The Sentinel On This Day |
December 4


As December arrives with festive lights and winter’s chill, we revisit the stories that defined our community — from holiday traditions and year‑end reflections to local sports highlights, civic milestones, and spirited debates. Explore archived posts published on this day in December across Champaign County and beyond, curated by The Sentinel.


Top Headline on this Day ~

Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks

Senior Kenly Taylor and four teammates from the SJO final four volleyball team were named State Scholars this past week.

Seventeen named Illinois state scholars at SJO


ST. JOSEPH - Seventeen St. Joseph-Ogden seniors were named to this year's State Scholar Program by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC).

Illinois students attain state scholar recognition by maintaining an outstanding level of academic performance during high school. In order to be considered, they must be ranked in ...


Sentinel Article Archive for December 4


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Prep Sports Notebook |
Area basketball scores for December 3


Here are scores and recaps for Wednesday's basketball games in and around Champaign County.


Boys Basketball

Charleston pics up first win at Toyota of Danville Classic


ST. JOSEPH - Tyler Oakley went 2-for-2 from the free throw line on his way to an 18-point night at the St. Joe tournament on Wednesday. Braxton Honner and Quinn Taylor scored nine points each in the team's first win of the season.

Despite a top-tier effort from Dierks Neukomm with 25 points and Seth Walder's 21, the Timberwolves fall to 0-3 on the season and still looking for a tournament win this week.


Fourth-quarter romp fuels Watseka comeback


ST. JOSEPH - Payton Schaumburg dropped 30 points in Watseka's Toyota of Danville Classic game against Oakwood. Tyler Waugh added 17 in the tournament win for the Warriors to post a 55-54 victory in Wednesday evening's game.

Oakwood led most of the game behind double digit performances from Alex Wallace with 14 points and Carsen Dudley's 12.

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B-Mac rolls past PBL Panthers


ST. JOSEPH - Richie Darr talled 14 points in Bishop McNamara's 51-38 win over Paxton-Buckley-Loda. Balanced scoring from seven other players sealed the Fightin' Irish's fifth win of the season.

Ethan Williams paced the Panthers with 16 points. Tyler Cole was kept quiet, scoring just eight points, and Carson Goss chipped in six points in the loss.


Boys' Area Scoreboard


Toyota of Danville Classic

Watseka 55, Oakwood 54

Other area game results

Springfield HS 53, Central 42


Girls Basketball

Comet girls fall to Illineks


Oakwood - A weak second quarter allowed U-High to take a five-point lead at the half in their road game at Oakwood on the way to a 37-36 win on Wednesday.

Caydence Vermillion finished the game for the Comets with 11 points and 13 boards. Gracie Hanner turned nine points and four rebounds in the non-conference loss.

Josie Roseman leads Eagles in loss


Watseka - Rantoul's Josie Roseman scored 15 points and made 8 out of her 10 free throws in the Eagles road game against the Warriors. Junior Addyson Sherrick hit three treys for nine points and senior Joselyn Espinoza had two of her own on the way to an 8-point finish.


Girls' Area Scoreboard


Urbana University 37, Oakwood 36
Watseka 72, Rantoul 50
Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin 36, Paxton-Buckley-Loda 31
Glenwood 65, Centennial 29
Clinton 64, Unity 24




TAGS: Central Illinois basketball scores, Watseka boys basketball team wins, Toyota of Danville Classic scores

Schaumburg scores 30 in Watseka comeback, Toyota of Danville Classic recap and more


St. Joseph-Ogden built a 31-point halftime lead and defeated ALAH 66-30 in its season opener.


Oakley leads Trojans in five point win over Cissna Park

ST. JOSEPH - Tyler Oakley scored 18 points in Charleston’s 56-51 win over Cissna Park in Day 2 action at the Toyota of Danville Classic at St. Joseph-Ogden High School on Wednesday. Teammates Braxton Hanner and Quinn Taylor added nine points each. Russell Applegate contributed six more to give the Trojans their first win of the season and a 1-1 tournament record.

After pouring in a game-high 28 points against Paxton-Buckley-Loda on Tuesday, Cissna Park’s Dierks Neukomm led all scorers again with 25 points. Teammate Seth Walder finished with 21 in a strong display of high school shot-making. Despite another standout effort, the Timberwolves fell to 0-2 in the tournament and 0-3 overall.

Cissna Park returns to action Friday at 5 p.m. against Bishop McNamara (5-0). Charleston moves on to face Paxton-Buckley-Loda in its next pool game tonight at 8 p.m.


Bishop McNamara stays undefeated declawing Panthers

B-Mac’s Richie Darr scored 12 points in the first half and finished with 14 to help keep the Fightin’ Irish unbeaten at 5-0. Holding Paxton-Buckley-Loda to just 12 first-half points — the same number the Panthers scored in the first quarter — Bishop McNamara cruised to a 51-38 win.

Ethan Williams led PBL with 16 points, including 14 in an outstanding second-half effort. Tyler Cole, who had 18 points in the tournament opener against Cissna Park, added eight points and went 2-for-3 from the free-throw line.

Darr’s performance was supported by nine points from Karter Krutsinger and eight from Callaghan O’Connor, tallied over the first three quarters. Bishop McNamara is off Thursday before a long bus ride from Kankakee on Friday to face Cissna Park at 5 p.m.

PBL (1-2) faces Charleston (0-3) tonight at 8 p.m.


Schaumburg goes supernova in fourth quarter

Payton Schaumburg scored 14 points in the fourth quarter of Watseka’s pool game against Oakwood in an unbelievable comeback performance. Down by 11 at the end of the third quarter, Schaumburg single-handedly erased the deficit — and then some — to give the Warriors their first win of the season. Tyler Waugh carried the game the first three quarter with 17 points, while Jack Hutchinson added six points on two first-half 3-pointers, and Austin Morris completed Watseka’s scoring with a third-quarter field goal.

Schaumburg finished with a game-high 30 points, the top performance of the tournament so far.

Oakwood, an impressive 18-for-21 from the free-throw line, trailed by six after the first quarter and fought back to lead by five at halftime. The Comets held the advantage until the fourth quarter, when Schaumburg took over.

Alex Wallace and Carsen Dudley scored 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Oakwood. Collin Furry added nine, and Jaethan Perez contributed eight, five of which came at the line. Wallace made seven of his eight free throws, while Dudley posted a perfect 5-for-5 night for the Comets.

Oakwood returns to the floor at St. Joseph-Ogden to face Arthur-Lovington-Atwood-Hammond at 5 p.m. Watseka plays host St. Joseph-Ogden at 6:30.





TAGS: St. Joseph-Ogden's Toyota of Danville Classic, Central Illinois basketball tournament, Kankakee Bishop McNamara, Watseka Warriors amazing comeback win, Toyota of Danville Classic basketball scores


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