through the line for a 27-yard touchdown run to give No. 3 Georgia a 54-48 victory Monday night against No. 2 Oklahoma, winning the first overtime Rose Bowl and sending the Bulldogs to the College Football Playoff championship game.
 
Michel, who had a fumble in the fourth quarter returned for a go-ahead Oklahoma touchdown, ran for 181 yards and three scores for the Bulldogs (13-1), but none bigger than the last one in the second overtime.
 
In the final game of one of his great career, Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield threw for 287 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a touchdown pass that gave the Sooners a 17-point lead with 6 seconds left in the first half.
 
But the Heisman Trophy winner could not get the Sooners into the end zone in the first overtime when a touchdown would have ended the game.
 
The first overtime Rose Bowl was also the highest scoring, surpassing last year's 52-49 USC victory against Penn State. 
 
After an offside penalty on Georgia gave Oklahoma a first down on third-and-five in the second OT possession, the Sooners stalled again and Austin Seibert came out for a 27-yard field goal. Leaping through the line, Lorenzo Carter got his outstretched hand on the kick and the ball fluttered down short of the uprights.
 
Any score would have ended it for the Bulldogs, and on the second play Michel slipped one tackle and was home free. 
 
Michel and his running mate Nick Chubb were awesome for Georgia. Chubb ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, including a 2-yarder on a direct snap with 55 seconds left in regulation to tie it.
 
Both teams settled for field goals in the first overtime, first Georgia's Rodrigo Blankenship from 38 to make it 48-45.
 
Then it was Mayfield's turn. A touchdown would have sent the Sooners to Atlanta, but on a third-and-2 from the 17 Georgia All-America linebacker Roquan Smith nailed Jordan Smallwood a yard short of the first down.
 
Seibert kicked a 33-yarder and the Bulldogs and Sooners played on, but not for much longer.

Rangers Hold Off Sabres in Annual Outdoor Game

Posted About Five Years Ago

J.T. Miller scored a power-play goal 2:43 into the extra period to lift the Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday in the NHL's 10th Winter Classic at Citi Field.
 
The Rangers went on the power play 2:15 into overtime when Jacob Josefson was whistled for tripping Jimmy Vesey. On the winner, Kevin Shattenkirk fired a shot that rebounded right to Miller, who put it in.
Paul Carey and Michael Grabner scored in the first period for the Rangers, who improved to a league-best 4-0 in outdoor games during the season. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 31 shots to help New York improve to 6-2-3 in its last 11 overall.
 
Rasmus Ristolainen had a goal and an assist, Sam Reinhart also scored and Kyle Okposo had two assists for the Sabres. Robin Lehner finished with 39 saves for Buffalo, which has just 10 wins this season but is 4-3-5 in its last 12 games.
 

Bears fire coach John Fox after a 5-11 season

Posted About Five Years Ago

The Chicago Bears have fired John Fox after a 5-11 season, ending one of the least successful coaching stints in team history.
 
The Bears announced the move Monday, one day after a loss at NFC North champion Minnesota.
 
Fox was 14-34 in his three years with Chicago, a .292 winning percentage that ranks as the second lowest for the Bears. Only Abe Gibron was worse - 11-30-1 (.274) from 1972-74.
 
Chicago has four consecutive losing seasons - each with 10 or more losses. The Bears haven't finished above .500 since they let Lovie Smith go following a 10-6 finish in 2012 and haven't been to the playoffs since 2010.

Michigan State New No. 1 in College Basketball

Posted About Five Years Ago

An unhinged weekend that saw the majority of conference play kick off across the country did not disappoint, as three of the final unbeaten teams in college basketball fell on Saturday — including Villanova, the No.1 team in last week's AP Top 25 poll. 
 
As a result, the top of the rankings is a mired mess with a makeover and a new name at the top.
Welcome to the No. 1 spot, Sparty!
 
Michigan State (14-1) began the season 1-1 but hasn't lost since, steadily idling in the top 5 all season before pouncing in the middle of the madness this weekend. The Spartans face a hobbled Maryland team Thursday as they look to defend their spot atop the standings.
 
Behind Michigan State is Duke (13-1). Villanova and Arizona State each fell to No. 3 and N. 4, respectively, after watching their unblemished records slip away this weekend. Rounding out the top five is Xavier, which moved up one spot from last week.
 

McCollum scores 32, leads Blazers over Bulls 124-120 in OT

Posted About Five Years Ago

Monday night, McCollum scored 25 of his 32 points after halftime, including the tiebreaking basket with 56.5 seconds remaining in overtime, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Chicago Bulls 124-120.
 
Al-Farouq Aminu added a season-high 24 points and Evan Turner also had his season best with 22 for Portland, which was without leading scorer Damian Lilliard for a fifth straight game.
 
Kris Dunn scored 22 points and Nikola Mirotic had 18 points off the bench for Chicago, which blew a late lead for a second straight game. The Bulls lost for only the fourth time in 14 games since Mirotic returned to the lineup.
 
Though he missed his first seven shots, McCollum was pivotal as Portland rallied from a six-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter. McCollum scored the final four points in regulation to tie the score at 112 and answered after Lauri Markannen, who finished with 19 points, made a jumper from the corner that tied it at 120 with 1:14 left in overtime.
 
McCollum then made his short floater and added a pair of late free throws.
 
Led by Mirotic and Bobby Portis, the Bulls' bench helped them overcome a sluggish start. Each had nine points in a second quarter in which Chicago's reserves outscored Portland's 18-7.
 
But both were on the bench for the final 7 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter and all of overtime. Portis finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
Bulls: Host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night.

Black, Williams help Illini hold off Grand Canyon, 62-58

Posted About Five Years Ago

Leron Black scored a game-high 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Illinois past Grand Canyon University 62-58 on Saturday.
 
Da'Monte Williams only scored 3 points for the Illini, but he made them count. With Illinois up by one with 17 seconds left, Williams sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to seal the victory for the Illini.
 
Trent Frazier scored 14 points and Michael Finke added 9 for Illinois (10-5).
 
Grand Canyon (10-5) was led by Keonta Vernon's 14 points, while Alessandro Lever scored 13 and Oscar Frayer added 10 points.
 
The Antelopes led 32-27 at the half. The lead changed hands five times in the first half.
 
Illinois went 25-57 from the field (44 percent), while Grand Canyon went 23-64 (36 percent). The Illini out-rebounded the Antelopes 44-33.

Illinois State holds on for 84-81 OT win against Indiana St

Posted About Five Years Ago

Milik Yarbrough scored 29 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds, Phil Fayne scored 17 with 11 rebounds and Illinois State beat Indiana State 84-81 in overtime on Sunday.
 
Yarbrough's jumper to start overtime put Illinois State (8-6, 2-0 Missouri Valley) ahead. Indiana State's Brenton Scott made a pair of free throws to tie it at 73 before Taylor Bruninga nailed a 3 with 3:32 to play.
 
Indiana State (6-8, 1-1) missed four of its final five shots, one on a Yarbrough block of Scott, who drove for a layup with three seconds left and the Sycamores trailing 84-81.
 
Fayne grabbed the rebound, was immediately fouled and went to the free-throw line and missed both. Clayton Hughes grabbed the second miss but missed a last-second heave.
 
Fayne's tipin with 31 seconds left in regulation tied it at 70. Illinois State's Madison Williams blocked Jordan Barnes' 3-point attempt, and Hughes missed a jumper after gathering the offensive rebound.
 
Barnes led Indiana State with 17 points and Scott scored 15.

Bradley run sends Braves past N. Iowa 72-53

Posted About Five Years Ago

Darrell Brown scored 24 points, Nate Kennell scored 14 and Donte Thomas grabbed 10 rebounds and Bradley used the second half to pull away from Northern Iowa 72-53 on Sunday.
 
The Panthers led 33-32 at halftime before Bradley (11-4, 1-1 Missouri Valley) exploded with 22-3 run to put the Braves ahead, 61-45 with 7:49 to play. Brown buried three 3s and a jumper during the run and Elijah Childs added a 3 and a jumper.
 
Northern Iowa (8-6, 0-2) made just six field goals in the second half and finished 18-of-49 shooting (37 percent). The Braves went up 8-2 before Northern Iowa tied it at 11 with Spencer Haldeman's 3 with 12:46 before halftime.
 
Ryan Stipanovich made a 3 and Kennell had a pair of free throws to put Bradley up 24-17 before Northern Iowa closed the half with a 16-8 run.
 
Isaiah Brown led Northern Iowa with 17 points and Haldeman scored 11.

Lions beat Packers 35-11 and Caldwell stays calm, collected

Posted About Five Years Ago

Matthew Stafford threw three touchdown passes and Detroit beat the turnover-prone and short-handed Green Bay Packers 35-11 Sunday in a matchup of teams out of the playoff race.
 
The Packers (7-9) have a losing record for the first time since 2008, which is also the last time they didn't earn a spot in the playoffs. Their chances this season were crushed by Aaron Rodgers missing nine games with a collarbone injury,
 
Green Bay, without several banged-up players, gave away its chances to close with a win by turning it over three times in the first half to help the Lions lead 20-3 at halftime.
 
The Packers surprised Detroit by opening with an onside kick they recovered, but didn't take advantage because Jamaal Williams bobbled a pass that was picked off by Jarrad Davis. They did take a 3-0 lead on Mason Crosby's 41-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but Detroit tied it on the ensuing possession and took control in the second quarter.
 
Stafford threw a go-ahead, 54-yard pass to Kenny Golladay. After Green Bay's Donatello Brown allowed a punt to hit him, the Lions recovered to set up Stafford's 3-yard pass to Marvin Jones to put Detroit up 17-3. Stafford threw a 71-yard TD pass to Golden Tate late in the third, giving the Lions a 27-3 lead.
 
Brett Hundley threw 17-yard TD pass and 2-point conversion to Randall Cobb to pull the Packers within 16 early in the fourth period. Hundley was 14 of 24 for 172 yards with two interceptions and a fumble. He was replaced by Joe Callahan late in the game.
 
Stafford was 20 of 29 for 323 yards without a turnover. He caught a 2-point conversion pass after Ameer Abdullah, who had just run for a TD, took a direct snap and pitched it to Tate, who easily connected with Stafford in the end zone to put Detroit up 35-11 midway through the fourth quarter.

Vikings get to 13-3 for playoff bye by beating Bears 23-10

Posted About Five Years Ago

Minnesota's defense turned in another dominant performance and Latavius Murray rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns, helping the Vikings secure a first-round bye for the playoffs with a 23-10 victory over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
 
Stefon Diggs caught six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown for the Vikings (13-3), who reached 13 wins for only the second time in the history of the 57-year-old franchise after holding a second straight opponent without an offensive touchdown.
 
Mitchell Trubisky finished his rookie season with a turnover-free game, completing 20 of 36 passes for 178 yards. He failed, however, to guide the Bears (5-11) across the goal line despite 11 plays from the 10-yard line or closer in the fourth quarter.
 
The Bears are 1-5 against each of their three NFC North foes under Fox.
 
After a 31-24 loss at Carolina on Dec. 10, the Vikings took advantage of teams playing out the string in the last three games to get set for the playoffs.
 
Murray has rather quietly been one of their most productive players down the stretch, helping the Vikings move the chains and work the clock while the defense holds the lead.

Beal's 39 points lead Wizards to 114-110 win over Bulls

Posted About Five Years Ago

Bradley Beal delivered when the Wizards needed him most.
 
Beal scored 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter to lead Washington to a 114-110 win over the Chicago Bulls on Sunday.
 
Beal scored 15 straight points in the fourth as the Wizards rallied from an eight-point deficit early in the period. He also had nine rebounds and tied a career high with nine assists.
 
Beal became the second player this year to have at least 39 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook had 40 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists on Dec. 29.
 
ikola Mirotic scored 21 points to lead Chicago, which had won 10 of its previous 12. Kris Dunn had 19 points and 11 assists.
 
David Nwaba's two free throws with 1:26 to play gave Chicago a 108-107 lead, and Dunn hit a jumper with 54 seconds remaining.
 
Wall's three-point play with 29.4 seconds left put the Wizards up 112-110. After Beal missed two free throws, Washington got the rebound and Wall added two free throws with 9.1 seconds to play.
 
Wall had 21 points, nine assists, six rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
The difference was 3-point shooting. Washington was 16 for 36 (44.4 percent) while Chicago was 8 for 35 (22.9 percent). The Bulls missed 17 of 20 3-point attempts in the first half.

Giordano scores in OT to lift Flames over Blackhawks

Posted About Five Years Ago

Mark Giordano scored 52 seconds into overtime to lift the Calgary Flames over the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Sunday night.
 
Matthew Tkachuk had two goals and Sean Monahan also scored for Calgary, which had lost five of seven home games. Mike Smith turned away 34 shots.
 
Leading 1-0 after the first period thanks to a buzzer beater by Tkachuk, Calgary increased its lead to two when Tkachuk scored his second power-play goal of the night at 4:42, steering in Johnny Gaudreau's centering pass.
 
The Flames took a 3-0 lead 1:05 seconds later with Gaudreau again orchestrating the setup, this time to Monahan in front, who snapped his nine-game goalless drought.
 
Chicago answered right back with two quick goals.
 
Oesterle has goals in two straight games. He went the first 36 games his career without a goal until scoring in the 4-3 win over Edmonton on Friday.
 
Fifty-six seconds later, Oesterle was in the middle of things again, his point shot was kicked out by Smith but Toews buried the rebound.
 
With Corey Crawford (upper body) sidelined, Glass, a Calgary native, made his second-straight and second career start for Chicago and was solid again.

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