By John Ring
Published January 27, 2022 in The Burg
It wasn’t the best of weeks for either Silver Streak basketball team.
Coach Chad Thompson’s team made their annual trek into Wharton Fieldhouse and to say
things didn’t work out is an understatement. The Maroons turned a 29-23 lead into a rout thanks
to a flurry of three-point shots and fast breaks and Galesburg never recovered. The result was a
running clock in the fourth quarter and an ultimate 71-49 loss.
It was even tougher for Coach Evan Massey and his Silver Streaks.
Within the week, they played four state ranked teams-- #1 Geneseo, #4 Lincoln, #5 Peoria High and #6 Morton. Talk about a brutal stretch.
Lincoln edged the Streaks on their home court to claim a victory by a 47-41 score. Galesburg had a ton of turnovers in this game and attempted just a pair of free throws and then the undefeated and top ranked Maple Leafs visited John Thiel Gym last Thursday night. Geneseo took a 24-15 halftime lead and it looked like they would cruise to a win. But the Streaks mounted a furious rally; they cut the lead to 36-30 and then in a flurry of baskets and blocked shots in the final minute, they not only tied the game but nearly won it on a last second layup only to fall in overtime. Geneseo may have improved to 19-0 with the win but the Silver Streaks shook them up, for what it’s worth. They had a fight on their hands.
Next up were the Lions out of Peoria High and the Streaks never looked comfortable on the court. The Lions’ quickness, especially on defense, frustrated Galesburg and they never got into any semblance of an offense. Peoria was three-happy and committed a lot of fouls but the Streaks couldn’t get into a rhythm. Kiarra Kilgore sliced and cut her way to 20 points but no other Streaks player scored much in this game, which resulted in a 51-36 Peoria High win. For what it’s worth, the Lions looked better than Geneseo; at least to me.
One common factor both Streak teams have are their good records; the boys are 18-5 with four of their losses coming in Western Big 6 games. The girls are 17-7. with four of those losses also coming in conference play. Draw whatever conclusions you want but the Big 6 is a pretty powerful conference in both boys and girls basketball.
Both teams will now wind down the regular season before going into the Regional Tournament.
Chad Thompson’s Streaks will play their Regional at either Limestone or Peoria Richwoods, with the Sectionals being played at Bradley.
Evan Massey’s crew will travel to either Sterling or Geneseo for regional action with the
sectional being at LaSalle-Peru.