Ottawa, Streator and Woodland boys all grab hoop wins: The Times Area Roundup for Dec. 15, 2023

Boys basketball

Ottawa 55, Rochelle 47: At Kingman Gymnasium, the Pirates outscored the Hubs 17-6 in the second quarter in the Interstate 8 Conference win on Friday.

Cooper Knoll tied a career-high with 16 points while also pulling down eight rebounds to pace Ottawa (4-4, 2-1). Huston Hart (three assists, three blocks) and Evan Snook (four rebounds, three assists, two steals) each added 11 points. Tristan Finley chipped in eight points, four rebounds and three assists.

“It was a good win for our guys tonight,” Ottawa coach Mark Cooper said. “We made the necessary plays in the fourth quarter to get a quality win.”

Streator 51, Manteno 43: At Manteno, the Bulldogs led by a single point at halftime, but used multiple short runs in the second half to defeat the Panthers in the Illinois Central Eight Conference contest. The win moved Streator to 7-2 overall, 5-0 in league play and into sole possession of first place.

Christian Benning netted 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, while Logan Aukland added 12 points in the triumph.

“Gritty win,” Streator coach Beau Doty said. “Manteno took us out of our offense in the first half. We made big hustle plays and momentum-swinging runs in the third and fourth quarters. Christian really imposed his will on the game in the second half getting to the rim.

“We hadn’t been in a nip and tuck game all year, so it was good to find some toughness down the stretch.”

Woodland 62, St. Bede Academy 48: At rural Streator, the Warriors outscored the Bruins 34-19 in the second half to improve to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Tri-County Conference action.

Nick Plesko popped in a game-high 20 points to lead the hosts. Connor Dodge added 13, Tucker Hill 12 and Jonathan Moore 10.

Serena 78, Leland 35: At Leland, the Huskers improved to 10-0 overall and 4-0 in Little Ten Conference play with the win over the Panthers

Serena was led by 19 points from Tanner Faivre, 17 each from Carson Baker and Hunter Staton, and 15 from Richie Armour.

Somonauk 69, LaMoille 49: At the Bobcats recorded 20 team assists in the Little Ten Conference victory over the host Lions.

Somonauk (5-4, 2-1) received balanced scoring from Brock Sexton (16 points, five rebounds, five assists), Silas Johnson (14 points, five assists) and Weston Hannibal (14 points, 10 rebounds). Weston Hannibal grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds, while Chase Lafferty posted five assists and five steals.

Fieldcrest 52, Eureka 25: At Eureka, the Knights jumped out to a 13-2 lead after one quarter and extended the advantage to 21-8 at halftime in the Heart of Illinois Conference triumph over the Hornets.

Jordan Heider and Brady Ruestman each scored 13 points for Fieldcrest (8-0, 1-0), while Connor Reichman added nine.

Wrestling

Sandwich 36, Wilmington 34; Sandwich 24, Kankakee Bishop McNamara 22: At Wilmington, the Indians used six on-mat wins to top the Wildcats and four forfeits in the victory over the Fightin’ Irish in the triangular.

Against the hosts, Jakob Gruca (126 pounds, 12-10 overtime decision), Jack Forth (132, 15-10 decision), Jacob Cassie (138, 9-3 decision), Miles Corder (150, pinfall in 46 seconds), Kaden Clevenger (175, pinfall in 27 seconds) and Eddie Hernandez (285, 5-4 decision).

JV boys basketball

Rochelle 43, Ottawa 42: At Kingman Gym, the Corsairs dropped the I-8 nail-biter to the Hubs.

Dom Parks led Ottawa with 19 points, while Joey Liebhart had eight points and 10 rebounds. Bryson Valdez added seven points and three assists.

Marquette 54, Roanoke-Benson 42: At Bader Gym in Ottawa, Griffin Dobberstein popped in 14 points and Mackinnley Thompson 10 to lead the Crusaders to the Tri-County Conference win.