High School Basketball
Mt. Pleasant will have one more conference matchup before heading to Winter Break tonight, December 20th, against Burlington with the girls being at home and the boys traveling to play the Grayhounds. KILJ will be covering the boy’s game with pregame at 7:15 pm.
The New London Tigers boys’ basketball team will play Moravia tonight at 7:30 pm on the road and the girl’s team’s next game is January 1st against Van Buren County.
The Holy Trinity Catholic Crusaders will have to wait until January 6th to host Central Lee with the girls going at 6:30 pm.
The Central Lee Hawks girls’ basketball team defeated Columbus 68-32 last night after a 23-8 run to start the game for the Hawks.
The Winfield-Mt. Union Wolves will face off against Highland tonight with the girls going at 6 pm.
Danville will travel to play Cardinal tonight on the road with the girls starting the night at 6 pm.
The WACO girls’ basketball team ran away with the game in the second half against Sigourney to come out on top 56-39. Ellah Kissell did the heavy lifting for the Warriors scoring 34 points. The boy’s team clobbered Sigourney 82-35 thanks to Colton Leichty’s 20 points and Hunter Hughes 17 points leading the way. The Warriors will travel to Lone Tree tonight with the girls scheduled to start at 6 pm with the boys to follow.
High School Wrestling
The Mt. Pleasant boys’ team will be back in action January 12th when they travel to face off with Washington. The girl’s team will compete at the Highland Tournament January 6th.
High School Bowling
The Mt. Pleasant Panthers girls’ and boys’ teams next competition will be January 5th against Washington at the Iris Bowling Center.
Iowa Wesleyan Athletics
The men’s basketball team faced deficits of five, seven, and eight all at different points of the game including a six-point deficit with under 8 minutes to play. Nevertheless, the Tigers clawed their way out each and every time, going on a 16-5 run to end the game and take the 71-66 victory. Coach Ashton gave nothing but praise to Hastings College and to the way his team has learned to close out games. Joey Brown IV led the Tigers in points with 18 with Henry Shannon, Victor Munoz, and Gacoby Jones each recording double figures. Iowa Wesleyan, now 14-1 and rocking a 13-game winning streak, will have to wait until January 6th to compete against Crowley’s Ridge College for a CAC Classic.
The women’s basketball team will look to have Coach Williamson break the record for most career victories in Iowa Wesleyan history December 29th on the road against Bellevue University for the Bellevue Classic at 12:30 pm.
The women’s wrestling team will compete December 29th and 30th at the Soldier Salute Tournament.
The men’s wrestling team will have to wait until next year to wrestle at Central Methodist University on January 10th.
The Tiger’s next indoor meet will be the Dutch Athletics Classic on January 14th.
Major Niccum is a nominee for the Cliff Harris Award after his stellar play this year at the linebacker position for the Tigers. The award is given to the best defensive player within Division II, Division III, or the NAIA levels. Niccum was already named First-Team All-Conference and NAIA All-American honorable mention. The winner will be announced December 30th with Cliff Harris presenting the trophy and Joe Theismann will be the featured speaker.
This Day in Sports History
1966 – NBA awards Seattle Supersonics a franchise for 1967-68 season.
1979 – Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Behn Wilson scores with 4:08 remaining in regulation to earn a 1-1 tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins and equal NHL record for longest undefeated streak of 28 games; go on to break record and extend to 35 games.
1985 – Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from television sports after 20 years with ABC.