Saturday Central Illinois Scouting Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Illinois caught a pair of games from central Illinois on Saturday as Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Allen won over Bloomington and then later on that night Sacred Heart Griffin defeated Peoria High.&nbsp; Read all about it in our <strong>Saturday Central Illinois Scouting Notebook</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Allen Scores Win Behind Trio</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>BHRA scored a huge victory against Bloomington on Saturday in a 60-53 win over Bloomington.&nbsp; The smaller school wasn't afraid at all as they came out aggressive and were the best team throughout the game.&nbsp; We really liked what we saw from their 2024 guard [player_tooltip player_id='2894859' first='Ayden' last='Ingram'].&nbsp; At 6'2” the combo guard can play on and off the ball.&nbsp; Shot maker that gets out in transition while showing grit.&nbsp; Got to the line hitting some key free throws in a 24 point outing.&nbsp; A pair of small college 2023s are cornerstones for this group.&nbsp; Isaiah Tidwell is a 6'1” forward that excels on the interior scoring around the hoop with crafty conversations, up and unders, put backs, and can rip from the mid-post.&nbsp; Netted 17 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1215295' first='Brett' last='Meidel'] is a great glue guy for this squad that does the little things and can hit an open shot as he had 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Bloomington Backcourt is Their Strength</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the loss to Mismark-Henning/Rossville-Allen it was the backcourt of Bloomington that did the most damage.&nbsp; Their star 2024 shooting guard [player_tooltip player_id='1285483' first='Niko' last='Newsome'] wasn't dominant, but definitely flashed with his scoring in the open floor, getting to the charity stripe, and finishing around the hoop.&nbsp; He had 16 points.&nbsp; Small colleges should get in on [player_tooltip player_id='1048316' first='Adam' last='Beasley'].&nbsp; The speedy guard is adept at tough and-1 conversions at the rim on spinning layups and can get up and down the floor with speed as he had 16 points as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sacred Heart Griffin Takes Care of Business Without Hawkinson</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>SHG hosted Peoria High on Saturday night.&nbsp; Early on it was tight as Peoria actually led 19-18 after the first quarter.&nbsp; It was all SHG after that as they were led by their trio of seniors [player_tooltip player_id='989267' first='Jake' last='Hamilton'], [player_tooltip player_id='1476137' first='Will' last='Hamilton'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1537990' first='Keshon' last='Singleton'].&nbsp; They are without the services right now of star post [player_tooltip player_id='1113521' first='Zack' last='Hawkinson'].&nbsp; Quincy commit [player_tooltip player_id='989267' first='Jake' last='Hamilton'] was magnificent in the victory as he got what he wanted scoring from all three levels.&nbsp; Effective shooter with a sweet lefty stroke from three.&nbsp; Also got out in transition, posted up, spinning takes, and hit the offensive glass for put backs on his way to 20 points.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1476137' first='Will' last='Hamilton'] is an ideal small college prospect.&nbsp; Perfect glue guy for the reigning 3A state champs.&nbsp; Quality spot up shooter with size that passes it well, rebounds at a nice clip, and is an outstanding defender.&nbsp; He had 14 points showing more offensive versatility than we had seen in the past.&nbsp; Air Force football commit [player_tooltip player_id='1537990' first='Keshon' last='Singleton'] is a power point guard who got his running mates involved early with his passing and then went to work on his own using his athleticism in transition and having an array of finishing moves around the hoop for 14 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brown Starts Out on Fire in First Quarter</strong> Early on it looked like Peoria High had eyes on the upset as they led after 8 minutes behind 14 points from [player_tooltip player_id='1157205' first='Dekwon' last='Brown'].&nbsp; The top 20 junior in the state is a big time bucket getter that had his three ball flowing connecting on four in the first quarter including one to close it from NBA range.&nbsp; Also mixed in a strong straight line take.&nbsp; Unfortunately for Brown and Peoria High those were his only points of the night as SHG shut him down after.&nbsp; A 2025 to track is small forward [player_tooltip player_id='1766506' first='Leshawn' last='Stowers'].&nbsp; Athletic prospect with projectability</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->