SVM area roundup: Sterling boys win pool at Taylorville tournament

The Sterling boys basketball team won a pair of games on Day 2 of the Taylorville Holiday Tournament on Wednesday, defeating Rantoul 67-57 and topping Rochester 70-59 to win their pool and advance to the semifinals.

The Golden Warriors (11-3) jumped out to a 17-6 lead on Rantoul and never looked back, pushing the margin to 38-25 by halftime. Andre Klaver had 23 points and six rebounds, JP Schilling finished with 21 points and five rebounds, and Lucas Austin added 13 points and seven rebounds for Sterling.

The Warriors led 19-12 after the first quarter and 35-25 by halftime against Rochester. Austin hit five 3-pointers and led the way with 25 points to go with five rebounds, while Schilling had 17 points and seven rebounds, and Klaver added 13 points and seven rebounds.

Sterling will face Dunlap in the semifinals Thursday at 1:30 p.m., then will play for either third place at 7 p.m. or the championship at 8:30.

State Farm Classic

Rock Falls 50, Aurora Christian 43: The Rockets outscored the Eagles 26-19 in the second half to pull away after the teams were tied 24-24 at halftime in a State Farm Classic consolation game at the Shirk Center in Normal.

Timmy Heald hit three 3-pointers and led Rock Falls (5-6) with 13 points. Devin Tanton-DeJesus had nine points, Ryken Howard added eight, Chevy Bates scored seven, Aydan Goff chipped in six, and Gavin Sands finished with five in a balanced effort by the Rockets, who advance to play Winnebago in the consolation semifinals at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, the first of two games on the day.

Marshawn Cocroft hit three 3s and scored 15 points for Aurora Christian.

Effingham-Teutopolis Christmas Classic

Brooks 66, Dixon 56: The Dukes trailed the Eagles just 34-31 at halftime, but were outscored 15-6 in a pivotal third quarter.

Four scorers reached double figures for Dixon. Darius Harrington led the way with 14 points and five rebounds, Grant Boss and Wyatt Wetzell scored 11 points each, and Bryce Feit added 10 points.

Joaquin Cassell and Herman Wilkerson led Brooks with 17 and 14 points.

Eastland Holiday Tournament

Forreston 54, Amboy 45: The Cardinals outscored the Clippers 20-13 in the second quarter to take the lead, then finished off a tournament win with a 17-13 fourth-quarter scoring advantage.

Brendan Greenfield paced Forreston with 15 points and 13 rebounds, Brock Smith and Payton Encheff scored 10 points apiece, and Nikolas Valenzuela added eight points.

Troy Anderson and Wes Wilson led Amboy with 13 points and 12 points.

Byron 66, Eastland 54: The Tigers outscored the Cougars 14-6 in the third quarter, then 23-16 in the fourth quarter to secure a comeback tournament win.

Leading Eastland were Carsen Heeren with 15 points, Parker Krogman with 11 points, and Trevor Janssen with 10 points.

Nicholas Kesler scored 16 points to lead Byron, while Jack Hiveley and Carson Buser added 12 points apiece.

South Beloit 73, West Carroll 22: The Thunder fell behind 24-2 in the first quarter and never recovered in a tournament loss to the Sobos.

AJ Boardman and Caleb Good paced West Carroll with eight points apiece.

Ross Robertson scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the first quarter for South Beloit. Jared Schober scored 14 points and Cole Ayotte added 11 points.

Girls basketball

Polo 44, Dakota 21: The Marcos led 14-2 after one quarter, 21-11 at halftime, and 32-18 through three periods in an NUIC crossover win on the road.

Lindee Poper led Polo with 18 points and three blocks, and she also had four rebounds and two steals. Courtney Grobe finished with 10 points, seven assists, four rebounds and three steals, while Syndei Rahn added three points and four rebounds. Bekah Zeigler chipped in two points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Marcos.

Cora Ingram’s eight points paced Dakota.

State Farm Classic

Brimfield 45, Rock Falls 43, OT: The Rockets lost their quarterfinal game in Bloomington, after rallying from a 13-4 halftime deficit to force overtime.

Rock Falls (9-7) still trailed 19-12 through three quarters before outscoring Brimfield 17-10 in the fourth to force the extra period. The Rockets were outscored 16-14 in OT.

Jacee Sigel hit four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points to lead Rock Falls, which will take on Sacred Heart-Griffin in a fifth-place semifinal Thursday at 11 a.m., the first of two games on the day. Taylor Reyna scored 12 points, and Claire Bickett added 11 for the Rockets.

Elly Doe had 13 points, Kylee Vaughn added 12, and Ava Heinz chipped in 11 for Brimfield.

Amboy Holiday Tournament

Newman 42, Mendota 28: The Comets raced to a 27-16 halftime lead, then put away the Trojans with a 15-12 second-half scoring advantage.

Madison Duhon led Newman with a game-high 23 points, including 11 in the second quarter, and she also had four steals and three assists. Jess Johns had nine points, eight rebounds and two assists, and Lucy Oetting chipped in eight points. Helen Papoccia added two points and three steals, and Amiya Rodriguez chipped in five rebounds, four steals and three assists for the Comets.

Katie Jenner scored eight points to lead Mendota.

Amboy 53, Roanoke-Benson 26: The Clippers rolled to a 25-11 halftime lead, then finished off the Rockets with a 13-4 fourth-quarter scoring run.

Elly Jones scored 17 points to pace Amboy, while Addison Pertell had 10 points and Maeve Larson chipped in seven.

Lexi Weldon scored 15 points to lead Roanoke-Benson.

KSB Holiday Classic

Rockford Christian 44, Eastland 43: The Cougars built a 28-17 halftime lead, but the Royal Lions rallied for a comeback win with a 27-15 second-half run in a consolation game at Lancaster Gym.

Quinc Haverland led Eastland with a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Paige Joiner finished with 10 points, six assists and three steals, and Sarah Kempel added eight points, nine boards and four steals. Trixie Carroll chipped in six points and five rebounds for the Cougars.

Hailey Koch paced Rockford Christian with 16 points.

Boys bowling

Landmark Mid-State Tournament: Oregon took sixth with 5,869, while Dixon finished 15th out of 16 teams with 5,064 at Landmark Lanes in Peoria.

Senior Stylar Klapp led the Hawks with a 1,256 series (215, 169, 232, 257, 210, 173), finishing 11th individually. Gavvin Surmo rolled a 1,220 series for 22nd place, Brandon Rowe tallied 1,149 for 32nd, and Brady Davis bowled a 1,127 for 36th. Roberto Hernandez chipped in a 759 four-game series, and Bryan Immel added a 358 two-gamer to round out the Oregon lineup.

Clark Bonnewell led the Dukes with a 1,152 series and 246 high game, placing 31st individually, while David Laird rolled a 1,059 and Cody Geil bowled a 1,000 in six-game series. Wyatt Miller recorded a 576 and Sam Gingras totaled 424 in four-game series, while Oliver Haverland and Owen Haverland added 356 and 347 two-game series for Dixon.

Harlem won the team title by one pin over Belleville West, 6,162-6,161. Harlem’s Ryen Apgar rolled a 1,353 to win the individual title by four pins over Belleville West’s Zak Barganier (1,349).

Girls bowling

Landmark Mid-State Tournament: Dixon finished 10th out of 20 teams at Landmark Lanes in Peoria.

Leslie Pettorini led the Duchesses with a 1,062 six-game series (38th overall). Autumn Swift rolled a 981, Allison Coss bowled a 972, Olivia Gingras tallied a 971, and Grace DeBord chipped in a 961.

Lockport won the team title with a 6,096, 80 pins ahead of runner-up Hononegah (6,016). Hononegah’s Madison Davenport rolled a 1,325 series to win the title by two pins over Lockport’s Paige Matiasek (1,323).