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Sports Editor Matt Daniels with a look at what’s going on around the area:
Former Illini Terrence Shannon Jr. had the best game of his NBA career on Monday night.
Three reasons we love sports today
➜ 1. Former Illini Terrence Shannon Jr. had the best game of his NBA career on Monday night, with the rookie scoring 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, helping the Timberwolves overcome a 24-point deficit in the fourth quarter and earn a 131-128 overtime win against the Thunder.
➜ 2. The third showdown of the boys’ basketball season between Champaign Central and Centennial tips off at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in a Class 3A regional semifinal game at Coleman Carrodine Gym on the Centennial campus. Expect a raucous atmosphere when the Maroons (15-12) or Chargers (12-18) try to clinch a spot in Friday night’s regional title game.
➜ 3. All told, 20 regional semifinal games involving 27 area boys’ basketball teams tip off Wednesday night. Enjoy.
Former Illini standout Brian Campbell won his first PGA Tour tournament this past Sunday at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld.
Numbers game: 25
percent of PGA Tour tournaments won this year by former Illinois standouts. Brian Campbell joined Thomas Detry in this exclusive category when the 31-year-old Campbell topped the leaderboard on Sunday at the Mexico Open at VidantaWorld. Detry won the WM Phoenix Open on Feb. 9 and is seventh on the PGA Tour money list. Campbell and former Illini Nick Hardy are in the field for the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches that tees off Thursday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Matthew Darling and his Westville boys’ basketball teammates host Monticello on Wednesday night in a Class 2A regional semifinal game.
Crowd control
Three events I’m paying attention to
➜ 1. Mahomet-Seymour vs. Decatur Eisenhower boys’ basketball. Sixth-seeded M-S (15-11) brings a six-game win streak into its Class 3A regional semifinal game against the third-seeded Panthers (14-13) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Mt. Zion.
➜ 2. Monticello at Westville boys’ basketball. The fifth-seeded and host Tigers (26-6) already have the second-most wins in school history. They’ll try to get No. 27 against the fourth-seeded Sages (16-13) at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in a Class 2A regional semifinal game.
➜ 3. Armstrong-Potomac at Schlarman boys’ basketball. Second-seeded A-P (23-9) tips off against the seventh-seeded Hilltoppers (15-10) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in a Class 1A regional semifinal game.
Prairie Central football coach Mike Goodwin.
Coach’s corner
Three questions with Prairie Central football coach Mike Goodwin:
➜ 1. My favorite sport to watch is … football, of course, but I am a big fan of boys’ and girls’ high school basketball.
➜ 2. Three coaches I’d like to have dinner with are … Dick Tharp, Don “Swede” Larson and Bum Phillips.
➜ 3. My biggest pet peeve is … being late. I can’t stand to be late for anything.