Basketball Recap: Urbana Starts off Right with Win over Normal West + How To Watch

Urbana had to kick off their season on the road on Friday, but they showed no ill effects. They walked away with a 53-45 victory over the Normal West Wildcats. That result was just more of the same for these two, as the Tigers also won the last time the pair played back in December of 2024.

Kyree Hillsman

Points (Career)

12/05/25 @ Normal West	25
02/08/25 @ St. Louis University	24
12/26/24 vs Poplar Bluff	20
01/14/25 vs Danville	17
01/25/25 vs East St. Louis	15

Kyree Hillsman went supernova, going 8-for-11 on his way to 25 points along with six boards and three steals. Those 25 points gave him a new career-high. Tristen Adams was another key player, putting up seven points and ten rebounds.

Normal West's loss came despite a true team effort with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Maliq Givens-Smith, who posted 14 points in addition to six assists and three steals. Tyson Hernandez also deserves some recognition as he posted his first block of the season.

Normal West is on a ten-game losing streak (dating back to last season) that has dropped them down to 0-5.

Urbana didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 61-33 defeat against Moline on the 6th. As for Normal West, they will take on Limestone at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday.