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| Editor's
Note: With
all of the postponements in the past week, the next ABV Rankings
will be out on January 20, 2025. Thank you. Jack |
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Cobden
scoring streaks sink Shawnee
Appleknockers
take care of home business, 60-31; improve to 3-1 in the SEC |
01/16/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
COBDEN - For the Cobden Appleknockers it was an impressive win
on Thursday night as Coach Karl Sweitzer and his club took control
of the game in the second quarter and didn't look back in a 60-31
win over Shawnee. The
outcome wasn't really in doubt by the end of the first few minutes
as the Appleknockers used a pair of first half scoring runs
to take a 34-8 lead at intermission.
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| Class
1A |
W/L |
Votes |
LWR |
| 1.
Pecatonica (9) |
14-0 |
90 |
1 |
| 2.
Effingham St. Anthony (1) |
15-2 |
83 |
3 |
| 3.
Waltonville |
14-0 |
79 |
2 |
| 4.
Jacksonville Routt |
17-1 |
68 |
4 |
| 5.
Lanark-Eastland |
14-2 |
53 |
5 |
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6. Chicago Hope Academy |
11-5 |
45 |
7 |
| 7.
Tuscola |
15-2 |
38 |
6 |
| 8.
Goreville |
12-2 |
37 |
8 |
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9. Yorkville Christian |
15-6 |
24 |
10 |
| 10T.
Casey-Westfield |
11-4 |
8 |
9 |
| 10T.
Lexington |
15-3 |
8 |
NR |
| Others
receiving votes: Dieterich 5 , Webber Township 4, Chicago Fenger
2, LeRoy 2, Mounds Meridian 2, Annawan 1, Dakota 1. |
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| Class
2A |
W/L |
Votes |
LWR |
| 1.
Williamsville (6) |
15-0 |
108 |
2 |
| 2.
Benton (2) |
15-0 |
103 |
3 |
| 3.
Peoria Manual (2) |
13-4 |
91 |
4 |
| 4.
Belleville Althoff (2) |
14-4 |
89 |
1 |
| 5.
Bismarck-Henning |
18-0 |
63 |
5 |
| 6.
Chicago Dyett |
14-4 |
56 |
6 |
| 7.
Rockford Christian |
15-0 |
41 |
7 |
| 8.
Auburn |
17-1 |
24 |
9 |
| 9.
Chicago Christ the King |
11-6 |
17 |
NR |
| 10.
Pinckneyville |
14-2 |
16 |
10 |
| Others
receiving votes: Columbia 11, Breese Central 8, Breese Mater Dei
7, Murphysboro 6, IC Catholic 5, Rockridge 5, St. Joseph-Ogden
5, Warsaw West Hancock 2, Carlyle 1, Tremont 1, Kankakee McNamara
1. |
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Mater
Dei wins in OT
Knights pick up seventh-straight win, 54-51 over
Carbondale |
01/11/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Mater Dei Knights did what they do best, which
turned out to be just enough to leave Carbondale with a victory
on Saturday afternoon. They
got the ball inside and finished when they got there.
Led by
18-points from 6-5 senior Elliott Rakers .....
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| Class
1A |
W/L |
Votes |
LWR |
| 1.
Pecatonica (12) |
11-0 |
130 |
2 |
| 2.
Waltonville |
13-0 |
111 |
3 |
| 3.
Effingham St. Anthony (1) |
13-2 |
101 |
5 |
| 4.
Jacksonville Routt |
14-1 |
82 |
NR |
| 5.
Lanark-Eastland (1) |
12-2 |
78 |
1 |
| 6.
Tuscola |
15-1 |
63 |
4 |
| 7.
Chicago Hope Academy |
9-4 |
50 |
8 |
| 8.
Goreville |
11-2 |
46 |
NR |
| 9.
Casey-Westfield |
11-3 |
31 |
7 |
| 10.
Yorkville Christian |
12-5 |
28 |
10 |
| Others
receiving votes: Dieterich 12, Annawan 11, LeRoy 5, Chicago Fenger
5. Mounds Meridian 5, Lexington 4, Webber Township 3, Dakota 2,
Unity Christian 2, Illini Bluffs 1. |
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| Class
2A |
W/L |
Votes |
LWR |
| 1.
Belleville Althoff (6) |
13-3 |
117 |
6 |
| 2.
Williamsville (3) |
13-0 |
110 |
4 |
| 3.
Benton (3) |
15-0 |
104 |
2 |
| 4.
Peoria Manual (2) |
10-4 |
86 |
1 |
| 5.
Bismarck-Henning |
16-0 |
71 |
5 |
| 6.
Chicago Dyett |
12-3 |
69 |
7 |
| 7.
Rockford Christian |
12-0 |
45 |
9 |
| 8.
Columbia |
11-4 |
24 |
3 |
| 9.
Auburn |
15-1 |
23 |
NR |
| 10.
Pinckneyville |
13-2 |
19 |
NR |
| Others
receiving votes: Murphysboro 18, Chicago (Christ the King) 15,
Warsaw West Hancock 12, Breese Mater Dei 8, Breese Central 8,
Carlyle 6, Crane 6, Rockridge 6, St. Joseph-Ogden 5, Warrensburg-Latham
5, Riverton 4, Chicago King 4, IC Catholic 3, Kankakee (McNamara)
1, Sherrard 1. |
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Warriors
end Tuscola run
Casey-Westfield
makes only big rankings move this week |
01/06/2025
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Coach Tom Brannan and his Casey-Westfield Warriors
picked up a big win over previously undefeated Tuscola on Saturday,
58-55 at home to make a case for a very high seed when the postseason
process begins in February. With
most of the other teams not starting back yet, C-W gets a boost
in the ABV list with a key home victory.
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Nashville
pulls away from rival Okawville
Big fourth quarter run gives Hornets'
54-32 win |
01/04/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
OKAWVILLE – Coach Stote Reeder's Nashville squad struggled
offensively in their most recent contests. A
loss to Benton on Friday night produced the lowest point total
(27) of the season for the Hornets.
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Carlyle
starts new year strong
Indians pull away with third
quarter run, top Red Bud 55-34; improve to 12-2 |
01/03/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
RED BUD - There is such a thing in high school basketball as
the “Holiday Tournament Hangover.”
After
playing a pretty grueling early season schedule, then four tough
games at the Duster Thomas Classic at Pinckneyville, the Carlyle
Indians early minutes at Red Bud on Friday night were sluggish
to say the least.
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Althoff,
St. Anthony top rankings
Crusaders,
Bulldogs appear loaded for March Madness |
01/01/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Happy New Year to everyone.
Another
holiday tournament week has been completed and the dust has
settled on the first half of the 2024-25 basketball.
Buzzer
beaters and last second free throws produced by quality teams
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Comets
take home top prize
Greenville knocks
off top-seed Shelbyville; wins second VHT title |
12/30/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
VANDALIA – Coach Todd Cantrill and his Greenville Comets
played a pretty tough early season schedule heading into tournament
week at Vandalia. The
slate of contests included games at the always difficult Carlyle
Kaskaskian Classic.
The Comets
took home fourth place in that tournament and entered the 52nd
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Columbia
falls in title tilt
Waterloo never trails in 52-37
win; Civic Memorial tops Freeburg for third |
12/29/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
FREEBURG – Heading into their Sunday's night matchup against
Waterloo in the title game of the 66th annual Freeburg/Columbia
Holiday Tournament, head coach Mark Sandstrom and his Columbia
Eagles knew that they needed to do well shooting the ball from
the outside. With
Waterloo big man 6-10 senior Alex Stell roaming the lane, the
Eagles needed .....
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Movin'
Maroons' blast Arcola
Dieterich wins title over "cold"
shooting Purple Riders; Sullivan, CHBC, Grayville win |
12/28/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
DIETERICH – If the Arcola Purple Riders shooting performance
was ranked as a disaster, FEMA would have been called.
Coach
Greg Gisinger's club couldn't find the basket in the title game
of the 38th annual Dieterich Holiday Tournament.
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Carterville
advances to final four
Lions hold off Fairfield; Herrin,
Harrisburg, Vienna round out semifinal Saturday |
12/27/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO – The Carterville Lions did just what they needed
to do on Friday night in their quarterfinal win over Fairfield.
The
Lions forced a 14-turnovers, 11 of which came in the first two
quarters of play and they survived a poor third quarter offensively
to hold off the Mules, 50-42 to .....
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| Spartans'
romp past Sesser-Valier
Waltonville stays undefeated; Goreville,
DQ, Altamont win |
12/26/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
SESSER – One of the old sayings about sports is that when
two long-time rivals meet on the basketball court, you can “throw
out the records” as upsets can occur when it comes down
to playing familiar foes. That
didn't happen Thursday night at the 43rd annual Sesser-Valier
Holiday Tournament when the host Red Devils took on nemesis
Waltonville .....
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Let
the Christmas "hoopla" begin
Multiple events in the next five days
across the South |
12/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Holiday tournament season is upon is.
Multiple
games at multiple times of the day.
Teams,
officials and fans traveling the magnificent miles to be a part
of this great sport.
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Century
defends Dongola title
Centurions produce big
defensive effort, romp
past host Demons; Egyptian tops Joppa |
12/23/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
DONGOLA – When you look at the match up on Monday night
between Century and the host Demons in the final game of the Dongola
Christmas Tournament, it was a matchup of “Youth versus
Experience.” In
this instance, experience was the deciding factor as the older
ones proved tough to beat.
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Cumberland
wins first St. Elmo title
Pirates' push right buttons, roll to championship
Hillsboro, CHBC, Patoka/Odin win on final day |
12/21/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
ST. ELMO – On Saturday night in the title contest of the
64th annual St. Elmo Holiday Tournament, the Cumberland Pirates
played about as well as they could play. And
that was bad news for Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg.
Coach Justin
Roedl had his team ready and it showed during a dominating .....
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Cardinals'
advance to title game
North Clay tops WC, face Edwards
County Saturday; Crab Orchard defeats Cisne |
12/20/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
WAYNE CITY – It wasn't the kind of start that Coach Josh
Zink wanted on Friday night in the final game of pool play of
the 70th annual Conrad Allen Wayne City Holiday Tournament.
But the
ending was just fine.
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Waltonville
stays undefeated
Spartans
led 'gate to wire' at Christopher; improve to 8-0 |
12/17/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHRISTOPHER - It took just a couple of big scoring bursts for
the Waltonville Spartans to take control and stay in control
of their road contest at Christopher on Tuesday night.
An
11-1 start of the game and a 10-1 start of the third quarter
allowed the unbeaten Spartans to stay that way.
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Benton
routs Hiltoppers
Tedeschi
nets 25-points in 68-39 win; Rangers improve to 7-0
Nokomis, Metro-East Lutheran, Rochester, Litchfield
victorious in boy's contests
Litchfield, Hillsboro, Triad win girl's games
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12/14/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARLINVILLE - On Saturday afternoon at the 6th annual T. Todt
Shootout vs. Cancer basketball shootout Benton senior forward
Docker Tedeschi left little doubt who was the best player on
the floor in the Rangers' 68-39 dismantling of Hillsboro.
The 6-8
forward and D-I commit delivered 25-points, grabbed 11-rebounds
and blocked six shots in a dominating performance as he and
his teammates .....
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Columbia
rolls past Wildcats
Eagles handle league rival, 63-30; improve
to 7-1 |
12/13/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
COLUMBIA - The Columbia Eagles could not have been in a very good
mood on Friday night when they hosted Cahokia Conference Mississippi
Division rival Salem. Coach
Mark Sandstrom and his club were a day removed from a road trip
to the University of Missouri for a basketball shootout and
a loss to Montgomery County.
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Steeleville
takes tournament title
Warriors hold off Gibault, 67-58, complete
4-0 week |
12/07/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CAMPBELL HILL - It had been a minute since the Steeleville Warriors
won the Trico “Tip-Off Classic” championship.
It
was like the first line of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely
Hearts Club Band.
“It
was 20 years ago today.”
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Webber
wins road battle
Trojans'
defense shines, 63-44; Marlow nets 32 in victory |
12/06/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - After giving up 81-points in a first round loss at
the Christopher Thanksgiving Tournament to open the 2024-25 season,
head coach Jaxon Helm at Webber Township knew that his team needed
to get better defensively. The
last four games have shown a noticeable difference.
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Top
shelf clubs continue to impress
Arcola, BMD, Tuscola reload for
postseason; SJO, Tolono Unity also strong up North
Rebuilding projects in progress around the South |
12/01/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Tuscola
and head coach Justin Bozarth had about as disappointing
of an ending of a postseason as one could imagine.
As
one of the favorites to reach the state finals again after finishing
third in 2022-23, the Warriors won the program's 20th regional
championship to reach the Effingham St. Anthony Sectional.
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Veteran
teams look to improve
Greenville,
Staunton, Carlinville, Southwestern have key players back
Vandalia has new coach; Litchfield, Hillsboro, North Mac, Pana try to
rebuild |
11/30/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The South Central Conference, like some of the other
leagues last season, didn't have much in the way of postseason
success as none of the members managed to advance past the regionals.
But this
is a league that isn't without talent.
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League
looks much more wide-open
Graduation took a lot
of talent from the LIC |
| 11/29/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Last season the Lawrenceville Indians were the
only team in the Little Illini Conference not to lose a league
game.
The Tribe
went 7-0 for then head coach Randy Bishop.
Newton
and Olney Richland County were the next two .....
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| Central,
Columbia top Mississippi
Cougars still talented, Eagles look loaded for
the postseason
Salem, Roxana look to challenge, new coaches at EAWR, Freeburg |
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| Carlyle
returns strong group
Indians' five starters back; Wesclin, Sparta, Red Bud
must regroup |
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Warriors
look for another title
New Athens, Marissa/Coulterville look
to challenge Steeleville's supremacy |
| 11/27/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Cahokia Conference largest division known as
the Mississippi has been won for the last four consecutive seasons
by Breese Central.
The Cougars
have more than dominated this conference since it went to divisions
in 2006-07.
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Top
teams on both sides set for war
Benton
looks to repeat in Mississippi; Wide open Ohio Division is the norm |
11/26/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - It's yet another year in the Southern Illinois
River-to-River Conference and any preview of the league will
see teams that are thinking not only regular season championships
but also postseason hardware.
The boy's
basketball programs in the SIRR will always be in the conversation
on who is going to reach the state finals in March.
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Goreville
looks to continue dominance
Blackcats hope to repeat; challengers
will need to 'step it up' to dethrone champs |
| Bulldogs
hungry for repeat
Carmi-White
County must fend off Flora, Fairfield; others look
to move up |
| 11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The Black Diamond Conference, split into divisions
since its expansion back in 2003-04, has had member changes
over the years since its inception back in 1949.
Each
season the schools come up with quality teams that compete and
fare well in the postseason and regular season tournaments.
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St.
Anthony leads strong contingent
League posted dominant figures
last season with four 20-game winners |
11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - When it comes to the world of sports there are
always heartaches and disappointments because, as in life, there
are winners and there are losers.
The French
phrase is “c'est la vie” which translates to “such
is life.”
Last
season the two top teams in the National Trail Conference .....
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St.
Elmo/Brownstown, CHBC look strong
Patoka/Odin, Ramsey, Martinsville looking to move
up |
11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - Each season Coach Greg Feezel at St.
Elmo/Brownstown seems to get the best out of each of
his teams.
Last
season was a 22-10 finish, 4-4 in the National Trail Conference
and 4-1 in the Egyptian Illini.
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Meridian
wears favorites label
Bobcats return key players from 1A second place club; others look to
improve |
11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - The dominance of the South Egyptian Conference by
Mounds Meridian in boy's basketball is almost scary to think about.
Other
than a brief run by Cobden during the covid19 season in 2020-21,
the Bobcats have owned this league.
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Wide-open
race to the top
A
repeat of last season's battles will surprise no one |
| 11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - How close was the race to the top of the Greater
Egyptian Conference standings in 2023-24?
It ended
up with a four-way tie with the quartet of teams ending up with
identical 5-2 records.
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Spartans
set to continue success
Waltonville
looks to add hardware; Webber, Woodlawn, Cisne, Red Hill give chase
Rebuilding coming from WC, Patoka/Odin, Grayville, Sandoval |
11/25/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - As things went in the Midland Trail Conference last
winter, the top two teams each made postseason waves while splitting
their two games against each other during the regular season.
League
standings champ Waltonville and MTC tournament titlist Webber
Township each brought home hardware last season, including regional
championships.
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