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Second-ranked Hawks suffer second loss

erich murphy, pontiac daily leader
·4 min read
Dylan Bazzell takes a scoop shot against Teutopolis Saturday. Bazzell and the Hawks had a hard time making shots as they lost 60-35 to the Wooden Shoes.
Dylan Bazzell takes a scoop shot against Teutopolis Saturday. Bazzell and the Hawks had a hard time making shots as they lost 60-35 to the Wooden Shoes.

FAIRBURY — Less than 24 hours after surviving overtime against No. 9 Pontiac, second-ranked Prairie Central lost for just the second time this season to Teutopolis in a nonconference boys' basketball contest Saturday.

Prairie Central got past Pontiac in an Illini Prairie Conference tilt Friday night and then had to face a team similar in nature on Saturday in the Wooden Shoes. The end result was a one-sided 60-35 loss for the Hawks.

T-town was ranked earlier in the season but ran through a rough spell after the holidays. On Saturday, the Shoes were looking like the team that deserved their early season accolades.

Leading the charge for the Wooden Shoes was Brendan Niebrugge, who finished with 22 points. He got on the board with a 3-pointer that broke a 9-all tie late in the first period. It started a personal 13-point run for the senior guard and put the Shoes on top for good.

The run ended with a pair of 3-pointers that gave the visitors a 22-15 advantage with 2:52 left in the first half.

Tyler Curl of Prairie Central attacks the basket as Joey Niebrugge of Teutopolis trails on defense Saturday. Curl led the Hawks with 9 points in their 60-35 loss.
Tyler Curl of Prairie Central attacks the basket as Joey Niebrugge of Teutopolis trails on defense Saturday. Curl led the Hawks with 9 points in their 60-35 loss.

Prairie Central was having trouble shooting, a lot could be attributed to tired legs after having to go overtime the night before. The Hawks weren't able to string more than two scores together all afternoon.

Prairie Central's Camden Palmore looks for an open teammate in Saturday's basketball game with Teutopolis.
Prairie Central's Camden Palmore looks for an open teammate in Saturday's basketball game with Teutopolis.

When it was all over, the Hawks (19-2) were left with no scorers reaching double figures. Tyler Curl led the way with 9 points and Drew Fehr chipped in 8. Camden Palmore added 6 points, Dylan Bazzell threw in 5 and Caleb Decker chalked up 3 points. Gage Steidinger and Avery Elder scored 2 points apiece.

Caleb Siemer added 13 points for Teutopolis (16-4).

Peotone 69, Prairie Central 42

PEOTONE — It was last postseason where Prairie Central last saw Peotone. The Hawks defeated the Blue Devils in the girls' basketball final at Reed-Custer. The win sent the Hawks to the Peotone Sectional.

On Saturday, Prairie Central made another trip to Peotone and came home with the same result. This time it was a 69-42 loss to the home team.

The Blue Devils took control of the game in the third quarter when they outscored the Hawks 26-8. The game was tied at 29-29 at the break, but Peotone's six 3-pointers in the third was the difference. PC managed just five points in the fourth frame.

Chloe Sisco scored 19 points, 16 of which came in the first half, to lead Prairie Central. Lucy Whitfill added 9 points while Carmen Gradberg threw in 6 markers. Mariya Sisco collected 4 points and 10 rebounds while Marissa Collins and Sawyer Ashman tallied 2 points apiece.

HOIC-McLean County

BLOOMINGTON — Being the top seed for the McLean County Tournament was not a good thing. Being second or third didn't help either. For this year's edition of the event also known as the Heart of Illinois Conference tournament, it took a fourth seed and a fifth seed to walk away with the championship trophy.

In the boys' version, No. 5 Fieldcrest made it through to win it all with a 48-44 victory over No. 2 Eureka. The Knights got their after bumping off top seed Lexington in the semifinals. The Hornets dropped No. 3 Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley to reach the finals.

Lexington did finish on top with a 49-39 victory over GCMS in the third-place game.

In the girls' event, fourth-seed Dee-Mack rolled over No. 2 Tremont 52-17 to win the title. Dee-Mac upset No. 1 Fieldcrest in the semifinals and Tremont got past No. 3 Eureka. The Knights handled the Hornets 56-48 in the third-place game.

In consolation play, El Paso-Gridley came away with fifth place in the boys' tournament with a 64-34 drubbing of Heyworth. The Hornets led 14-13 after one period but the Titans found a groove and road it to leads of 28-22 at the half and 45-24 through three periods. A 23-point run for EPG was the key.

Jonah Funk led the Titans (11-10) with 24 points and 9 rebounds. Micah Meiss added 19 points.

Ridgeview defeated Tri-Valley 54-46 in the consolation final.

In the girls' event, Tri-Valley defeated Heyworth 54-29 in the fifth-place contest and Fisher claimed a 47-41 decision over Ridgeview in the consolation game.

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Second-ranked Prairie Central Hawks loses to Teutopolis