By Ben Cox
Photos provided
Postseason high school basketball dips into full swing this week. As of the time of this writing, the girls have already played their first round and the boys are getting ready to start this week.
First though, I want to share one final regular season highlight. Back on February 3, South County High School senior guard Caden Colwell put down his 1,000th career point just before halftime in a 72-66 overtime loss to Bunker Hill in front of the home crowd.
Colwell has continued to add to his high school career point tally, but this is a nice milestone for any varsity player. Congratulations to Colwell.
Postseason High School Basketball
Now, on to the playoff preview. Most boys high school basketball teams will be playing one or two games this week. Most of the conference crowns have been decided. In Class 1A, most of our area teams will be playing in the Nokomis Sectional.
Routt received the #1 seed in the top half of the bracket. They will play the winner of the Liberty-Athens game on February 25 at the Pretzel Dome in New Berlin (Routt has not played either team this season).
Looking further down the bracket, South County received a #5 seed. They will play at home on February 23 against Barry-Western. The Vipers have beaten them twice already this season.
In the “South” part of the bracket, West Central faces WIVC foe Griggsville-Perry in Griggsville on February 23. The Tornadoes edged the Cougars 52-49 back on December 19, so this could be a close one. The winner will face #1 seed Calhoun in the next round.
Triopia received a #6 seed and gets a tough Springfield-Lutheran squad. They beat Lutheran back in November at the Bergschneider Turkey Tournament to start the season 65-47. However, late-season adjustments could also make this a very close game. This should be a fun early postseason for many of our area teams.
Jacksonville High School boys basketball will be playing in the Waterloo Sectional down south. Their first round opponent is Jersey Community. Surprisingly enough, the Crimsons will get to preview their first round of the playoffs in one of their two remaining games this week against the Panthers, as they visit Jerseyville on February 17.
The Crimsons are 6-0 in the month of February, building some great momentum heading into the postseason. As the #2 seed in the bottom bracket, they’ll get Jersey Community on February 25 to open up.
As mentioned, the girls high school basketball postseason already opened up this weekend. The #4 seed Triopia Lady Trojans learned of their first postseason opponent this past Saturday. They will meet Calhoun in Bluffs on February 17.
Triopia beat the Lady Warriors by 19 points back in December. The West Central Lady Cougars received the #1 seed in their own regional as a part of the Bunker Hill Sectional. They will play #8 seed Barry-Western in the first round at home on February 17.
In 2A, South County opens up their postseason as a #5 seed facing #4 seed Rochester in Rochester. It’ll be a tough test in a very competitive North Mac Sectional. Jacksonville is in 3A and receives the tough task of facing #1 seed Chatham-Glenwood in Highland on February 17.
High School Wrestling
A handful of Jacksonville wrestlers are moving on to the state finals after placing in the Top 4 of their weight class this past weekend at Sectionals. Dashawn Armstrong finished second in the 126-lb. weight class at the Granite City Sectional meet. Jordan Kholian finished third in the 132-lb. weight class. JHS girls’ wrestler Madeline Cooley finished fourth in the 235-lb. division and also advanced on to next week’s state finals.
J’ettes Coach Recognized
Jacksonville J’ettes Coach Tiffany Hickox added a new title to her resume last weekend—Hall of Famer. Hickox was announced as a 2026 inductee into the Illinois Dance Team Association Hall of Fame. The J’ettes won the IDTA state championship in lyrical dance. They placed third in Pom and are the 2A grand champions.
