SVM area roundup: Fulton boys knock off No. 5 Rockford Christian for 9th straight win

The Fulton boys basketball team stretched its winning streak to nine games with a pair of wins at the Manny’s Roundball Classic in Freeport on Saturday, defeating the host Pretzels and previously unbeaten Rockford Christian, the fifth-ranked team in the latest Associated Press Class 2A poll.

The Steamers (14-6) defeated Freeport 69-62, after leading 35-26 at halftime and 51-44 through three quarters. Ethan Price scored a game-high 29 points and shot 13 for 16 from the free-throw line, while Baylen Damhoff had 24 points and was 7 for 8 from the line.

Fulton then defeated Rockford Christian 76-69, pulling away after the teams were tied 57-57 through three quarters. Damhoff hit five 3-pointers and poured in 35 points, Price scored 22 points, and Ryan Eads added 11. Kevion Cummings led the Royal Lions (18-1) with 24 points, while Christian Cummings added 18 and Elijah Daugherty scored 16.

Stockton 49, Amboy 34: The Clippers led 22-21 at halftime, but were outscored 12-1 in the third quarter and 16-11 in the fourth in an NUIC crossover loss at home.

Troy Anderson hit three 3-pointers and led Amboy with 19 points, while Kyler McNinch scored six and Eddie Jones added five points.

Ryley Schultz had 12 points, Alex Altfillisch added 10, and Spencer Luke chipped in nine for the Blackhawks.

Pecatonica MLK

Eastland 55, Polo 29: The Cougars closed their first day in Pecatonica with a win over the Marcos.

Parker Krogman scored 16 points, and Peyton Spears finished with 14, including a pair of 3-pointers for Eastland, which jumped out to an 18-3 lead in the first quarter and stretched it to 34-14 by halftime.

Carter Merdian scored seven points, Ryelan Lindaas added six, and Nolan Hahn and Brady Wolber both finished with five for Polo.

Galena 59, Eastland 50: The Cougars fell behind 28-16 by halftime and couldn’t catch up in their opener in Pecatonica.

Krogman led the way with 17 points, Trevor Janssen scored 12 points, and Spears added 11 for Eastland.

Connor Glasgow’s 17 points paced the Pirates.

Pecatonica 84, Polo 37: The Marcos dropped their tournament opener to the host Indians, trailing 41-24 by halftime and 69-31 through three quarters.

Brock Soltow finished with 14 points for Polo, with Wolber scoring seven and Carson Jones hitting a pair of 3-pointers for 6 points.

Cooper Hoffman and Brody Black both finished with 15 points for Pec.

South Beloit MLK

Oregon splits on Day 1: The Hawks opened the tournament with a 63-42 win over Harvard, but lost 71-41 to Stillman Valley in their second game.

Jameson Caposey and Evan James both had 15 points in the opener to lead Oregon, which led 20-7 after one quarter and 38-16 by halftime. Miley Smith added nine points, and Noah Johnson scored seven.

The Hawks fell behind 30-17 by halftime against Stillman, which then stretched the lead to 54-35 through three quarters. Smith’s 10 points paced Oregon, while Owen Dunseth hit three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for the Cardinals.

Forreston falls twice: The Cardinals lost their first two games in South Beloit, falling 53-29 to Harvest Christian Academy and 50-41 to North Boone.

Brock Smith scored 11 points, and Owen Greenfield added nine in the loss to Harvest Christian, as Forreston (5-13) was outscored 16-9 in the third quarter and 21-3 in the fourth.

Owen Greenfield’s 18 points led the way in the loss to North Boone, with Brendan Greenfield adding a double-double of 11 points and 13 rebounds to go with four assists. Smith added eight points for the Cardinals, who were outscored 21-12 in the fourth quarter after the teams were tied at 29.

Girls basketball

Amboy 37, Stockton 29: The Clippers used an 18-13 second-half scoring edge to pull away for an NUIC crossover win on the road.

Elly Jones led the way with 15 points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers for Amboy (18-1). Addison Pertell had 11 points, Maeve Larson scored six, and Courtney Ortgiesen added five for the Clippers, who have now won 17 straight games.

Morgan Blair led Stockton with 14 points, and Olivia Keeffer added seven.

Polo 54, Pearl City 34: The Marcos led 10-4 after the opening quarter and 27-18 by halftime before pulling away with a 20-7 scoring edge in the third period in an NUIC crossover win at home.

Lindee Poper led Polo with 12 points, nine rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists, while Camrynn Jones had 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Courtney Grobe finished with seven points, six steals, four assists and three rebounds, Madison Glawe had seven points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, Sydnei Rahn added six points, five rebounds and a block, and Bekah Zeigler chipped in five points and two assists for the Marcos.

Fallyn Endress hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 12 points for Pearl City, and Tana Gravert added nine points.

River Ridge/Scales Mound 60, West Carroll 15: The Thunder fell behind 21-3 in the first quarter and 41-6 by halftime and never recovered in an NUIC West loss in Mt. Carroll.

Karissa Andrews hit two 3-pointers and led West Carroll with eight points.

Laiken Haas had 13 points and Addison Albrecht scored 12 for RR/SM; Albrecht made two 3s.

Manny’s Roundball Classic

Cougars spilt in Freeport: Eastland won its first game and lost its second at the Manny’s Roundball Classic.

The opener was a 56-41 Cougars win, as they led 32-23 at halftime and 42-33 after three quarters. Paige Joiner hit three 3-pointers and led the way with 16 points, eight assists and seven steals, while Addi Rush finished with eight points and five rebounds. Mallory Misiewicz and Quinc Haverland both scored six points, with Misiewicz dishing four assists and Haverland grabbing seven rebounds. Audrey Sundquist added five points and seven rebounds, Lily Mullen had five points and three assists, and Sarah Kempel chipped in four points and five rebounds for Eastland (14-7).

The Cougars lost to Rockford Christian 54-42, after being outscored 12-5 in the second quarter and 16-9 in the third. Joiner had 15 points, eight assists and four rebounds, Kempel added 13 points, nine rebounds and three steals, and Misiewicz scored six points.

Byron MLK

Forreston splits on Day 1: The Cardinals dropped their opener in Byron, falling to Aurora Rosary 47-40, but they bounced back to roll past Durand 57-11 in their second game.

Boys swimming

Byron 3rd, Sterling 6th in Rockford: The Tigers scored 137 points, and the Water Warriors had 101 to finish in the top six at the J-Hawk Invite.

Cary-Grove won the team title with 289 points, and Normal Community took second with 235. Plainfield (131) and Belvidere (111) rounded out the top five.

Skylar Drolema had four top-five finishes for Sterling. He took third in the 50 freestyle (23.11 seconds) and fourth in the 100 free (50.46), and also swam on a pair of fifth-place relays. He teamed with Evan Scott, Conner Porter and Peter Garland in the 200 medley (1:47.72), and joined Garland, Porter and Connor Pham in the 200 freestyle relay (1:36.34).

Tyson Politsch was part of four top-five finishes for Byron. He took fifth in both the 200 IM (2:04.83) and 500 freestyle (5:05.85), and teamed with Levi Schamper, Nathan Bell and Gage Helfrich to take second in the 200 medley relay (1:41.79) and third in the 400 freestyle relay (3:27.97). Bell added a second-place in the 100 backstroke (56.34), and Helfrich finished fourth in the 100 breaststroke (1:04.37).

Girls bowling

Sterling 3rd in Moline: The Golden Warriors took third at the Moline Invite at Highland Park Lanes, rolling a six-game total of 4,731 to finish behind Rockford Auburn (5,178) and United Township (4,842).

Olivia Barton finished fourth overall (1,072), and Hannah Conderman was fifth (1,071) to lead Sterling. Conderman had the high three-game series for the meet, rolling a 619 in the morning session; she also had the fifth- and seventh-highest games of the event with a 209 and a 208. Barton added the fifth-best three-game series with a 562 in the afternoon.

Katelynn Garcia-Redmond rolled a 901 series, while Hailey Conderman added a 698 in four games, and Emily Doss had a 600 in four games. Loralei Michels chipped in a 389 in three games.

Rock Island’s Bailey Hecker rolled a 1,137 to win the individual title, and Auburn’s Alyssa Ballard was second with a 1,103.

Dixon 8th in Morris: The Duchesses recorded a total pinfall of 4,748 to place eighth at the Morris Invite at Echo Lanes.

Grace DeBord placed 12th with a 1,155 for Dixon, and she had the team’s two high games of 224 in the morning and 222 in the afternoon. Leslie Pettorini rolled a 996 series, Autumn Swift had a 972, Olivia Gingras added an 866, and Addison Cox chipped in a 759 for the Duchesses.

Joliet West won the team title with a 6,230, and Oswego was second with a 5,928. Joliet West’s Mia Antomez won the individual crown with a 1,345, while Oswego’s Lani Breedlove was runner-up (1,335) and Joliet West’s Malaya Chavez took third (1,328).

Wrestling

Oregon takes title in Kewanee: The Hawks won the team trophy for the second straight weekend, crowning four champions to go with two runners-up and three third-placers at the Brockman Invite.

Oregon scored 242 points, while the host Boilermakers were second with 187. Knoxville (151), Sherrard (120) and Morrison (114.5) rounded out the top five, while Polo placed eighth (102.5) and Fulton finished 10th (98).

Lane Halverson (138 pounds), Grant Stender (152), Anthony Bauer (160) and Jonathon Alaniz (220) all won titles for the Hawks. Stender pinned all four of his opponents, while Halverson and Bauer both notched pins om all three of their matches; Alaniz won a pair of pins before taking the title bout in a 2-1 decision.

Jackson Messenger (113) and Evan Flaharty (285) both took second for Oregon, while Preston LaBay (120), Landyn Windham (170) and Quentin Berry (182) all took third; all three pinned their opponents in the third-place matches. Ethan Mowry (132) finished fourth.

Morrison’s Levi Milder (120) pinned all three opponents on his way to the crown, and Camden Pruis (132) took second to Polo’s Wyatt Doty. Zach Milder (138) finished fourth, and Logan Baker (160) and Cameron McDonnell (220) both took fifth for the Mustangs.

Doty was the lone champion for Polo, as he won two pins and a technical fall. Josiah Perez (106), Lucas Nelson (126) and Maddux Hayden (195) all won by pin in their third-place bouts, and Chase Bremmer (138) placed sixth.

Ben Fosdick (145) and Zane Pannell (170) both won three pins to take the titles at their weight classes. Braiden Damhoff (285) finished fourth, and Aaron Stillings (106) placed sixth for the Steamers.

Quincy Invite: Rock Falls placed ninth in Quincy, scoring 97.5 points. The host Blue Devils won the team title with 253.5 points, and Jacksonville was second with 180.

Aaron Meenen won the title at 120 pounds, taking a technical fall and a major decision in his first two matches before winning an 11-5 decision in the championship bout.

Adan Oquendo was second at 126 pounds, losing by technical fall in the title bout after winning by major decision and decision in his first two matches.

Emmanuel Jamison (170 pounds) finished fourth, and Jacob Hosler (285) placed sixth for the Rockets.

Men’s basketball

Sauk Valley 88, Malcolm X 78: The Skyhawks won for the second time in three days, using a balanced effort to pick up a victory in Chicago.

Devares Whitaker had 20 points, six assists and three rebounds, while Atem Agot and Aarhek Lamb both scored 14 points; Agot added six rebounds for Sauk Valley (8-8), which led 40-34 at halftime.

Riek Riek and Jake Gaither added 10 points each, and LA Fayne chipped in eight points and six assists. Davin Fields-Johnson finished with five points and seven rebounds for the Skyhawks.

Women’s basketball

Sauk Valley 89, Malcolm X 72: After falling behind 24-16 in the first quarter, the Skyhawks outscored Malcolm X 28-19 in the second quarter and 23-11 in the third to take control en route to a win in Chicago.

Hailey Walters hit seven 3-pointers and led all scorers with 36 points, while Caylyn Kimmel added a double-double with 13 points and 13 assists; she nailed three 3s for Sauk Valley (5-11).

Jenna Johnson also scored 13 points, Ainsleigh Hendrix hit four 3s for 12 points, Skylar Savage added nine points, and Rachel Barrett chipped in six points for the Skyhawks, who have now won four of their last seven games.