Galesburg boys basketball rallies late to beat Burlington
After his boys basketball team lost what he called “a winnable game” last week, Galesburg coach Taylor Thiel said his players needed to learn from the experience to better handle the pressure of close games.
The Silver Streaks showed what they had learned by rallying from a 13-point deficit late in the third quarter for a 62-53 victory over Burlington on Dec. 16.
The win ended a two-game losing streak for Galesburg, which had opened the season 4-0. For Cesaire Bile, who scored 20 points, the victory brought relief.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “We just came off a two-game losing streak. It’s good to have a win again. They weren’t as superior as the teams that we played so far, but a win is a win. It was rough in the first half down by 10. So, we came back. I’m happy for us and the whole team.”
Galesburg trailed 47-34 with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter, and momentum had not been on its side for most of the game. That’s when the energy on the floor shifted.
“We really turned up the defense,” Thiel said. “We put the press on them. They had some younger guards out front that, you could tell, it affected them. They weren’t as physical as they needed to be. And we found their kryptonite for the night.
“They got rushed, and they started missing shots. So, they started doing what we were doing in the first half with the one-pass-and-shoot. Then we had our guys in rebounding position, and we were able to just kind of climb back in and slowly chip away. Then we just closed the door.”
Galesburg outscored Burlington 28-6 over the final 10 minutes. Bile said the defense changed the complexion of the game.
“If it wasn’t for the defense,” he said, “we would have still probably won by three, but we locked them down the second half, had them only score 13 points and we scored — I don’t even know how much — but it was a good win.”
Burlington controlled the first half, hitting from long range and scoring inside, while Galesburg struggled from both inside and beyond the arc.
“We were one-pass-and-shoot a lot of the first half,” Thiel said. “We were trying to run and just were impatient on offense, didn’t really get into the flow. You couple that with them knocking down some 3s, and it kind of snowballed real quickly for us.”
After a brief early lead, Galesburg went cold offensively, and Burlington took a 40-30 lead at halftime.
Thiel said he challenged his team during the break.
“I went in and challenged them at halftime. I said that they had 16 minutes to figure it out — if they’re going to come together or if it’s going to be status quo. And they pulled together and found a way to come back and win.”
Bile said he did not try to do anything special during the comeback.
“I was just trying to score in the flow of the offense and do what I can, to try my best not to force shots and just play basketball.”
Bile scored 15 points in the second half, and Keigen Crummer added 12 of his 14 points after halftime.
Thiel said the Silver Streaks may have taken Burlington too lightly. In a similar game last season, Galesburg rallied from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Grayhounds 65-60 and end another losing streak.
“We dropped the one last Friday night against United Township,” he said. “In this one we were down, and we came back. We were in a close game, and we found a way to close it. So, right there, there’s some growth, and I’m proud of them for being able to do that.”
The nonconference win improved Galesburg to 5-2. Burlington fell to 2-2.
Galesburg plays at Quincy at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 before facing Bettendorf at 2:30 p.m. Dec. 20 in the Iowa-Illinois Shootout at Augustana College.
Galesburg scoring: Bile 20, Keigen Crummer 14, Rahkim McCellan 7, Stone Thiel 6, Demetrius Watson 5, Eden Mayala 5, Jaxon Wyatt 5, Tobi Kivunina 3, Leslie Kelley 0.
Burlington scoring: Jett Morris 24, Kobe Edmunds 10, Michael Kantzavelos 8, Zach Hart 7, Detayvion Pearson 3, CJ Chandler 1, Kevin Brown 0.
Galesburg boys win two in triple-dual wrestling
Galesburg’s boys wrestling team won two of the three matches during a triple dual at Peoria on Dec. 16.
The Silver Streaks lost to Morton 48-24 but defeated Illini Bluffs 51-30 and Peoria 52-15.
DJ Heatherly, Jack Bernardi, Anthony Makwala, Braiden Tucker, Cale Johnson and Landon Petty each went 3-0 for Galesburg.
The Silver Streaks host Geneseo at 6 p.m. Dec. 18 before competing in the Metamora Invite on Dec. 20 and 22.
McHenry scores in final seconds to top Sandburg men
Keauntrey Barnes hit a clutch 3-pointer in the final minute, but McHenry County answered with a game-winning three-point play in the closing seconds to defeat the Sandburg men’s basketball team 72-70 on Dec. 16 in Crystal Lake.
Trailing 69-67, Barnes drained a 3-pointer with 18.9 seconds remaining to give the Chargers a one-point lead. The host Scots responded with an and-one by Malachi Barrett with 12.1 seconds left to regain the lead. Barrett converted the free throw to account for the final margin.
Sandburg (6-6) had a clean look at the buzzer, but Larry Olivier Jr.’s 3-point attempt from the top of the key rattled off the back of the rim.
Rylan Carton scored a team-high 15 points for Sandburg, including three 3-pointers. It marked the sixth consecutive double-figure game for the freshman from Sherrard.
Barnes added 14 points and also connected on three 3s. Sophomore guard Ralph Wires scored 13 points for the Chargers, who led 35-31 at halftime. Barrett finished with a game-high 23 points.
Sandburg plays DuPage at 3 p.m. Dec. 19.
Hall, Kisler lead Charger women past McHenry
Six players scored in double figures as the Sandburg women’s basketball team rolled past McHenry County 86-62 on Tuesday afternoon in Crystal Lake.
Tiera Hall and Antonia Kisler each scored 16 points to lead the Chargers (7-5), who jumped out to a 20-6 lead after the first quarter.
Hall added a team-high 15 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the season. She went 8-for-11 from the field and grabbed seven offensive rebounds while adding five assists and three steals. Kisler finished 6-for-16 shooting and had seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Freshman Hailey Redding came off the bench to score 13 points. Paige Huffman, making her first start of the season, knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points.
Freshman Lajaya Angel added 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals while shooting 5-for-6 from the field. Camryn Atterberg scored 10 points off the bench and added five rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Janessa Wallace scored three points, but the freshman from Peoria Heights dished out nine of the Chargers’ 27 assists and collected five offensive rebounds.
Sandburg plays DuPage at 5 p.m. Dec. 19.
Second-half surge lifts Coe past Knox men
Knox College led 36-31 at halftime, but visiting Coe College surged in the second half to defeat the Prairie Fire 77-62 on Dec. 16 at Memorial Gymnasium.
Cooper Nailor and Jackson Bowman each scored 21 points to lead the Kohawks (7-3). Senior Russell Wright scored 12 points to pace Knox, the only Prairie Fire player in double figures.
Knox built momentum after sophomore Ryan Erdos scored on a hook shot to give the Prairie Fire a 6-4 lead. That basket sparked a 16-3 run, with seven different Knox players scoring as the hosts opened a 20-7 advantage more than 10 minutes into the game. Knox limited Coe to 3-for-19 shooting during the stretch.
Coe responded with a seven-point run and trimmed the deficit to three on a basket by Bowman, but Knox carried a 36-31 lead into halftime after Erdos added two more baskets. After its slow start, Coe hit 10 of its final 16 shots of the half.
The Kohawks seized control early in the second half behind Nailor. After trading 3-pointers with junior Josh Stewart, Nailor hit consecutive 3s to tie the game at 45 and give Coe its first lead since the opening minutes. Nailor later connected on his fifth and final 3-pointer to put Coe ahead 53-45 with 12:13 remaining.
Turnovers and free throws proved costly for the Prairie Fire, as Coe turned 15 Knox miscues into 19 points. Knox also converted just 7 of 16 free throws, a season-low.
Knox travels to Florida for the Daytona Beach Shootout and will face Williams College at 4 p.m. (EST) Dec. 19.
Friday, Dec. 19
Saturday, Dec. 20
