It’s Serena vs. Earlville for Little Ten Tournament title: The Times Area Roundup for Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024

Boys basketball

Serena 57, Somonauk 40: At the 105th Little Ten Conference Tournament at Somonauk High School, the top-seeded and defending champion Huskers led 17-11 after one quarter, 35-22 at halftime and 52-29 heading to the fourth in the semifinal win over the No. 5-seeded Bobcats.

Serena (22-1) had balanced scoring with Carson Baker leading the way with 16 points, followed by Tanner Faivre (13), Richie Armour (12) and Hunter Staton (11).

Carson Bahrey and Silas Johnson led Somonauk (11-12) with nine and eight points, respectively.

The Bobcats will play H-BR for third place at 6:30 p.m.

Results of Friday’s tournament games are online at www.shawlocal.com/illinois-valley.

Earlville 71, Hinckley-Big Rock 65 (2 OT): At the 105th Little Ten Conference Tournament, the No. 2-seeded Red Raiders trailed the No. 3 Royals 20-10 after the opening eight minutes of the semifinal Thursday.

Earlville (23-1) regrouped to tie the game at 25 at halftime and led 39-36 heading to the fourth, before the teams ended regulation knotted at 51 and the first overtime at 57.

Griffin Cook poured in a game-high 28 points for Earlville to go with 11 rebounds, three assists and five steals. Ryan Browder had 19 points; Adam Waite had 12 points, 14 rebounds and five assists; and Oliver Munoz had four assists.

Newark 63, IMSA 34: At the 105th Little Ten Conference Tournament, the No. 7-seeded Norsemen topped the No. 6 Titans to advance to Friday’s 5 p.m. consolation final against No. 4 Indian Creek.

Sandwich 61, Harvard 42: At Sandwich on Wednesday, the Indians improved to 12-10 overall and 6-3 in Kishwaukee River Conference play with the victory over the Hornets.

Chance Lange led Sandwich with 17 points, with Dom Rome adding 16 and Quinn Rome 12.

Girls basketball

Lisle 53, Streator 17: At Lisle, the Bulldogs (1-26, 0-13) fell in the Illinois Central Eight Conference game to the Lions.

Maiya Lansford led Streator with six points, with Shantell Morton adding four and Ava Gwaltney three.

Marquette 49, Roanoke-Benson 39: At Roanoke, the Crusaders improved to 17-8 overall and 10-3 in the Tri-County Conference with the win over the Rockets.

Lilly Craig and Kaitlyn Davis each scored 14 points for Marquette, while Hunter Hopkins added 13 points.

Seneca 46, Dwight 38: At Dwight, the Fighting Irish led 24-10 at halftime, but just 30-26 heading to the fourth quarter in their T-CC victory over the Trojans.

Lainie Olson led Seneca (15-14, 6-7) with 15 points, while Alyssa Zellers added 11.

Mendota 42, Somonauk-Leland 38: At Mendota, the Bobcats fell just short on the road against the Trojans.

“The effort was there tonight, but we had too many turnovers after we got bit by some injuries and foul trouble,” S-L coach Jason Zaleski said. “The outcome is not what we wanted, but girls took advantage of opportunities to step into new roles.”

Haley McCoy paced S-L with 18 points and six rebounds, while Macey Kinney chipped in nine points and seven rebounds.

Ashton-Franklin Center 49, Earlville 15: At Ashton, the Red Raiders dropped the road game to the Raiders.

Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley 58, Fieldcrest 39: At Minonk, the Knights dropped the Heart of Illinois Conference contest to the Falcons.

Macy Gochanour led Fieldcrest (20-8, 5-5) with 17 points, while Kaitlyn White netted 10 points.

Lexington 54, Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland 25: At Lexington, the Falcons fell in the HOIC game against the Minutemen.

JV girls basketball

Lisle 35, Streator 16: At Lisle, Caitlin Talty scored six points, while Lahla Thompson and Morgan Kostal each posted five points in the loss to the Lions.