Eastland Cougars were no match for Chicago Hope; Cougars take best ever second-place finish at state
CHAMPAING, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — Saturday was a bitter-sweet day for the Eastland Cougars and their fans at the IHSA State Basketball Tournament at State Farm Center. The Cougars lost a lopsided 1A championship game to Chicago Hope 71-38. The sweet part was, the Cougars runner-up finish was still the best ever by the school in boys' basketball, and it was also the best finish ever by an NUIC boys' basketball team.The Cougars had been on a postseason tear coming into the game that including Sectional wins against Dakota and their top rival Pecatonica. They then ran away from Aurora Christian at the NIU Super-Sectional Then in the state semifinal game they defeated Peoria Christian by 20 points 55-35.But Chicago Hope had something Eastland couldn't handle-size, athleticism and an all-state point guard named Tyjuan Hunter. Hunter exploded for 26 points. Most of those coming in the second half when Hope pulled away after leading by only six points at halftime. Hunter also dished out 11 assists. 6'5 center Jaiden Simmons rammed through a couple alley-oop dunks for the Eagles on his way to a 12-point game. He also added seven rebounds. Hope out-rebounded Eastland 34-18.Hope is coached by former Chicago Prep star and former Rockford Lightning all-star Ronnie Fields. Hope had finished third at state last year.Eastland was led by junior second-team All-State forward Parker Krogman with 17 points. First-team All-State senior guard Adam Awender scored 15 points. Those two players combined for 32 of Eastland's 38 points. Eastland finishes its season with a record of 34-5. For more on the game, watch the media player above.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox Sports
39 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Gearing Up: Will Two-Driver Grip on Victory Lane Loosen at WWTR?
INDYCAR The NTT INDYCAR SERIES is experiencing dominance in 2025 that most of the paddock isn't celebrating. Chip Ganassi Racing's Alex Palou and Andretti Global's Kyle Kirkwood have combined to win each of the season's first seven races. SEE: WWTR Event Details The combination of Palou (five wins) and Kirkwood (two) is as significant historically as it is presently. Since A.J. Foyt won the first seven races of the 1964 season – that was 61 years ago, by the way – only one season has had such a run by so few drivers. In 2006, Sebastien Bourdais won the first four races of the Champ Car World Series season, and AJ Allmendinger won the next three races. In terms of two-man dominance, that's the only comparison over the past half-century to what we're seeing this year. The modern era of this sport has exuded parity unlike few others. Since unification in 2008, there has only been one season – 2009 – when there weren't at least four drivers winning in the first seven races. On three occasions, there were seven winners among those seven races – most recently in 2021 when Palou, Colton Herta, Scott Dixon, Pato O'Ward, Rinus VeeKay, Helio Castroneves and Marcus Ericsson won races. This season's parity is rooted in second-place finishes. Six drivers have found themselves in the runner-up position, and Palou is one of them, part of why he holds a commanding 90-point lead over Arrow McLaren's O'Ward as the series nears its halfway point. Third-place Kirkwood trails Palou by 102 points. It's been two decades since a driver had that kind of an advantage at this point in the season. This season has featured three temporary street circuits, three permanent road courses and, of course, the most important oval track of them all (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of Palou's first Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge victory). Perhaps a different winner emerges with Sunday's Bommarito Automotive Group 500 presented by Axalta and Valvoline at World Wide Technology Raceway (8 p.m. ET, FOX, FOX Sports app, INDYCAR Radio Network). Certainly, history suggests it will be someone other than Palou or Kirkwood since Palou's win at Indy is the only oval victory they have between them. Team Penske's Josef Newgarden has been the dominant series driver at this 1.25-mile short oval, capturing four of the past five victories and a track record five in all. O'Ward has regularly contended, as well, finishing second in three of the past five races. Meanwhile, neither Palou nor Kirkwood has posted even a top-three finish at the track located a few miles east of St. Louis. Palou has fared better than Kirkwood, finishing ninth, seventh and fourth in the past three races. Kirkwood's average finish in series races there is 18.0, and his race a year ago effectively ended on Lap 17 when he got collected in a chain reaction incident in Turn 2. This event spans two days. Saturday is packed with action, beginning with the first practice at 11:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying for the NTT P1 Award follows at 3 p.m., and the second practice will be at 5:30 p.m. All of this action airs live on FS1, the FOX Sports app and the INDYCAR Radio Network. Sunday, it's racing under the lights for the first time this season. Twenty-five drivers will try to reach victory lane for the first time this season. The other two -- Palou and Kirkwood -- will try to keep the checkered flags all to themselves. recommended
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Vikings Emerge as Possible Landing Spot for Packers Star
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers are hated rivals. Both the teams and fans very much dislike each other, as is the case with most teams in the NFC North division. Over the last couple of years, the division has become the best in the NFL. Last season, three of the four teams were playoff teams. The Chicago Bears were the only team that missed out, although they had an impressive offseason and should be vastly improved in 2025. On Monday, the Packers made a major move that the Vikings could capitalize on. They chose to release longtime star cornerback Jaire Alexander. Cornerback Jaire Alexander #23 of the Green Bay Packers gets set during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, at Lambeau Field on October 13, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Cornerback Jaire Alexander #23 of the Green Bay Packers gets set during the second quarter of an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, at Lambeau Field on October 13, 2024 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Photo byWhen that move is made official, Minnesota will have a great opportunity. Read more: Vikings GM Shares Major JJ McCarthy Truth At this point, the Vikings still need help in the secondary. What better way to get that help than by going out and signing Alexander now that he is a free agent? That is exactly what Kay Adams suggested to Alexander in a segment on the "Up & Adams" show. "Go to the Vikings. They need a corner!" she said. Pro Football Focus analyst Trevor Sikkema also named Minnesota as one of the top potential landing spots for Alexander ahead of the 2025 season. Alexander is still one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL. Unfortunately, injuries have held him back in a big way over the last couple of years. He has played in just seven games in each of the last two seasons. Last year, Alexander recorded 16 tackles, a fumble recovery, two interceptions, a defensive touchdown, and seven defended passes. He's still more than capable of making a huge impact. Read more: Steelers Could Make Huge Splash With Former Aaron Rodgers Teammate Adding the 28-year-old cornerback would also bring more of an edge to the Vikings' defense. He would be out to prove himself after being released by Green Bay and would have extra motivation to prove his old team wrong for giving up on him. As for the Packers, this would be a nightmare scenario. They know just how good Alexander is capable of being. Him landing with Minnesota would make a tough situation much worse. Expect to hear a lot of rumors and speculation about Alexander in the coming hours and days. He's a star hitting the market just before the season. Plenty of teams are going to come calling with interest, and it would not be surprising to see the Vikings be one of those teams. For more Minnesota Vikings and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
THE WRAP-UP PODCAST: The final word on the most painful of defeats
A PLACE that holds so many happy memories is fast becoming something of a graveyard for Warrington Wolves. Those three Challenge Cup Final victories in four years in 2009, 2010 and 2012 will always be remembered but now, four of their five trips to Wembley Stadium since then have ended in defeat. Advertisement And in the circumstances, this was perhaps the most painful of the lot as despite a superb performance on the day, Sam Burgess' side saw victory snatched away at the death by Hull KR. We've brought you plenty of post-match reaction since the full-time hooter sounded on Saturday afternoon but now, our final word comes in the shape of our match review podcast "The Wrap-Up." Our Warrington Wolves reporter Matt Turner hosts with help from Wire fans Gareth Dunning and Rob Croston to help unpack the key moments of the 8-6 defeat. We bring you head coach Sam Burgess' press conference in full while we also bring you a chat with Marc Sneyd, who became only the second player in history to win the Lance Todd Trophy three times having been voted as player of the match despite being on the losing side. Listen to this week's episode below
