Streator wins 4th straight; Earlville and Serena still undefeated: The Times Area Roundup for Dec. 8

Boys basketball

Streator 77, Coal City 32: At Coal City on Friday, the visiting Bulldogs led 47-15 by halftime en route to their fourth straight victory.

“Great team win,” said Streator coach Beau Doty, whose Bulldogs improved to 5-2 overall and 3-0 in the Illinois Central Eight Conference. “We shot the ball extremely well, but our extra-effort plays and unselfishness really stood out.”

Christian Benning put in 18 points, all in the first half. Quinn Baker and Nolan Lukach added 10 points apiece, with Logan Aukland and Isaiah Weibel scoring eight points each.

Streator continues its three-game ICE road trip Tuesday at Peotone.

Earlville 54, Flanagan-Cornell 51: At Flanagan, the visiting Red Raiders (8-0) remained undefeated with the nonconference victory over the Falcons.

Ryan Browder with 19 points, Adam Waite with 16 points and Griffin Cook with a 12-point, 14-assist double-double led Earlville.

Kesler Collins poured in a game-high 23 points for Flanagan-Cornell, with Logan Ruddy contributing 10.

Serena 80, IMSA 38: At Aurora, the visiting Huskers (8-0, 3-0 Little Ten) remained unbeaten with the conference triumph over Illinois Math & Science Academy.

Richie Armour (10 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) posted a double-double, Tanner Faivre (27 points, seven rebounds, eight assists) knocked on the door of a triple-double, and Hunter Staton added 15 points. Carson Baker and Beau Raikes pitched in nine points each.

Hinckley-Big Rock 70, Somonauk 38: At Somonauk, the host Bobcats trailed by only one point at halftime but couldn’t keep up in the second half of the Little Ten loss.

Carson Bahrey scored 18 points to lead Somonauk, with Mitchell Haag tallying seven rebounds.

Indian Creek 51, Newark 48: At Shabbona, the visiting Norsemen saw a potential game-tying 3-pointer roll around the rim and out in the Little Ten loss.

LaMoille 52, Leland 49: At Leland, the visiting Lions rallied from a 17-point deficit in the third quarter to stun the Panthers in Little Ten Conference competition.

Seneca 60, Heyworth 55: At Seneca, the host Fighting Irish moved to 6-1 with the nonconference win.

“One heck of a game tonight,” Seneca coach Russ Witte said. “Both teams left it all out on the court. … We hit some big shots down the stretch and made our [free throws].”

Paxton Giertz (28 points), Lane Provance (12 points) and Brady Sheedy (10 points) paced the Irish.

Fieldcrest 74, La Salle-Peru 47: At Spring Valley in the Colmone Classic, the Knights overwhelmed the Cavaliers and advanced to Saturday’s championship game against Rock Falls.

Connor Reichman led the Knights with 21 points, while Ed Lorton and Brady Ruestman added 13 apiece.

Princeton 70, Marquette 62: At Spring Valley in the Colmone Classic, the Crusaders rallied back from deficits of 13-0, 27-8 and 60-45 to get as close as five points in the final minutes, but fell to Saturday’s seventh-place game against host Hall.

Alec Novotney scored 23 points for Marquette. Denver Trainor added 20 more.

– Read Charlie Ellerbrock’s full report on this game at www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley.

Girls wrestling

Gwaltney champ at Pontiac: At the Munch Girls Invitational hosted by Pontiac on Friday, Streator’s Lily Gwaltney captured the championship at 105 pounds.

Gwaltney went 3-0 in her bracket after an opening-round bye, winning via a 10-2 major decision and a third-period pin to set up her championship victory via pin over Edwardsville’s Olivia Coll in 3:08.

Streator’s Payton Henson (115 pounds) and Lexy Jensen (235) earned one victory each.

Ottawa also competed in the invitational, with Ava Weatherford bringing home a fifth-place finish at 135, earning an opening win and then finishing out 3-0 – all four of her wins coming via pin – after her lone defeat in the quarterfinals.

Ottawa’s Ciara Bolf (120) and Val Munoz (120) recorded single wins in the tournament.