At Geneseo Tuesday night to wrap up the regular season, the Galesburg boys basketball team gutted out a tough victory, 63 - 58, over a very game and much approved Maple Leafs club.
It was a 9 - 0 run in the 4th quarter that really sealed it for the Silver Streaks. Trailing by 3 points and with the aid of a personal foul and a technical foul, Galesburg got four free throws and the ball that queued that 9 - 0 run. The Streaks went up 4 and then held on to win it by 5.
Rahkim McCellan and Cesaire Bile led the Silver Streaks in scoring with 14 points each. Galesburg shot 26 of 57 from the field, 4 of 13 from 3-point range, and struggled at the free throw line where the team was 7 of 19. They grabbed 28 rebounds, had 12 assists, and committed 10 turnovers while forcing 19 turnovers by the Maple Leafs.
Senior Tobi Kivunina was named the Dave's Auto Body Crunch Time Player of the Game. Coach Taylor Thiel made a defensive switch putting Kivunina on the driving force for Geneseo, Jaydon Burrage, and shut him down in the 4th quarter which helped the Silver Streaks pull away. Kivunina finished with 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and a steal.
The Silver Streaks finish the regular season 18 - 12 and 7 - 7 in the Western Big 6 Conference.
Next up for the Galesburg boys basketball team is the Regional opener at John Thiel Gymnasium Wednesday night, February 25. It'll be the second of two games in regional play that night as Peoria High comes to town. Brad Bennewitz and Jason Wessels will have pregame coverage starting at 7:10pm on 93.7 FM and 1400 AM WGIL and wgil.com.