Winnebago junior Chas Cross led the list of local boys basketball players who were named to this year’s Illinois Basketball Coaches’ Association All-State Team for classes 1A and 2A.
Cross, a 6-foot-7 center who led Winnebago to a fourth-place finish in the state, was one of 15 players in the state named to the first team. Cross averaged 16.9 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 blocks a game for the Indians (31-2).
Two area players made the fourth team — Eastland senior forward Tyler Zumdahl and Rock Falls sophomore guard Jake Junis.
Elgin St. Edward 61, Genoa-Kingston 52: Elgin St. Edward halted G-K’s playoffs hopes.
Elgin St. Edward will play Aurora Christian in Friday’s 7:30 p.m. final.
Aurora Christian defeated Plano 54-51.
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Genoa-Kingston 58, Stillman Valley 54: Scott Suchy sank four 3-pointers and finished with 33 points for the Cogs. Ryan Muir chipped in 13 for G-K. Aaron Palmer (18), John Timm (13) and Shay Bubnack (12) were Stillman Valley’s leading scorers.
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Genoa-Kingston 59, Somonauk 35: Trevor Muench scored 14 points for the Cogs, who used a 19-10 third-quarter run to pull away. Ryan Muir and Scott Suchy added 13 and 10 points.
Genoa-Kingston 49, Lutheran 46: Ryan Muir had 20 points and Scott Suchy 18 for the Cogs. Nathan Green led Lutheran with 11.
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Rockford Christian 52, Genoa-Kingston 40: Rockford Christian gained respect and its first ever girls regional finals berth Wednesday.
The Royals, seeded fifth despite its 20-4 record entering the postseason, knocked off top-seed Genoa-Kingston 52-40 in the semifinal.
“We knew we were better than a (No. 5) seed,” said Royals junior Amy Hicks, who scored a game-high 29 points. “So it was really cool to beat the top seed to show everyone.”
With the score tied at 9-all starting the second quarter, Rockford Christian quickly moved ahead 16-9.
Genoa-Kingston 72, Indian Creek 60: Ryan Muir led GK with 21 points.
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The last stopped Stillman Valley from being first.
And also showed why the last is first.
Genoa-Kingston proved its No. 1 seed in its own Class 2A regional isn’t a fluke when it denied the Cardinals a share of the Big Northern West title with a 53-51 upset Friday.
“This means a lot. This is one of the best feelings we’ve had in a long time,” said Molly Meier, who scored 19 points to lead the Cogs (12-13, but last in the BNC West at 2-8). “We know we’re a good team; we just have a tough conference. This shows that we deserve that No. 1 spot.”
Genoa-Kingston 64. Byron 61: Trevor Muench had 21 and Scott Suchy 20 to power the Cogs. Kyle Smith led Byron with 20.
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Genoa-Kingston 41, Elgin Academy 22: GK used a 22-6 second-quarter outburst to get past Elgin.
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Genoa-Kingston 67, Earlville 42: Lauren Strohmaier scored 16 points for Genoa-Kingston, which stormed out to a 21-3 first-quarter lead.
Mariah Sartorius added 12 points for the winners.
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Winnebago 62, Genoa-Kingston 42: Winnebago held Genoa-Kingston to 13 points in the second half and strolled to a 62-42 victory Tuesday for the Indians’ 21st win in a row to open the season.
Winnebago, which trailed 16-15 after the first quarter, led by five at half and pulled away with a 16-8 third-quarter run.
Chuck Misuraca led the way for Winnebago with 14 points and Jeff Sartorius added 12. G-K got 11 points from Scott Suchy.
Stockton outlasts Forreston in nonconference play: Stockton pulled out to a 12-2 lead and kept its distance to outlast visiting Forreston 53-36 Thursday.
Stockton’s Haley Magee scored 16 points and Jessica Brunner added nine, and they each grabbed nine rebounds in the nonconference showdown. Forreston was led by Stephanie Conkey and Morgann McCoy, each with 10 points, while Hannah Collman finished with 12 boards.
Byron 41, Genoa-Kingston 38: The Tigers led 37-19 heading into the third quarter before G-K outscored them 19-4 in the fourth to make it a close finish. Meghan Fitts and Mariah McMullen scored 13 and 11 points for Byron. Molly Meier’s 11 points led G-K.
Genoa-Kingston 66, Harvard 55: Nick Lopez went 8 for 9 at the free-throw line in the fourth quarter to lead the Cogs. Scott Suchy led Genoa-Kingston with 24 points, and Lopez finished with 10 points.
GENOA — Rockford Lutheran senior Jacob Koehler has made the kind of improvements that his coach Devin Smith knew would make him into a formidable force on the basketball court.
Koehler, a 6-foot-2 forward, proved his worth down the stretch against Genoa-Kingston on Friday when he hit 3-of-4 free throws to help Lutheran win 46-39 in Big Northern West Conference action.
Senior guard Eric Widstrom led the Crusaders with 11 points, while Koehler had eight.
Genoa-Kingston Tournament
GENOA — Molly Meier (24 points) and Lauren Strohmaier (17 points) combined to score 41 of G-K’s points in the Cogs’ 68-44 win against South Beloit. Kristen Saari poured in 28 points for the Sobos.
Byron 41, Stillman Valley 39
BYRON - The Cogs (7-2) finished third in the Big Northern West Conference by holding off the Tigers, 15-13.
Byron scored first on a 31-yard pass from David Boyle to Brady Scheffler, but G-K answered with a 15-yard run by Garrett Johnsen, and the Cogs led 8-6 at halftime.
Chris Wilkins’ 9-yard run in the third gave the Cogs the lead for good. The Tigers added a 3-yard TD run in the fourth by Andrew Clark.
Byron finished 3-6 and missed the playoffs for the second straight year.
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STILLMAN VALLEY – When Shay Bubnack intercepted Genoa-Kingston’s pass to win Friday’s game in overtime, the Stillman Valley senior sprinted up the field to celebrate with his teammates, the Cardinal fans erupted in the stands, and coach Mike Lalor crouched down silently with his head in his hands.
"I’m exhausted," Lalor said after his team’s 36-28 thrilling OT home win against the Cogs. "We did just enough to win this ballgame."
GENOA - Chris Wilkins completed 7-of-9 for 247 yards and two touchdowns for the Cogs, who beat Lutheran 42-14.
T.C. Holterhaus had five catches for 160 yards. Robby Thurlby led G-K on the ground with 83 yards on 14 rushes.
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WINNEBAGO - Chris Wilkins both ran and passed for more than 100 yards and also returned a fumble for a touchdown to help Genoa-Kingston overcome two early long runs by Winnebago’s Seth Gustafson.
Wilkins gave the Cogs (5-0) a 7-0 lead with an 80-yard pass to T.C. Holterhaus. Winnebago (2-3), which upset G-K by one point last year, then took the lead on runs of 33 and 44 yards by Gustafson (150 yards on 19 carries).
POPLAR GROVE — Chris Wilkins went 12-of-19 for 197 passing yards and added 148 yards on 14 carries for the Cogs (4-0). T.C. Holterhaus had 107 yards on seven catches.
G-K led 21-3 at halftime. Alex Albrecht led North Boone with 128 yards on 16 carries.
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GENOA — Robby Thurlby (134) and Chris Wilkins (106) both ran for more than 100 yards and Chris Wilkins completed 8 of 14 passes for 127 yards to lead balanced Genoa-Kingston.
T.C. Hollernhaus (86) and Ethan Menges (67) had all of the Cogs’ receiving yards. The Cogs led only 14-13 after one quarter, but scored three touchdowns in the second period.
