| Titans outshot by Illini Central 54% to 26% |
| It
was a tale of two teams in terms of shooting
percentage in the final game of the first day of
the 60th Annual Macomb-Western Holiday
Tournament. The Illini Central Cougars showed the
hot hand as they beat the ice cold shooting
Monmouth-Roseville Titans, 48-34. The Cougars
shot a solid 54% from the field while the Titans
could only manage to hit 26% on the night. The
combination of solid Cougar defense and a sub-par
Titan shooting night meant the Titans would only
manage 13 total points in the second half. Illini Central (6-3) was led by Anthony Rivera's 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. The Cougars connected on 60% (12-20) of their first half field goals. The Titans (9-2) had Brian Thompson and Nathan McNeely tie for the team high scoring honors with 12 apiece. Thompson and McNeely also led the team in rebounding with 8 and 9, respectively. Illini Central advances to play Carthage in a rematch of last year's semifinal game which was won by Carthage 57-49. That matchup will take place in Game 16 on Day 2 at 9:30 p.m. Monmouth-Roseville will meet South Fulton on the consolation side in Game 12 on Day 2 at 2:30 p.m. NOTES: --This is the first year in the new consolidation between the Monmouth and Roseville school districts. --A team affiliated with Monmouth hasn't won in the first round since 1998. --Monmouth-Roseville shot 21% (3-14) from beyond the three point arc. --Monmouth-Roseville only got to the free throw line three times, all in the first half, hitting one. Illini Central went to the free throw line six times, hitting only two. --Illini Central was the #1 seed last year but lost to Carthage in the semifinals. |
| The bracket: |
A
larger version of the bracket can be found on the
tournament website by visiting this page. |
| Next game: |
| Game 9: Canton vs. Knoxville (Thursday, December 29th, 9:00 a.m.) |
| Game 8 boxscore: |
| Monmouth-Roseville vs. Illini Central |
| Monmouth-Roseville Titans |
| team info |
| Illini Central Cougars |
| team info |