Boys Basketball

The National Federation of State High School Associations Basketball Rules Committee voted Tuesday to reject a proposal to add a shot clock to high school basketball games

On its way to the National Christian HomeSchool Basketball Championships in Springfield, Mo., last weekend, the Cornerstone Christian Academy boys basketball team decided to stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.

Marcel Neil’s days of school-hopping aren’t through just yet.

Brian Sisler never was flashy about it. He didn’t care about the credit, never stood up after a win or a loss and said he was the leader of the DeKalb boys basketball team.

FIRST TEAM

Relief washed over Greg Burks after his most stressful season in his four years as the girls basketball coach at Hinckley-Big Rock.

DeKalb girls track team wins quadrangular

SYCAMORE – Rockford East center Steven McNease missed the second of two free throws with six seconds left on Tuesday night, reminding the big crowd at the IHSA Class 3A Sycamore Sectional semifinal that he is mortal.

SYCAMORE – Marcel Neil's Kaneland boys basketball career was short but sweet. And productive.

MAPLE PARK – Of the 32 Class 3A boys basketball regional finals scheduled for this past Friday, 31 went off without a hitch, including Kaneland’s overtime victory against Rochelle.

Kaneland beats Rochelle, 65-61, in overtime

Kaneland players re-emerged from the locker room with less than a minute remaining before the third quarter of Tuesday’s Class 3A Rochelle Regional semifinal against Sycamore.

HUNTLEY – Down by three with 16.3 seconds left in the game, DeKalb put it in the hands of a senior who was one of the big reasons it was playing in the semifinals of the Class 4A Huntley Regional.

MOOSEHEART – It wasn’t hard for the Hinckley-Big Rock boys basketball team to find a reason why its season ended.

ROCHELLE – With their muses trailing by double digits in the final minutes of Tuesday’s fourth quarter, Rochelle students boldly challenged the opposing team with a snarky chant.

CLASS 1A MOOSEHEART SECTIONAL SEMIFINAL

ROCHELLE – Brandon Spartz used 13 words to describe Sycamore’s shooting, but really only needed one.

HUNTLEY – In the end, DeKalb relied on the players who brought it success in the regular season.

For a committed high school athlete, sometimes nothing seems more important than sports.

HINCKLEY – For the first five minutes of the Hinckley-Big Rock boys basketball team’s 66-38 Class 1A H-BR Regional championship win against Westminster Christian, the Royals’ full-court press wasn’t working.

DeKALB – For the first time in years, this installment of the DeKalb-Sycamore boys basketball rivalry was entertaining.

DeKALB – It was the first thing on DeKalb center Andre Harris’ mind.

MAPLE PARK – The Kaneland boys basketball team clawed its way back into a shot for the win.

STERLING – The dare set forth by the Indian Creek defense Thursday called for Newman Central Catholic sophomore A.J. Sharp to make a three-pointer.

HINCKLEY – Down more than 30 points, Elgin Academy guard Tom Tunca knew his team couldn’t win. He wanted to hasten the process.

GENOA – Something changes for the Genoa-Kingston boys basketball team down the stretch in close games. Maybe it’s because of the Cogs’ relatively young rotation, but the Cogs seem to tighten up as the game becomes more intense.

SPOTLIGHT ON ...

Indian Creek's boys basketball team used a 32-point third quarter to earn a 73-52 win Tuesday night against Paw Paw in the Class 1A Sterling Newman Central Catholic Regional quarterfinals.

Sometimes, longtime referees will chuckle when they see Corey Jenkins because he’s just like his father.

HINCKLEY – The Hinckley-Big Rock boys basketball team clinched the outright Little Ten Conference championship with a 55-43 win against Paw Paw on Friday, but there was no raucous celebration after the game.

Thomas Williams scored 20 points, but the Kaneland boys basketball team lost to Yorkville, 62-51, on Friday night.

Duo's extra effort puts Barbs back in 1st-place tie in NI Big 12

Indian Creek’s boys basketball team got the situation it wanted at the end of its game against Polo on Tuesday night. The shot just didn’t fall.

Our weekly look at the boys basketball scene

When Greg Burks took over the girls basketball team at Hinckley-Big Rock four years ago, he knew the Royals had a chance to be special.

DeKalb bowler Jessica Eberly averaged 203 for all 12 games to finish 34th of over 200 girls bowling at the state final tournament on Saturday at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford. Teammate Alyssa Mershon averaged 194 for the finals and finished 60th in individuals competition.

SYCAMORE – David Compher yelled to the crowd and pumped his fists as time expired in Sycamore’s 61-55 win over Yorkville on Friday while his teammates hollered and jumped up and down.

DeKalb girls bowlers Jessica Eberly and Alyssa Mershon advanced to the final day of the girls state bowling tournament at Cherry Bowl Lanes in Rockford, but the Barbs did not advance as a team, finishing in 15th place.

DeKALB – Kaneland coach Brian Johnson knew the significance of a conference victory on Friday against DeKalb.

BURLINGTON – It was another down to the wire thriller between the Burlington Central and Genoa-Kingston boys basketball teams Friday on Rocket Hill. Again, the Rockets pulled out a last-minute victory, 72-68.

Kaneland gets top seed in Rochelle Regional

SHABBONA – There was nothing the Genoa-Kingston boys basketball team could do when Indian Creek center Garrison Govig caught the ball deep in the post early in Wednesday’s game.

Hiawatha’s girls basketball team got a 32-28 win against Alden-Hebron on Tuesday in the Class 1A South Beloit Regional semifinals.

DeKalb boys basketball team loses to Elgin, 50-48

Our weekly look at the area boys basketball scene

Sycamore's defense held Kaneland's boys basketball team to 14 first-half points Saturday, and held on for a 51-42 win.

SOMONAUK – The Hinckley-Big Rock boys basketball team didn’t just show it’s the team to beat in the Little Ten Conference with a 58-39 LTC tournament championship win over Somonauk on Friday.

DeKALB – Maybe a letdown was inevitable. A team can only flirt with perfection for so long. And with DeKalb starters getting well-deserved, garbage-time rest Friday night against Rochelle, something had to give.

SOMONAUK – Hinckley-Big Rock knows it has to play better if it ends the Little Ten Conference boys basketball tournament the way it began.

With point guard Mason Lucca at home with the flu, the Genoa-Kingston boys basketball team’s offense sputtered to a 44-30 loss at Harvard on Thursday night.