Everything was groovin' for Pontiac in 81-50 victory over Coal City
COAL CITY — You can't say Pontiac got off to a slow start, but the Indians did find themselves trailing after the first quarter of their nonconference contest against host Coal City on Friday night.
The Tribe rallied after that and roll to an 81-50 victory over the Coalers.
The win helps send a message for the postseason. PTHS and Coal City are in the same sub-sectional, so this win gives the Indians a boost when it comes to seeding.
Pontiac fell behind 14-12 after the opening lap. Henry Brummel drilled a pair of 3-pointers while Riley Weber and Michael Kuska each hit treys in the quarter.
The trio of Brummel, Weber and Logan Barnett did all the scoring for the Indians in the second as they found a groove. Barnett chalked up seven markers in the frame while Brummel and Weber each scored six as PTHS took a 31-25 lead into the break.
That balance was evident in the third period, as well. Pontiac put up 28 points with five different players scoring. Kerr Bauman tallied eight markers to lead the way and Brummel tossed in seven.
The big thing was PTHS was getting hacked and converting on it opportunities. The Tribe drained 11 of 12 charity tosses in the quarter alone.
The 28-12 difference in the third gave the Indians a 59-37 lead at the quarter pole.
Drew Wayman made the most of his playing time in the final frame with 12 points as the Indians pulled away.
Brummel led Pontiac (15-6), ranked 10th this week in Class 2A, with 22 points. Weber added 14 and Wayman scored 12 points. Barnett chipped in 11 markers, Bauman contributed 8 and Kuska scored 7. Seth Branscum scored 3 points and Cam Fenton and Riley Johnson each had 2 points.
Pontiac was to face Champaign (Centennial) Saturday at the Herscher Shootout.
TCC Tourney
GRANVILLE — Wyatt Thompson became the all-time scoring leader in Dwight boys' basketball history Friday night with a 35-point effort in leading the Trojans to third place at the Tri-County Conference Tournament at Putnam County High School.
Thompson's outburst included 18 points coming in the fourth quarter as Dwight edged Roanoke-Benson 52-48. Thompson was a unanimous all-tournament selection.
Thompson scored nine points in the second period and had 15 in the first half as the Trojans held a 23-17 lead. The difference was 31-27 after three periods as Thompson scored just two points.
But the new all-time DTHS career leading scorer erupted in the final eight minutes to pour in 18 points, including making 8 of 11 free throws as DTHS held the Rockets back.
Besides the 35-point effort from Thompson, Dwight got 9 points from Luke Gallet, Dawson Carr added 5 points, Joey Starks scored 2 points and Jack Duffy added 1 point.
EPG 67, LeRoy 55
LEROY — El Paso-Gridley shut out host LeRoy in the overtime period to leave town with a 67-55 Heart of Illinois Conference basketball victory Friday.
Jonah Funk finished with a double double in leading the Titans (12-11, 5-4). He scored eight points in the extra period. Funk finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
The leading scorer for EPG was Micah Meiss with 27 points, which included six 3-pointers as well as six assists. Chancesay Maxon hit for 10 points while Mac Raymer and Kamren Schumacher each scored 5 points.
The Titans got out to a 21-16 lead after the first quarter, but the Panthers roared back to hold a 31-28 edge at the half. Each side scored 10 points in the third frame keeping LeRoy up by three at 41-38.
EPG was able to force overtime by outscoring LeRoy 17-14 in the fourth frame. The Titans won the game with a 12-0 blitz in the overtime.
Jack Edmundson had 23 points for LeRoy (9-10, 2-7).
SJO 66, Monticello 53
ST. JOSEPH — Drew Sheppard's third double double of the season wasn't enough to lift past host St. Joseph-Ogden in their Illini Prairie Conference tilt Friday night. The host Spartans came away with a 66-53 victory.
Sheppard scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Sages (13-9, 2-3), who lost an IPC for the second time this week. Trey Welter scored a team-high 23 points.
The Spartans, ranked seventh this week in the AP Class 2A poll, got going early in this game. St. Joe-Ogden outscored Monticello 17-9 in the first period and 18-14 in the second for a 35-23 halftime advantage. The difference was 48-34 through three periods.
Ty Pence led St. Joe-Ogden (18-4, 3-2) with 23 points and Logan Smith added 20.
SATURDAY
Pontiac 70, Centennial 57
HERSCHER — Riley Weber's shooting and Pontiac's defense helped ramp up the momentum in the second half of the Indians' 70-57 nonconference win over Champaign (Centennial) Saturday at the Herscher Shootout.
Weber scored 14 points in the third period alone as the Tribe turned a four-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead over the Class 3A Chargers. Weber finished with 27 points.
The junior southpaw connected on a trio of 3-pointers, three deuces and a pair of free throws in the third quarter. He wasn't the only one scoring as four other Indians recorded tallies in helping PTHS turn a 30-26 halftime deficit to a 51-44 advantage heading into the fourth quarter.
Weber and Henry Brummel each had seven points in the fourth period, including a combined 6 of 7 from the free throw line, to put the game away.
It took Pontiac the first half to find a groove. Weber managed just one field goal and four free throws in the first half. Brummel hit a trio of treys over the first two frames as the Tribe stayed in contention.
Besides Weber's 27, Brummel finished with 18 points for Pontiac (16-6). Drew Wayman, Logan Barnett and Seth Branscum each scored 6 points. Kerr Bauman had 4 points and Michael Kuska threw in 3 markers.
No. 3 Prairie Central 63, No. 11. Beecher 39
GRANT PARK — Prairie Central scored 21 points in the third quarter and the defense held Beecher to 22 points over the final three frames as the third-ranked Hawks posted a 63-39 decision over the 11th-ranked Bobcats Saturday at the Beecher Shootout at Grant Park High School.
Beecher put up 17 points in the first quarter to hold a slim lead at 17-15. Prairie Central's defense then took hold in limiting the hosts to four points in the second frame.
The Hawks were able to get five different players in the scoring column in the second to go in front 29-21 at the intermission. Tyler Curl dropped a pair of 3-pointers in the third as Prairie Central tallied 21 points to pull ahead 50-28.
Curl finished with 16 points to lead Prairie Central (21-2) and Dylan Bazzell tossed in 15. Drew Fehr chipped in 12 points with Gage Steidinger chalking up 8 and Camden Palmore adding 7 points. Gavin Tredennick had 3 points and Avery Elder scored 2 points.
Girls
IPC-Sangamo Shootout
Pontiac 51, Illini Central 40
MONTICELLO — Pontiac was able to put its game away in the fourth quarter by holding Illini Central to three points in a 51-40 victory at the IPC-Sangamo Shootout girls' basketball event Saturday at Monticello.
Bailey Masching was having her way in the first half by scoring 19 points as the Indians built a 28-21 advantage. PTHS led 17-11 after one period.
The Cougars outscored PTHS 16-13 in the third despite Mackenzie Coates' three field goals. But Illini Central was held to a field goal and a free throw down the stretch. Pontiac got four points from Coates, four from Masching and two from Jayonnah Einhaus in the last stanza to put the game away.
Masching finished with 24 points and Coates chipped in 12. Branna Hilleary added 6 points and Makyah Hartfield scored 3 points. Einhaus, Morgan Dewald and Olivia Lindsey scored 2 points apiece.
Pleasant Plains 43, Prairie Central 42
Pleasant Plains rallied in the fourth quarter to slip past Prairie Central 43-42.
The Hawks managed just five points over the final 5:43 of the game as the Cardinals mounted their comeback. Mariya Sisco made a three-point play with 5:43 to go to make it a 40-32 game.
Down eight as the game entered the final five minutes, Plains reeled off a 10-2 run that was capped by an Adi Fraase free throw with eight seconds left to make it 43-42.
Anna Weber scored eight points in the Plains run to lead the rally. She finished with 15 points to pace the Cardinals (18-6).
Chloe Sisco had 16 points to lead the Hawks (17-7). Mariya Sisco contributed 10 points and 9 rebounds while Lucy Whitfill chalked up 8 points and grabbed 8 boards. Marissa Collins and Sawyer Ashman tossed in 3 points apiece and Kelly Wilkey scored 2 points.
The Illini Prairie Conference had a tough day as only Pontiac and Illinois Valley Central posted wins. IVC defeated Williamsville 36-17. Riverton topped Rantoul 48-41 and Maroa-Forsyth rolled past Paxton-Buckley-Loda 63-47. The top game was unbeaten PORTA drubbing Central Catholic 58-26.
Fieldcrest 60, Peotone 42
PEOTONE — Fieldcrest chalked up a signature victory Saturday with a 60-42 win over host Peotone in a nonconference tilt.
It was the even quarters where the Knights really shined in bumping off the fifth-ranked and previously unbeaten Blue Devils. Trailing 16-11 after one period, Fieldcrest rallied with a 21-12 difference in the second for a 32-28 halftime edge.
The Knights were able to keep the Devils in check in the second half. After being outscored 9-8 in the third, Fieldcrest held Peotone to five points in the last lap while putting up 20 for the win.
Kaitlin White led Fieldcrest (23-3) with 18 points. Carolyn Megow scored 15 points and Haley Carver tossed in 11. Riley Burton tallied 8 points with Ashlyn May scoring 4.
Jenna Hunter scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the first half for Peotone (23-1).
This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Everything was groovin' for Pontiac in 81-50 victory over Coal City
