Illinois State men’s basketball survived a 67-66 victory at Missouri State. The host Bears had a shot at the horn to win but failed to convert. Deontae Hawkins led the Redbirds with 19 points. Illinois State hosts Loyola Sunday at 3 as the second half of a Redbird women’s-men’s hoops doubleheader.
Illinois Wesleyan men could not survive a late Wheaton run and lost to the Thunder 81-67. Brady Rose led the Titans with 19 points. Illinois Wesleyan and Wheaton are now tied for the fourth and final spot in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin tournament with two games remaining.
The Illinois Wesleyan women cruised to a 71-56 win over Elmhurst. Gabby Weber led IWU with a career-high 17 points. The Titans host North Central in a women’s-men’s doubleheader on Saturday night.
Eureka College women’s basketball clinched the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title with a 99-75 victory over Westminster. The Eureka men fell to Westminster 83-57.
In Missouri Valley men’s hoops, Northern Iowa handed Bradley its third straight loss, 64-61, while Loyola held off Indiana State 64-46 and Wichita State beat Southern Illinois 87-68. In the Big Ten, Number 23 Maryland topped Northwestern 74-64 and Minnesota edged Indiana 75-74.
Girls high school basketball moves into championship mode tonight. Central Catholic faces Monticello for the Class 2A Sectional title tonight at the High School of St. Thomas More in Champaign. Heyworth takes on Decatur St. Teresa for the Class 1A Sectional crown at Lexington. U-High and Peoria Notre Dame hook up for the Class 3A Regional championship at Washington while in Class 4A, Normal Community meets Bradley Bourbonnais for the Regional hardware at Champaign Centennial.
Area squads play for third place in the Illinois Elementary School Association eighth grade boys state basketball tournaments. In 8-1A at Shirk Center, Pontiac St. Mary’s faces Ottawa Marquette. In 8-2A at Mount Pulaski, Normal Epiphany takes on Roanoke-Benson. Fieldcrest will play Clifton Nash in 8-3A at Tolono and Bloomington Junior High plays Mokena in 8-4A in Urbana. All of the third place games tip at 6 o’clock.
The Blues won at Detroit 2-0. St. Louis hosts Vancouver tonight. The Blackhawks are off.
The Bulls host the Celtics tonight.
