Illinois
Thornton grad Morez Johnson has career-high 20 points as No. 13 Illinois routs Penn State
Ben Humrichous scored a season-high 21 points, Thornton grad Morez Johnson Jr. had a career-high 20 points with 11 rebounds and No. 13 Illinois beat Penn State 91-52 on Wednesday night at State Farm Center in Champaign for its fifth consecutive victory.
Tre White also had 20 points to help Illinois (12-3, 4-1 Big Ten) win with scoring leader Kasparas Jakucionis sidelined by a bruised forearm.
Penn State star Ace Baldwin Jr. aggravated a back injury early in the first half and didn’t play in the second half. He didn’t score, missing all six of his shots.
Nick Kern Jr. had 13 points for the Nittany Lions (12-4, 2-3). Zach Hicks added 11.
Takeaways
Illinois: After sweeping No. 9 Oregon and Washington on a West Coast trip, Illinois was tasked with beating nemesis Penn State without Jakucionis, whose absence was announced just before the game. Humrichous and Johnson made up for the loss of Jakucionis.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions came into the night as the 10th-highest scoring team in the nation, averaging 86.8 points. They had scored a program record 80-plus points in six straight games. Penn State shot 31% against Illinois.
Key moment
A 21-2 Illini run in the first half gave them a 26-13 lead. Penn State missed nine straight shots during the stretch, going 7:56 without a field goal.
Up next
Illinois: Hosts Southern California on Saturday.
Penn State: Hosts No. 9 Oregon on Sunday.
Illinois
Illinois high school football playoffs expanding in 2026
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (KWQC) – The IHSA football playoffs will be expanding by 50 percent in 2026.
IHSA member schools approved an amendment to expand the playoffs from 32 teams per class to 48.
There will still be 8 classifications increasing the total number of playoff teams from 256 to 384.
As a result of the change, the start of the season will be moved up by a week in August to allow the season to still finish with State Championship games the week of Thanksgiving.
Copyright 2025 KWQC. All rights reserved.
Illinois
Woman found dead near Schamburg, Illinois shopping center, man in custody
A woman was found dead near a shopping center in Schaumburg, Illinois early Tuesday, and a man was taken into police custody.
Around 5:25 a.m., Schaumburg police were called to the 100 block of South Roselle Road. They found a woman dead at the scene.
Police said a man was taken into custody at the scene.
The investigation so far indicates that the incident was domestic, and the man and woman knew each other.
Police said the incident was isolated and there was no threat to the public. But there was a large police presence at the scene, and alternate routes were advised.
Illinois
Illinois officials investigating death connected to Rock Co. homicide
PRINCETON, Ill. (WMTV) – The Illinois State Patrol is investigating a death after officials found a suspect’s vehicle wanted in connection to a Wisconsin homicide, Illinois State Police reported.
Just before 10 p.m. on December 10, ISP troopers and several other agencies attempted to pull a vehicle over in Princeton, Illinois, that was wanted in a Rock County homicide.
Officials did not specify which Rock Co. case this incident is connected to.
Princeton is about an hour and 45 minutes away from Rock County, Wisconsin.
After the driver did not pull over, police chased the vehicle into the Great Sauk Trail Rest Area on I-80 westbound.
When officers went up to the vehicle, authorities stated the driver was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities did not identify the driver.
ISP is working with the Bureau County State’s Attorney’s Office in this investigation.
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Copyright 2025 WMTV. All rights reserved.
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