Basketball Recap: Chris Bush Key Part of a Team Effort in Maroons Win

Champaign Central won the last time they faced Urbana and things went their way on Friday too. The Champaign Central Maroons took down the Urbana Tigers 67-53. Given the Maroons' advantage in MaxPreps' Illinois basketball rankings (they are ranked 99th, while the Tigers are ranked 227th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Champaign Central's win was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Chris Bush, who went 6 for 13 on his way to 17 points and five boards. Luke Swanson was another key player, going 6 of 11 to rack up 13 points along with seven rebounds and three steals.

When it comes to explaining why Urbana lost, don't look at Jaylen McElmurry. Despite the final result, he posted 17 points. The team also got some help courtesy of Kyree Hillsman, who earned ten points.

Maroons

Previous 4 Games (Home)

02/07/25 vs Urbana	67-53
01/31/25 vs Manual	49-46
01/14/25 vs Normal West	68-35
01/10/25 vs Peoria Notre Dame	56-42

Champaign Central pushed their record up to 14-9 with the victory, which was their fourth straight at home. Those victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 60.0 points over those games. As for Urbana, they are on a four-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 7-13.

Looking ahead, Champaign Central will look to defend their home court on Tuesday against Centennial at 7:30 p.m. Champaign Central is facing Centennial at the right time seeing as Centennial is stuck on a three-game losing streak. As for Urbana, they wasted no time getting back out on the court and have already played their next game, a 57-38 loss against St. Louis University on the 8th.