Galesburg High School
Galesburg boys drop two weekend games
Quincy 45, Galesburg 41
Quincy used a decisive fourth-quarter surge to rally past Galesburg 45-41 on Dec. 19 after trailing most of the game.
Galesburg led 16-10 after the first quarter and carried a 23-22 advantage into halftime. The Silver Streaks built the early lead with balanced scoring and two first-quarter 3-pointers, while Quincy stayed within striking distance by getting to the free-throw line.
The teams traded baskets throughout the third quarter, with Galesburg continuing to hold a narrow edge. A late basket gave the Streaks a 34-30 lead heading into the final period.
Quincy opened the fourth quarter with an 11-2 run to seize its first lead of the night. A 3-pointer put the Blue Devils ahead 35-34, and they followed with three straight baskets to stretch the margin to 41-36 midway through the quarter. Three Galesburg turnovers contributed to that run.
Galesburg cut the deficit to two on a Stone Thiel 3-pointer with less than two minutes to play, but Quincy answered with back-to-back scores to preserve the lead. With less than a minute to play, the Streaks missed three attempts under the basket. Jaxon Wyatt turned an offensive rebound into two points in the final seconds for the final score.
Wyatt scored nine points to lead the Silver Streaks, while Cesaire Bile, Keigen Crummer and Rahkim McCellan each scored seven.
Galesburg finished with 34 rebounds, seven assists, eight steals and two blocked shots. The Streaks shot 33% from the field, 19% from 3-point range and 50% from the free-throw line.
After a 4-0 start, Galesburg is now 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the Western Big 6. Quincy snapped a four-game losing streak and won its first Western Big 6 game of the season.
Bettendorf 62, Galesburg 31
Galesburg’s boys basketball team fell to Bettendorf 62-31 on Dec. 20 in the annual Illinois-Iowa high school basketball shootout at Augustana College.
The loss dropped the Silver Streaks to 5-4 on the season. Bettendorf improved to 6-0.
Michael Gordon led Bettendorf with 18 points, including four of five from 3-point range. An 18-0 run by the Bulldogs in the third quarter broke the game open.
Cesaire Bile led Galesburg with 11 points. The Silver Streaks made 14 of 45 field-goal attempts and went to the free-throw line just once.
The victory marked the fourth straight win for Iowa teams in the annual event, continuing their dominance over the past decade.
GHS boys swimming finishes third at Midwest Invite
The Galesburg boys swimming and diving team placed third among nine schools at the Midwest Invite on Dec. 20 at Peoria Richwoods.
Brayden McGuire won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:03.88. Cole Furrow finished third in the 100-yard backstroke.
Other top-five finishers included the 200-yard medley relay team of Furrow, Samuel Puerta, McGuire and Mahmoud Shehata, and the 400-yard freestyle relay team of Nolan Good, Furrow, McGuire and Puerta.
Galesburg is off until Jan. 8, when it hosts Burlington. Diving begins at 4:30 p.m., followed by swimming at 5:30 p.m. The Silver Streaks will not compete at home again until Jan. 27.
Team scores
- Washington — 428
- O’Fallon — 214
- Galesburg — 171
- Edwardsville — 163
- Metamora — 115
- Hononegah — 114
- Dunlap — 102
- Richwoods — 55
- Notre Dame — 23
1-meter diving
Cordae Sanchez, 3 — 318.95
Charles Hayden, 7 — 254.50
200-yard medley relay
GHS-A, 5 — 1:49.05 (Cole Furrow, Samuel Puerta, Brayden McGuire, Mahmoud Shehata)
GHS-B, 17 — 2:42.48 (Charles Anderton, Seth Hawkinson, Jake Leonard, Silas Descalzo)
200-yard freestyle
Brady Jackson, 11 — 2:04.03
Nolan Good, 12 — 2:04.37
Seth Hawkinson, 21 — 2:38.61
200-yard IM
Samuel Puerta, 6 — 2:17.36
Mohamed Shehata, 11 — 2:29.87
50-yard freestyle
Mahmoud Shehata, 9 — 24.48
Jake Leonard, 22 — 36.97
Silas Descalzo, 24 — 38.73
100-yard butterfly
Nolan Good, 9 — 1:02.80
Brody McGuire, 10 — 1:03.24
Seth Hawkinson, 24 — 1:34.85
100-yard freestyle
Mahmoud Shehata, 6 — 54.66
Brody McGuire, 15 — 1:03.38
Charles Anderton, 21 — 1:06.43
500-yard freestyle
Cole Furrow, 6 — 5:17.60
Brady Jackson, 12 — 6:02.12
Jake Leonard, 22 — 8:20.21
200-yard freestyle relay
GHS-A, 8 — 1:41.22 (Brody McGuire, Nolan Good, Mohamed Shehata, Brady Jackson)
100-yard backstroke
Cole Furrow, 3 — 1:00.39
Charles Anderton, 21 — 1:26.52
Silas Descalzo, 25 — 1:47.06
100-yard breaststroke
Brayden McGuire, 1 — 1:03.88
Samuel Puerta, 7 — 1:09.12
Mohamed Shehata, 10 — 1:15.50
400-yard freestyle relay
GHS-A, 5 — 3:37.90 (Nolan Good, Cole Furrow, Brayden McGuire, Samuel Puerta)
Carl Sandburg College
Sandburg men get two weekend wins
Keauntrey Barnes scored a season-high 28 points Friday as the Sandburg men’s basketball team picked up back-to-back weekend victories to close the 2025 portion of its schedule.
Sandburg 82, DuPage 69
Barnes powered the Chargers past visiting DuPage on Dec. 19, going 5 of 7 from 3-point range. His five 3-pointers and 14 rebounds were also season highs.
The sophomore from Farmington finished 9 of 12 from the field for his second straight double-double and tied for the team lead with four assists.
Sandburg led 37-31 at halftime and held off the Chaparrals in the second half. Matt Bockman added 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2 of 4 from beyond the arc, while Ralph Wires scored 12.
Freshman Rylan Carton chipped in 10 points and matched Barnes with four assists. Freshman Gavin Grothaus pulled down 10 rebounds and added three assists and two steals.
Sandburg 72, Harper 60
Sandburg led by just two at halftime before pulling away in the second half, outscoring host Harper 41-31 on Dec. 20 in Palatine.
Bockman led the Chargers with a season-high 15 points, his second straight game in double figures. The sophomore from Decorah, Iowa, was 6 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 5 from 3-point range, and added five rebounds and two assists.
Coming off the bench, Wires scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and went 4 of 5 from the free-throw line.
Carton finished with 12 points and five rebounds, while Barnes added 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Grothaus led Sandburg with six rebounds.
Sandburg returns to action Jan. 5 against the Monmouth JV.
Sandburg women close 2025 with two wins
The Sandburg women’s basketball team closed the 2025 portion of its schedule with back-to-back victories, defeating DuPage on Dec. 19 and Harper on Dec. 20.
Sandburg 81, DuPage 56
Tiera Hall posted a season-high 18 points and a team-best 15 rebounds to lead the Chargers to a home win over DuPage.
Hall was 6 of 10 from the field and grabbed 10 of her rebounds on the offensive end. The sophomore from Katy, Texas, also had three assists and three steals.
Antonia Kisler scored a team-high 21 points despite sitting out the entire third quarter with foul trouble. The sophomore from Galesburg went 7 of 17 from the field, made 7 of 8 free throws, pulled down eight rebounds and recorded three of Sandburg’s 20 steals.
Freshman Hailey Redding added 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting, while Camryn Atterberg finished with 13 rebounds and a team-best five steals.
Sandburg jumped out to a 21-6 lead after the first quarter and never trailed.
Sandburg 95, Harper 51
Sandburg raced to a 30-9 lead after the first quarter and took a 53-23 advantage into halftime in a road win over Harper.
Hall recorded her third consecutive double-double and seventh of the season, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Nine of her rebounds came on the offensive glass, and she added a team-high six steals.
Kisler led the Chargers with 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including two 3-pointers.
Redding knocked down a team-best three 3-pointers and scored 11 points, while Atterberg pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds and added three steals.
The Chargers return to action at 1 p.m. Jan. 3 at Bryant & Stratton.
Galesburg featured in Sandburg Shootout Jan. 3
High school basketball fans can ring in the first Saturday of 2026 with a full day of hoops as the Sandburg Shootout returns Jan. 3 on the college’s Galesburg campus.
The fifth edition of the event includes six boys basketball contests starting at noon. Matchups include:
• Noon — United vs. Peoria Heights
• 1:30 p.m. — West Central vs. Hartsburg-Emden
• 3 p.m. — Monmouth-Roseville vs. Beardstown
• 4:30 p.m. — Rockridge vs. Abingdon-Avon
• 6 p.m. — Sherrard vs. Mendon Unity
• 7:30 p.m. — Galesburg vs. Bloomington
Among the highlighted games is unbeaten Abingdon-Avon — ranked No. 9 in Class 1A by nestohoops.com — taking on Rockridge at 4:30 p.m. The day will wrap up with Galesburg playing inside city limits away from John Thiel Gymnasium against Bloomington.
“We have some really interesting matchups that fans from all around the area can look forward to,” Sandburg men’s basketball coach and shootout organizer Ryan Twaddle said. “Each year, we’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the teams that play here because they get to play on a college floor against a team they don’t normally see. We’re looking forward to hosting another great day of basketball.”
Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. All tickets are available at the door, and admission is good for all six games.
Knox College
Knox men go 0-2 in Daytona Beach Shootout
The Knox College men’s basketball team went 0-2 at the Daytona Beach Shootout in Florida, dropping games to Williams College and SUNY Maritime.
Williams 96, Knox 54
Knox opened the event on Dec. 19 with a 96-54 loss to Williams College of Massachusetts. The Ephs jumped out to a 15-3 lead six minutes in and maintained control throughout behind efficient shooting.
The Prairie Fire struggled offensively, finishing at 33% from the field and 15% from 3-point range.
Fourteen Knox players scored, with 16 seeing action. B.J. Cooley and Noah Campbell led the Prairie Fire with seven points apiece, a season high for Cooley. Russell Wright, Braedy Phelan and Vladimir Maranov added six points each, while Ayden Ayer led the team with four assists.
SUNY Maritime 79, Knox 69
Knox rebounded Sunday morning with a stronger performance but fell 79-69 to SUNY Maritime in the tournament finale.
The Prairie Fire opened the game with the first six points and built an early 11-4 lead, highlighted by Wright’s steal and dunk and a 3-pointer from Willie Rogers III.
SUNY Maritime answered with a late first-half run to take a 34-28 lead into halftime. Knox surged again in the second half, fueled by Campbell, who scored 14 of his 18 points after the break. A 15-3 run put Knox back in front 43-40 on Ayer’s 3-pointer with 13:43 remaining.
The Privateers responded with a decisive 16-4 run and, after Knox tied the game at 60-60 on Wright’s tip-in with 3:29 left, SUNY Maritime closed on a 19-9 run to seal the win.
Wright finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Rogers added 11 points and nine rebounds. Knox outrebounded SUNY Maritime 54-52 and forced 20 turnovers but shot 30.4% from the field and 55.6% from the free-throw line.
The Prairie Fire return home at 5-6 overall and 1-2 in the Midwest Conference and will host Millikin at 3 p.m. Dec. 31 inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Knox women lose to Albion in Honolulu
The Knox College women’s basketball team opened play in the Hoops in Hawaii Classic with an 83-69 loss to Albion College on Dec. 21.
Albion took an early 6-4 lead before closing the first quarter on a 15-8 run to go up 21-12. The Britons extended the advantage to as many as 17 points in the second quarter before Knox cut the deficit to 35-23 at halftime.
The Prairie Fire (3-7, 2-1 Midwest Conference) pulled within 10 points in the second half but were unable to trim the margin to single digits.
Bria Medina led all scorers with 22 points for Knox. Nayeli Nidez Acuna added 14 points and eight rebounds, while Izzy Robinson came off the bench to score 11 points with seven rebounds. Kylee Callahan also finished in double figures with 11 points.
Knox shot 39.7% from the field (25 of 63), including 15.4% (2 of 13) from 3-point range, and went 17 of 22 (77.3%) from the free-throw line. The Prairie Fire outrebounded Albion 41-36 and scored 36 points in the paint, 12 second-chance points and 15 points in transition.
Knox continues play in Hawaii at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 23 against Linfield and returns to Midwest Conference action Jan. 3 at Lake Forest.
On the schedule
Friday, Dec. 26, 2025
• GHS girls basketball vs. Danville at Mattoon Holiday Tournament, 1 p.m.
• GHS girls basketball vs. Mattoon at Mattoon Holiday Tournament, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 27, 2025
• GHS boys basketball vs. Intrinsic Downtown at DeKalb Holiday Tournament