CLASS 2A BOYS REGIONAL - FALCONS SEASON ENDS -- by Tom Benefiel (2-19-13)

FALCONS END THE REGULAR SEASON WITH A LOSS -- by Tom Benefiel (2-15-13)

OLD WAUSECA FOE P-B-L OUTLASTS GCMS -- by Tom Benefiel (2-9-13)

FALCONS FALL FLAT IN WATSEKA -- by Tom Benefiel (2-5-13)

FALCON BOYS LOSE TOUGH ONE ON SENIOR NIGHT -- by Tom Benefiel (2-1-13)

SENIOR NIGHT FOR THE LADY FALCONS -- by Tom Benefiel (1-31-13)

8th GRADE BOYS REGIONAL FINAL GOES TO P-B-L -- by Tom Benefiel (1-31-13)

BEST TEAM IN THE HOIC THROTTLES GCMS -- by Tom Benefiel (1-29-13)

LADY KNIGHTS TAKE CARE OF GCMS -- by Tom Benefiel (1-29-13)

GCMS LADY FALCONS LOSE TO P-B-L -- by Tom Benefiel (1-28-13)

McLEAN COUNTY TOURNAMENT - FALCONS DROP ONE TO DEE-MACK -- by Tom Benefiel (1-19-13)

McLEAN COUNTY TOURNAMENT - MUSTANGS BEAT FALCONS -- by Tom Benefiel (1-19-13)

GCMS BOYS GET FIRST HOIC WIN OF THE SEASON -- by Tom Benefiel (1-18-13)

The GCMS Falcons use some timely baskets, free-throws, and defense to upend the Deer Creek-Mackinaw Chiefs in Gibson City, 38-28.

GCMS (7-11) was led in scoring by senior Nick Retherford's 18 points, followed by Reese Simpson with 11. The Falcons made eight free-throws, shooting 13.

Dee-Mack (3-14) was led by Brandon Weed with 15 points, with Grant Frahm scoring five. The Chiefs were three of seven on foul shots.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Falcons with an excellent defensive effort (including a 24-2 halftime lead) over the Chiefs, 41-23.

LADY FALCONS HOST DEE-MACK- WIN! -- by Tom Benefiel (1-17-13)

The GCMS Lady Falcons earn their first Heart of Illinois Conference win of the season over Deer Creek-Mackinaw. The final score was GCMS 45, Dee-Mack 31.

Leading scorers for GCMS were Katie Massey with 13 points, followed by Emily Elder with seven points and Annie Schultz with six. The Lady Falcons shot nine free-throws, making four.

Carrie Schmidgall scored seven points for the Lady Chiefs in the loss. Brittany Mitchell added six points, and Dee-Mack was eight of 14 on foul shots.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Lady Falcons over the Lady Chiefs in overtime, 33-32.

FALCONS HOST THE HEYWORTH HORNETS -- by Tom Benefiel (1-11-13)

With double-digit turnovers in the first half, things didn't look good for the GCMS Falcons, but they fight back from an 11-point deficit to take a short-lived lead in the 4th quarter, only to fall in overtime to the Heyworth Hornets, 57-52.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Ben Eads with 19 points, followed by Wiley Hasty with 12 points and both Nick Retherford and Reese Simpson scoring eight apiece. GCMS shot 22 free-throws, making 14.

Heyworth was led by Elijah Bobell's 15 points, followed by Jordan Kemp with 11 points and Kaleb Marr with 10. The Hornets were 10 of 20 on foul shots.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Falcons over the Hornets, 38-28.

HOST LADY FALCONS LOSE TO HEYWORTH -- by Tom Benefiel (1-10-13)

The Heyworth Lady Hornets come to Gibson City and beat the GCMS Lady Falcons, 56-37.

Katie Massey scored 15 points, while Taylor Boma chipped in six for the Falcons.

Heyworth was led in scoring by Holly Sinn with 14 points, followed by Ashley Hagar with 12.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Lady Falcons outlasting Heyworth, 21-20.

GCMS TRAVELS TO EL PASO, GET WHUPPED -- by Tom Benefiel (1-8-13)

The Falcons lose big to the Titans of El Paso-Gridley, 77-35.

GCMS' leading scorers were Nick Retherford with 14 points, and Wiley Hasty with nine. The Falcons made five of six free-throws.

EPG's Bodee Schlipf scored 17 points in limited action, while Tyler Ramsey scored nine. The Titans were 15 of 17 from the foul line.

FALCONS EARN WIN AGAINST HOOPESTON -- by Tom Benefiel (1-5-13)

After squandering an eight-point lead in the first half, the GCMS Falcons come back in the third quarter to earn a hard-fought victory over non-conference foe Hoopeston Area, 54-52.

Leading the way for the Falcons were Wiley Hasty with 19 points (including 17 in the second half), Ben Eads with 15 points. and Nick Retherford with 13.

The Cornjerkers were led in scoring by Mason Layden with 18 points, while Daniel Lawson scored 10.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Falcons over the Cornjerkers, 59-36.

TURNOVERS DOOM GCMS IN BID TO WIN AT TREMONT -- by Tom Benefiel (1-4-13)

The Tremont Turks take some timely three-point shooting at the end of the first half, along with a lot of GCMS turnovers as the Turks beat the Falcons, 60-50, in Heart of Illinois Conference action on January 4th.

GCMS (5-9)was led in scoring by senior Nick Retherford with 25 points, while Wiley Hasty added 10. The Falcons were 18 of 26 on free-throws.

The Turks were led by Bryce Breeden, Matt Brent, and Chet Dean who all scored 14 points each. Tremont was 14 of 21 on foul shots.

In the earlier game, the sophomore Turks beat the Falcons, 43-34.

MONTICELLO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT - GCMS CAN'T HOLD ONTO EARLY LEAD, LOSE TO MT. ZION -- by Tom Benefiel (12-28-12)

GCMS cannot keep their great momentum in the first quarter and Mt. Zion comes back to win, 55-49.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Ben Eads' 24 points, with Wiley Hasty adding 10. On foul shots, GCMS was very good, making 14 of 19.

Brody Rothrock came off the bench for Mt. Zion to score 22 points, with Colton Calhoun scoring 10. The Braves were 14 of 20 from the free-throw line.

MONTICELLO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT - FALCONS RUN INTO A MONTICELLO BUZZ-SAW, LOSE TO SAGES -- by Tom Benefiel (12-27-12)

The host Monticello Sages, known for their tall interior play ride some great outside shooting in the first half to cruise to victory over the GCMS Falcons, 63-30.

Leading the way for GCMS was Wiley Hasty with seven points, followed by six points from both Tyler Hinshaw and Reese Simpson. The Falcons shot poorly on free-throws, making four of 10 shots.

Monticello was led by Nick Stokowski's 16 points, with Trevor Bargman scroing 10 points off the bench. The Sages substituted often with the big lead. They shot 12 of 16 on free-throws.

MONTICELLO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT - FALCONS STAGE COMEBACK, BEAT NEOGA IN OT! -- by Tom Benefiel (12-26-12)

GCMS falls behind by 11 during a bad final three minutes of the third quarter but fight back to send the game into overtime. The Falcons end up winning over the Neoga Indians, 64-59.

Leading the way for the Falcons was Ben Eads with 21 points (with 16 coming in the pivotal 4th quarter and overtime), and Wiley Hasty had 16. GCMS shot 29 free-throws, making 18.

The Indians were led in scoring by Jake Baker with 17 points, with Derek Williamson scoring 14. Neoga was 14 of 22 on free-throws.

MONTICELLO HOLIDAY TOURNAMENT - GCMS GETS BACK ON THE WINNING TRACK -- by Tom Benefiel (12-26-12)

The GCMS Falcons break their four-game losing streak as they defeat the Sangamon Valley Storm, 55-40, in the opening round of the Monticello Holiday Tournament.

Leading the way for GCMS was Ben Eads with 16 points, and Wiley Hasty with 10.

S-V was paced by Andrew Urbanowitz's 17 points, with Cameron Gentry adding 10.

BLUE RIDGE BEATS GCMS IN FARMER CITY -- by Tom Benefiel (12-14-12)

In Heart of Illinois Conference action, the Blue Ridge Knights have a fast start to the second half that puts the GCMS Falcons in a hole they cannot crawl out of. The final score was 44-30, Knights.

Leading the way in scoring for GCMS was Wiley Hasty with 12 points, followed by Drake Royal with eight. GCMS was a dismal two of 10 on foul shots.

Blue Ridge was led by Michael Plunk's 11 points, followed by Mark Plunk and Travis Nichols with nine points each. The Knight shot 16 free-throws, making nine.

In the earlier contest, the sophomore Knights beat the Falcons, 57-46.

GCMS BATTLES TRI-VALLEY IN DOWNS -- by Tom Benefiel (12-4-12)

In another Heart of Illinois Conference game, the GCMS Falcons lose to the Vikings of Tri-Valley, 57-46. T-V outscored GCMS 14-5 in the pivotal second quarter to take the lead they would not let go of the rest of the game.

GCMS was led by Wiley Hasty's 12 points, followed by four players scoring eight points each: Ben Eads, Nick Retherford, Ross Royal and Reese Simpson. On free-throws, GCMS was eight of 13.

The Vikings were led by Blake Cowden's 18 points. T-V was 10 of 14 on foul shots.

In the earlier game, it was the sophomore Vikings over the young Falcons, 56-52.

FLANAGAN-CORNELL SCORES OFTEN AND EARLY IN WIN OVER GCMS -- by Tom Benefiel (11-30-12)

In a battle of the Heart of Illinois Falcons, it was Flanagan-Cornell over GCMS, 55-42, at Gibson City.

GCMS was led in scoring by Wiley Hasty with 15 points, followed by Ben Eads with 11. GCMS shot 19 free-throws, making nine.

Flanagan-Cornell's Matt Harrison scored 21 points, with Josh Freese scoring nine. F-C was five of 10 on foul shots.

In the earlier game, the F-C sophomores defeated GCMS, 50-37.

BLUE RIDGE WINS 3rd PLACE IN FALCON THANKSGIVING TOURNEY -- by Tom Benefiel (11-24-12)

The GCMS Falcons spend most of the game against Blue Ridge behind in double-digits and find themselves losing to the Knights, 65-53.

Leading the way for GCMS was Ben Eads and Wiley Hasty with 12 points each. Reese Simpson added nine points for the host Falcons. GCMS shot 21 free-throws, making 14. The Falcons finish the week with two wins and two losses and come in 4th place in the eight team tournament.

The Knights were led to the 3rd place trophy by Will Dugan who scored 20 points. Michael Plunk scored 10 points while Clint O'Neal added nine. Blue Ridge made seven of 14 foul shots.

FALCONS EARN NICE WIN OVER RIVAL FISHER -- by Tom Benefiel (11-23-12)

In a well-played game by both teams, the host GCMS Falcons outlast their rivals to the south, the Fisher Bunnies by winning 53-50.

The Falcons were led in scoring by Ben Eads with 18 points, followed by 14 points from Wiley Hasty and Reese Simpson with 13. Ross Royal drained a 3-point shot with 4.5 seconds at the end of the game to seal the win. GCMS shot well at the free-throw line, making eight of 11 shots.

Fisher was led in scoring by Kyle Williams with 16 points, with Grant Pointer scoring 10. The Bunnies were eight of 13 on foul shots.

PRAIRIE CENTRAL UPENDS GCMS -- by Tom Benefiel (11-20-12)

The GCMS Falcons are outscored 21-10 in the 2nd quarter as the Prairie Central Hawks hold on to win, 59-49 at the GCMS Thanksgiving Tournament in Gibson City.

Ben Eads scored 20 points for GCMS, followed by Reese Simpson with 14. The Falcons shot 15 of 26 on free-throws.

PC was paced by Addison Bounds' 22 points, followed by Kyler Hoffman with 10. The Hawks shot 15 free-throws, making 11.

GCMS STARTS SEASON OFF WITH A WIN! -- by Tom Benefiel (11-19-12)

The GCMS Falcons utilize a dominant 24-5 run in the 3rd quarter as they pull away against the Roanoke-Benson Rockets, 61-43.

Leading the balanced scoring for GCMS were Ben Eads with 14 points, followed by Nick Retherford's 13 points, and Wiley Hasty with 12. The Falcons shot 27 free-throws, making 16.

The Rockets were paced by the 23 points from Derek Kennell, followed by five points each from both Grant Leman and Kevin Pfister. R-B was 12 of 17 on free-throws.