Friday's high school basketball scores and schedule paint a vibrant picture of the Illinois sports scene.
The day kicked off with several matchups in the Batavia conference, where Maine East edged Batavia 47-38, and Homewood-Flossmoor took down Bloom 60-43. In another Batavia showdown, Hillcrest emerged victorious over Marian Catholic with a final score of 65-47. Lincoln-Way Central continued its winning ways by taking down St. Francis de Sales 68-56.
In the Boylan conference, Thornton secured a 65-59 win against Marshall, while Coal City triumphed over Morris 45-35. IC Catholic also had an impressive performance, defeating Beecher 72-33. Manteno took down Peotone 52-43 in another thrilling matchup.
The Crystal Lake Central squad put on a show, with wins over Belvidere (52-32) and Elk Grove (62-32). DeKalb kept its momentum going with a convincing 55-49 victory over Grant. The Decatur team also had a great day, securing a 58-54 win against Peoria.
The Downers Grove North squad had an impressive performance, taking down Lincoln Park 77-64 and Metea Valley 61-57. Fenton secured a hard-fought 35-28 win against Evanston, while Fremd dominated Romeoville 81-51.
In the Galesburg area, East Moline defeated Little Village 48-35 and Moline took down the same opponents 57-28. Geneva continued its winning ways with a 39-22 victory over St. Francis. Naperville Central also secured an impressive win against South Elgin 52-47.
Glenbrook North put on a show, taking down Notre Dame 61-52 and Jones 67-40. Hancock had a strong day, with wins over Evergreen Park 58-24 and U-High 85-27. St. Laurence also secured an impressive performance against Tinley Park 83-25.
The Herscher team continued its winning ways with a 67-39 victory over McNamara and St. Anne secured a hard-fought 51-49 win against Herscher. Johnsburg took down Barrington 65-59, while Cary-Grove secured a convincing 54-52 win against Waukegan.
Lincoln's Centennial squad had an impressive performance, taking down Dunbar 67-62. Lisle was defeated by Timothy Christian in the final score of Lisle vs. Timothy Christian def. The West Chicago team secured a hard-fought 60-38 win over Westmont.
Marist took down Perspectives-LT 69-47, while Shepard secured an impressive performance against Fenger 50-46. Austin defeated Longwood in a thrilling matchup against the same opponents.
In the Mundelein area, Deerfield took down Mundelein 57-43 and McHenry secured a hard-fought 49-43 win against Antioch. Northridge put on a show, taking down TF South 62-34 and Vernon Hills 66-40.
Oak Lawn continued its winning ways with a 60-44 victory over Ag. Science and Oak Lawn secured an impressive performance against Andrew 71-44. Oswego took down Sterling Newman 79-46 in another thrilling matchup.
The Oswego East squad had an impressive performance, taking down Neuqua Valley 74-65. Butler secured a hard-fought 54-51 win against West Aurora and Oswego took down Rockford Guilford 59-58.
In the Ottawa area, LaSalle-Peru defeated Plano 45-58 and Oak Forest took down LaSalle-Peru 63-61. Pontiac secured an impressive performance against Ottawa 49-45. Streator also had a great day with a 55-49 win against Plano.
Palatine's Glenbrook South squad put on a show, taking down Huntley 50-47 and Hersey secured a hard-fought 58-45 victory against York. Lake Park secured an impressive performance against Hampshire 41-39 and Palatine took down Stevenson 68-36.
Quincy's Lindblom team had an impressive day, securing a 67-46 win against Quincy. Riverside-Brookfield put on a show, taking down Brother Rice 64-57 and Hinsdale South secured an impressive performance against Golder 68-33.
Rock Island continued its winning ways with a thrilling matchup against Chicago Tech (105-28). Julian defeated Hansberry 54-15 in another convincing win. Rock Island also took down Hansberry 97-23.
In the Rockford Auburn area, Larkin secured a hard-fought 64-45 win against Memphis Douglass and Memphis Central took down Clark 65-55. Warren put on a show with an impressive performance against Rockford East 69-49.
The Roundball Classic featured several matchups in the Peoria area. Pekin defeated Comer 56-25, while IMSA at Illinois Valley Central secured an impressive performance against Illinois Valley Central.
St. Anthony took down Leo 53-42 and St. Charles East secured a hard-fought 76-62 victory over Thornridge. Plainfield North put on a show, taking down Plainfield East 64-52 and Plainfield South had a great day with a 57-43 win against Aurora Christian.
St. Viator continued its winning ways with an impressive performance against Libertyville 75-51 and Prospect secured a convincing win against Amundsen 75-51. St. Viator also took down Libertyville 55-47.
The Serena team put on a show, taking down Hall 67-45 and Newark secured several wins over Peoria Notre Dame JV (71-44), Somonauk (78-31), and Ottawa Marquette (55-41).
In the Streamwood area, Bogan secured an impressive performance against Proviso West 51-46 and Streamwood put on a show with a thrilling matchup against Uplift 70-67.
Sycamore took down Dixon 64-53 and Harlem secured an impressive performance against Dundee-Crown 60-52. Sycamore also defeated Burlington Central 62-56 in another convincing win.
The University of St. Francis/WJOL squad put on a show, taking down Bradley-Bourbonnais 72-54 and Lemont secured an impressive performance against Joliet Central 79-35. Lockport continued its winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Minooka 79-35.
Westminster Christian took down Providence-St. Mel 63-33 in another convincing win, while Aurora Christian put on a show against Harvest-Westminster def. St. Edward. North Chicago secured an impressive performance against OLSHA 63-45 and UIC Prep defeated the same opponent by several points.
The day kicked off with several matchups in the Batavia conference, where Maine East edged Batavia 47-38, and Homewood-Flossmoor took down Bloom 60-43. In another Batavia showdown, Hillcrest emerged victorious over Marian Catholic with a final score of 65-47. Lincoln-Way Central continued its winning ways by taking down St. Francis de Sales 68-56.
In the Boylan conference, Thornton secured a 65-59 win against Marshall, while Coal City triumphed over Morris 45-35. IC Catholic also had an impressive performance, defeating Beecher 72-33. Manteno took down Peotone 52-43 in another thrilling matchup.
The Crystal Lake Central squad put on a show, with wins over Belvidere (52-32) and Elk Grove (62-32). DeKalb kept its momentum going with a convincing 55-49 victory over Grant. The Decatur team also had a great day, securing a 58-54 win against Peoria.
The Downers Grove North squad had an impressive performance, taking down Lincoln Park 77-64 and Metea Valley 61-57. Fenton secured a hard-fought 35-28 win against Evanston, while Fremd dominated Romeoville 81-51.
In the Galesburg area, East Moline defeated Little Village 48-35 and Moline took down the same opponents 57-28. Geneva continued its winning ways with a 39-22 victory over St. Francis. Naperville Central also secured an impressive win against South Elgin 52-47.
Glenbrook North put on a show, taking down Notre Dame 61-52 and Jones 67-40. Hancock had a strong day, with wins over Evergreen Park 58-24 and U-High 85-27. St. Laurence also secured an impressive performance against Tinley Park 83-25.
The Herscher team continued its winning ways with a 67-39 victory over McNamara and St. Anne secured a hard-fought 51-49 win against Herscher. Johnsburg took down Barrington 65-59, while Cary-Grove secured a convincing 54-52 win against Waukegan.
Lincoln's Centennial squad had an impressive performance, taking down Dunbar 67-62. Lisle was defeated by Timothy Christian in the final score of Lisle vs. Timothy Christian def. The West Chicago team secured a hard-fought 60-38 win over Westmont.
Marist took down Perspectives-LT 69-47, while Shepard secured an impressive performance against Fenger 50-46. Austin defeated Longwood in a thrilling matchup against the same opponents.
In the Mundelein area, Deerfield took down Mundelein 57-43 and McHenry secured a hard-fought 49-43 win against Antioch. Northridge put on a show, taking down TF South 62-34 and Vernon Hills 66-40.
Oak Lawn continued its winning ways with a 60-44 victory over Ag. Science and Oak Lawn secured an impressive performance against Andrew 71-44. Oswego took down Sterling Newman 79-46 in another thrilling matchup.
The Oswego East squad had an impressive performance, taking down Neuqua Valley 74-65. Butler secured a hard-fought 54-51 win against West Aurora and Oswego took down Rockford Guilford 59-58.
In the Ottawa area, LaSalle-Peru defeated Plano 45-58 and Oak Forest took down LaSalle-Peru 63-61. Pontiac secured an impressive performance against Ottawa 49-45. Streator also had a great day with a 55-49 win against Plano.
Palatine's Glenbrook South squad put on a show, taking down Huntley 50-47 and Hersey secured a hard-fought 58-45 victory against York. Lake Park secured an impressive performance against Hampshire 41-39 and Palatine took down Stevenson 68-36.
Quincy's Lindblom team had an impressive day, securing a 67-46 win against Quincy. Riverside-Brookfield put on a show, taking down Brother Rice 64-57 and Hinsdale South secured an impressive performance against Golder 68-33.
Rock Island continued its winning ways with a thrilling matchup against Chicago Tech (105-28). Julian defeated Hansberry 54-15 in another convincing win. Rock Island also took down Hansberry 97-23.
In the Rockford Auburn area, Larkin secured a hard-fought 64-45 win against Memphis Douglass and Memphis Central took down Clark 65-55. Warren put on a show with an impressive performance against Rockford East 69-49.
The Roundball Classic featured several matchups in the Peoria area. Pekin defeated Comer 56-25, while IMSA at Illinois Valley Central secured an impressive performance against Illinois Valley Central.
St. Anthony took down Leo 53-42 and St. Charles East secured a hard-fought 76-62 victory over Thornridge. Plainfield North put on a show, taking down Plainfield East 64-52 and Plainfield South had a great day with a 57-43 win against Aurora Christian.
St. Viator continued its winning ways with an impressive performance against Libertyville 75-51 and Prospect secured a convincing win against Amundsen 75-51. St. Viator also took down Libertyville 55-47.
The Serena team put on a show, taking down Hall 67-45 and Newark secured several wins over Peoria Notre Dame JV (71-44), Somonauk (78-31), and Ottawa Marquette (55-41).
In the Streamwood area, Bogan secured an impressive performance against Proviso West 51-46 and Streamwood put on a show with a thrilling matchup against Uplift 70-67.
Sycamore took down Dixon 64-53 and Harlem secured an impressive performance against Dundee-Crown 60-52. Sycamore also defeated Burlington Central 62-56 in another convincing win.
The University of St. Francis/WJOL squad put on a show, taking down Bradley-Bourbonnais 72-54 and Lemont secured an impressive performance against Joliet Central 79-35. Lockport continued its winning ways with a hard-fought victory over Minooka 79-35.
Westminster Christian took down Providence-St. Mel 63-33 in another convincing win, while Aurora Christian put on a show against Harvest-Westminster def. St. Edward. North Chicago secured an impressive performance against OLSHA 63-45 and UIC Prep defeated the same opponent by several points.
So many teams killing it out there! Illinois is definitely producing some top-notch basketball players and coaches 
. But what I'd love to see is more balance in terms of strength throughout different conferences - some leagues seem way overpowered compared to others 
.
! Can't wait to see which teams make a deep run into the playoffs 
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. We put so much emphasis on winning, on being better than others, but what does that really say about us? Are we truly better for it or just more competitive? 
! From Glenbrook North's dominating win over Notre Dame to St. Laurence's thrashing of Tinley Park, it's clear that Illinois is home to some of the best hoops in the country 
! With Pekin taking down Comer 56-25, it's evident that even the smaller schools are putting up a fight 
. What's your favorite team this season? 
seriously though, can we make some of these scores more readable with some basic formatting? like putting each game on its own line or adding some space between teams' names? it's hard to follow at first glance 
and what's up with all the different conferences? wouldn't it be easier if they had a standardized system for organizing their games? 
Can you believe high school basketball scores are more exciting than politics? 
Just kidding, kind of. Seriously though, Illinois has got some awesome ballers out there! 
The passion and energy in the stands must be electric! 
!
i'd love to see some of these talented female coaches give it a try 
From Glenbrook North to Serena, it's clear that some squads are dominating the court 
. Can't wait to see how the rest of the season unfolds