In the first semifinal of the night in the Colmone Classic, Cole Tillman of Mendota and Brady Ward of Chillicothe IVC went head to head with the Trojans coming away with the 67-60 victory.

Hall outlasted defending champ Fieldcrest 61-52 in overtime in the nightcap to set up an Illinois Valley rivals championship Saturday at Hall High School in Spring Valley.

“Hall is a rival and a conference opponent,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “They are well coached and to bring home that trophy we are going to have to bring it because it’s going to be an incredible test for us.”

“Mendota is really really good,” Hall coach Mike Filippini said. “They have great size with two 6-6 kids so we’re going to have to get after it like we have been all year and hopefully come away with that trophy.”

Mendota 67, IVC 60: IVC used a 13-4 run at the end of the first half to close the gap to 35-34 against the Trojans thanks in part to Brady Ward. His 3-pointer and assist to Koi Morrow is what finished the half for IVC.

But Cole Tillman was equally as good at the other end for the Trojans and his rebound went coast to coast for the layup to start the second half.

But it was Ward who charged ahead hitting the short jumper to give the Grey Ghosts the lead. AdenTillman got the stick back and then Dane Doyle drained the 3-pointer for a 42-40 Trojans’ lead.

Grady Read drove the lane to tie it at 42, but Oliver Munez, who was solid off the bench for the Trojans, hit the long distance shot and then dished to Drew Becker for a 49-44 lead going into the final quarter.

Doyle hit another big 3-pointer and then Cole Tillman finished off the fast break with the layup before Aden Tillman drove and dished to Becker to make it 58-52 Trojans.

Jackson Lopotko got the stick back for the Ghosts, but Cole Tillman answered once again, going strong to the hoop for a 62-56 edge.

Ward hit a 15-foot jumper from the foul line, but after an IVC timeout, Cole Tillman easily pushed the ball for a fast break layup before Munoz hit both foul shots to send the Trojans into the championship game with a 67-60.

“Munoz is just a basketball junkie,” Wasmer said. “He comes in and gives us a spark when we needed it in the first half when we were a little stagnant and Cole just did what Cole does best and had another great game.”

Cole Tillman led all scorers with 29 points while Munoz added 15. Tillman and Becker also had nine boards each.

Ward led the Ghosts with 25 points and 10 boards.

Hall 61, Fieldcrest 52 (OT): This semifinal matchup saw Hall race out to a early 15-5 edge in the first quarter, but the Knights’ Kash Klendworth, who was hounded by Luke Bryant all night, got a 3-pointer to fall and then a bunny shot in the lane to pull Fieldcrest within 26-23 at halftime.

The Knights led to start the fourth, but jumpers from Chace Sterling and Braden Curran made it 39-38 Fieldcrest.

Hall briefly took the lead, but Eli Gerdes followed with a bucket and then followed with a short jumoer for a 43-40 Fieldcrest lead.

Curran hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 43. Sterling got another stick back and Braden Kahn fed Drew Overlocker for the bucket in the paint to send the game into overtime tied at 47.

Hall controlled the overtime as Greyson Bickett hit the 15-footer and then Sterling again cut hard to the lane as Fieldcrest was struggling to hit free throws and trailed 51-48.

Bryant banked a 3-pointer and then split his free throws to go ahead 55-48. Ben Giachetto came in for Sterling, who fouled out, and got a huge stick back for the Red Devils who came away with the 61-52 victory.

“Yeah I really want to give Luke Bryant a shoutout because Klendworth has been scoring a ton in this tournament and ended with 13 tonight,” Filippini said. “Greyson Bickett as well I thought was tremendous on defense tonight. Chace Sterling was outstanding especially in the second half. We challenged him at half and he responded in a big way.”

“The Sterling kid is a bull,” Fieldcrest coach Jeremy Hahn said. “He’s big and strong and we will face another big strong kid in Ward from IVC. Kash Klendworth was a little off tonight. Some of that was defense and some was just an off night so he’ll come back strong tomorrow I’m sure.”

Sterling led the way with 19 points and 14 rebounds while Braden Curran added 16 points. Fieldcrest was led by Klendworth with 16 points while Gerdes and Overlocker added 11 each.

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Members of the Hall boys basketball team react with teammates and students after beating Fieldcrest in overtime during the Colmone Classic on Friday, Dec. 12, 2025 at Hall High School. (Scott Anderson)