Makwala records 100th wrestling win
Senior Anthony Makwala earned the 100th victory of his Silver Streak wrestling career at the Floyd Bee Memorial Holiday Tournament held Dec. 29-30 at Lincoln Community High School.
Makwala became the ninth Silver Streak to join the exclusive 100-win club. He finished second at 165 pounds in the 32-team tournament.
Galesburg placed eighth as a team. Gibson City won the team title, while fellow Western Big 6 Conference members Rock Island and Sterling finished fourth and seventh, respectively.
The Streaks will be back on the mat at 9:30 a.m. in Dixon, then return home to face Limestone at 6 p.m. Jan. 6.
Galesburg girls get redemption at Mattoon tourney
The 2025 Coles County Holiday Tournament provided redemption — and a championship trophy — for the Galesburg girls basketball team.
After falling to Teutopolis in last year’s title game, the Silver Streaks got their revenge with a 45-34 victory over the Lady Wooden Shoes on Dec. 27 in the championship game of the tournament, also known as the Mattoon Holiday Tournament.
That was the closest game of the tournament for Galesburg, which defeated Danville 61-20, Mattoon 56-27 and Marion 64-40 en route to the title.
The championship game did not begin as Galesburg hoped. Teutopolis, the defending champion and unbeaten at 11-0 entering the game, built an 11-point lead by the second quarter while holding the Streaks’ offense — which had scored 60 or more points earlier in the week — in check.
The second half belonged to Galesburg.
Led by tournament MVP Zaniyah Carter and Lily Furrow, the Silver Streaks mounted an impressive comeback, erasing the deficit and pulling away late to secure the 11-point victory.
Carter scored 16 points against Mattoon and 13 against Marion during the tournament. While she took home MVP honors, the depth of the Galesburg roster was on display throughout the week.
Furrow scored 16 points in the championship game, including several key baskets down the stretch. Jozalyn Kilgore was a consistent scorer and led the Streaks with 14 points against Danville. The bench also provided a spark, with players such as Olivia Springer and Keerah Cooper earning additional minutes.
With the tournament sweep, Galesburg extended its winning streak to nine games and improved to 15-1 overall.
The Silver Streaks return home to face Pekin at 1:30 p.m. Jan. 3 at John Thiel Gym. After that, Galesburg resumes Western Big 6 play with a 7 p.m. game Jan. 8 at Rock Island.
Galesburg leads the conference at 5-1, with its only loss coming to second-place Sterling (4-1). The Streaks then travel to Bettendorf for the Illinois-Iowa Shootout on Jan. 10.
Streaks’ boys team leaves DeKalb with dramatic overtime victory
The Galesburg boys basketball team closed the Chuck Dayton Holiday Classic with a 66-64 overtime victory over Lincoln-Way West on Dec. 30, finishing the tournament with a 2-2 record.
The Silver Streaks opened the Classic Dec. 27 with a 70-55 win over Intrinsic Downtown before dropping both games of a Dec. 29 doubleheader, falling to Ridgewood 59-42 and host DeKalb 49-39.
In the tournament finale, Galesburg (6-6 at the time) and Lincoln-Way West (6-7) traded leads in a back-and-forth contest. The Warriors tied the game late in regulation, but the Silver Streaks pulled away in overtime to secure the win.
Eden Mayala led Galesburg with 21 points, Stone Thiel added 18 and Cesaire Bile finished with 15.
Following losses to Burlington and Quincy prior to the tournament, Galesburg returned to the win column in its opener against Intrinsic Downtown. The Silver Streaks built an early lead and never relinquished it, as every player saw action.
Bile paced Galesburg with 21 points, while Jaxon Wyatt added 17 points and nine rebounds. The Silver Streaks shot 31 of 78 from the field, including 2 of 18 from 3-point range, and went 6 of 14 at the free-throw line. Galesburg finished with 48 rebounds (27 offensive), 17 assists and 15 turnovers.
In the second game, Galesburg fell to DeKalb. The Silver Streaks led by eight at halftime but struggled offensively in the second half, scoring just 15 points.
Rahkim McCellan led Galesburg with nine points off the bench while adding three steals and a rebound. Wyatt finished with seven points and seven rebounds, and Thiel scored all six of his points in the second half.
Later that evening, Galesburg dropped a 59-42 decision to Ridgewood in the teams’ third all-time meeting. After trailing by five at halftime, the Silver Streaks were unable to mount a run in the second half.
McCellan led Galesburg with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks. Thiel scored nine points and Bile added six.
For the tournament, Bile led the Silver Streaks with 42 points, followed by Thiel 38, Wyatt 34, Mayala 32 and Demetrius Watson 21.
Wyatt led Galesburg in rebounding with 23, followed by McCellan 20, Thiel 16, Bile 15, Watson 14, Mayala 13 and Robi Kivunina 11.
Galesburg is now 7-6 and returns to action with a 6 p.m. game Jan. 2 against Rockford Jefferson. The Silver Streaks then compete Jan. 3 at the Carl Sandburg College High School Boys Shootout, facing Bloomington at 7:30 p.m.
Millikin ends Knox men’s 2025 basketball year with loss
Millikin proved a bit more explosive than Knox College on the final day of 2025, defeating the Prairie Fire 92-80 on New Year’s Eve.
The Big Blue went 19 of 33 at the line and knocked down 11 of 23 3-pointers.
Noah Campbell scored a career-high 30 points in 26 minutes for Knox (5-7). The Prairie Fire shot 32 of 58 from the field (55.2%), but Millikin (10-2) capitalized at the free-throw line and from beyond the arc.
Russell Wright finished with 11 points for Knox, while Josh Stewart also scored in double figures. Stewart led the Prairie Fire with seven assists and added five rebounds.
Knox jumped out to a 12-3 lead before Millikin chipped away and trailed just 40-37 at halftime.
The Prairie Fire continued to shoot well in the second half, making 17 of 28 shots (60.7%). However, Millikin forced 22 turnovers and converted 13 of 24 free throws after the break to pull away.
Knox returns to Midwest Conference play this weekend, visiting Lake Forest for a 1 p.m. tipoff Jan. 3.
Friday, Jan. 2, 2026
• GHS boys basketball vs. Jefferson, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 3, 2026
• GHS boys wrestling at Dixon, 9:30 a.m.
• GHS girls wrestling at Keokuk, 10 a.m.
• GHS bowling at Abingdon-Avon Invite, 10 a.m.
• Knox men’s basketball vs. Lake Forest, 1 p.m.
• Sandburg women’s basketball at Bryant & Stratton, 1 p.m.
• GHS girls basketball vs. Pekin, 1:30 p.m.
• Knox women’s basketball vs. Lake Forest, 3 p.m.
• GHS boys basketball vs. Bloomington at Carl Sandburg College, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 5, 2026
• Sandburg women’s basketball vs. Illinois College, 3 p.m.
• Sandburg men’s basketball vs. Monmouth JV, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026
• GHS bowling vs. Sterling, 4 p.m.
• GHS girls wrestling vs. ROWVA-Williamsfield, 6 p.m.
• GHS boys wrestling vs. Limestone, 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026
• GHS bowling at Geneseo, 4 p.m.
• Knox men’s basketball vs. Beloit, 5:30 p.m.
• Knox women’s basketball vs. Beloit, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026
• GHS boys swimming/diving vs. Burlington, 4:30/5:30 p.m.
• Sandburg women’s basketball at Kishwaukee, 5:30 p.m.
• GHS boys wrestling vs. Notre Dame (Wicall Gym), 6 p.m.
• GHS girls wrestling at Farmington/Sherrard, 6 p.m.
• GHS girls basketball vs. Rock Island, 7 p.m.
• Sandburg men’s basketball at Kishwaukee, 7:30 p.m.
