Central Illinois Monday Regional Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the first night of regional action, I was able to catch 3 different games across Central Illinois. In Springfield Calvary ousted Lutheran 80-53, at Peoria Heights the Patriots cruised 65-37 over Henry, and at Peoria Notre Dame the Irish handled Eureka 67-46. Here are the takeaways from these games!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Potent Calvary Offense Dominates</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Saints got going quickly in this one, led by Joshua Long's trio of threes in the first quarter. The sophomore guard is a knockdown perimeter shooter who thrives in catch and shoot opportunities. Long brings great energy defensively and is a nice complementary piece to Calvary's 1-2 punch of [player_tooltip player_id='1552407' first='Luke' last='Blackford'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2318167' first='Connor' last='Brown']. For sophomore wing [player_tooltip player_id='1552407' first='Luke' last='Blackford'] it was business as usual, scoring from all levels showcasing his ability as a pure scorer. Blackford has an elite pull up jumper and is one of the better shooters in the state. He has already surpassed 1,100 points in his high school career, with many many more to come. Unsigned senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='2318167' first='Connor' last='Brown'] also had a great performance for the Saints knocking down multiple contested threes and throwing down one handed slams in transition. Brown is a confident shooter and good playmaker in the lane with his size at 6'4. Calvary will be a tough out in 1A with their arsenal of scoring threats.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Patriots Handle Business At Home</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In another 1A matchup, Peoria Heights got out an early lead and never looked back. Unsigned senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2318222' first='Camron' last='Williams'] scored 16 points and showcased his plus athleticism with a transition oop slam. Williams is comfortable scoring from all levels and is great at drawing help and creating passing lanes to find teammates. Junior forward Barrett Marfell had a good showing as well with 14 points for Peoria Heights. Marfell finds most of his buckets around the rim where he utilises his length and mobility at 6'5. Freshman guard DeAndre Marks also had 10 points and is one to watch moving forward for the Patriots. Marks is a good straight line driver and showed he's more than capable of hitting open shots from the perimeter. Junior guard Cameron Ahart also contributed 11 points and was active defensively.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Dillon and Heffren Fill Up Stat Sheet</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>While Peoria Notre Dame held a significant lead most of this game, it was still a very fun back and forth scoring battle between seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1373440' first='Eoin' last='Dillon'] for Notre Dame and [player_tooltip player_id='2318226' first='Tyler' last='Heffren'] for Eureka. [player_tooltip player_id='1373440' first='Eoin' last='Dillon'] was virtually unstoppable for PND as he hit 7 threes and got whatever he wanted around the rim. He finished with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 5 steals in a great outing for the Belmont signee. Junior guard Kayden Hudson was also a big contributor to Notre Dame's offense, posting 13 points, 3 assists and 4 steals. Hudson, who is a great soccer player, also has quick feet on the hardwood and excels as a straight line driver to finish around the rim. Senior Tommy Graham was electric for the Irish finishing with 11 points including 4 dunks. Graham thrives operating out of the dunker position where he threw down strong two handed slams utilising his bounce. While Eureka fell short, it was a big night for unsigned senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2318226' first='Tyler' last='Heffren'], who did everything he could to keep Eureka in the game. Heffren was guarded heavily throughout but still managed to post 29 points, including 6 threes which were mostly contested. He is a strong willed scorer with unlimited range and the ability to get to the rim and finish. With his positional size at 6'4 and scoring ability, Heffren is definitely a player that has slid under the radar and would be a great addition for many small colleges.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->