GALESBURG - With a tweaked starting lineup and player rotation, the Galesburg Silver Streaks boys basketball team broke a three-game losing streak against Minooka 48-42 on Saturday afternoon.
The game, which lifted Galesburg to 13-6 for the season, came in the annual Martin Luther King Tournament and the Streaks will play again at 8 p.m. against Maine South.
After a disappointing 56-40 Western Big 6 Conference loss to Moline on Friday, Galesburg came out with junior Nick Fields and senior Clark Hawkins in starting spots and junior Tylen Parks coming off the bench halfway through the first quarter.
"Our starting lineup is fluid," said Galesburg coach Mike Reynolds. "Today we tried to go with a defensive lineup.
"Nick and Cornell (Dotson) are our best perimeter defenders. Clark does a good job inside."
Although shooting woes from Friday persisted early, the Streaks trailed just 9-8 at the quarter, were tied 18-18 at half and fell behind 30-29 after three quarters against against Minooka (10-9).
But when Reynolds inserted his familiar starting lineup from recent games in the fourth quarter, the Streaks responded with an offensive burst.
Led by a Quinn Anderson drive, a Jacob Carl hoop, an Andrew Anderson rebound basket and a Dotson 3-pointer, Galesburg took a 39-35 lead at with six minutes to play. The Streaks hit 5 of 6 shots in the rally. When Minooka cut the margin to 44-41 late in the game, Andrew Anderson hit Khalil Hodge with a nifty pass for a layup and Hodge followed with another layup in the final minute to put the game away.
"We took the bull by the horns and tried to push forward," said Reynolds of slump-busting win. "As long as you show a little toughness and show some interest, you've got a pretty good shot to win."
Hodge's 14 points led Galesburg and Parks scored eight points off the bench for the second straight game.
Galesurg 48, Minooka 42
M 9-9-12-12-42
G 8-10-11-19-46
Minooka (10-9) - Hill 5-9 1-2 12, Fruscione 1-2 0-0 2, Keegan Graebner 0-1 2-2 2, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Kyle Graebner 0-10 0-0 0, Paige 3-5 0-2 7, Futierrez 6-13 0-3 13, O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0, Hofmann 1-4 0-0 3, Hernandez 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 18-48 3-9 43.
Galesburg (13-6) - Fields 0-3 2-2 2, Hodge 6-10 2-4 14, Dotson 2-6 0-0 5, Davidson 0-0 0-0 0, A. Anderson 3-7 1-2 7, Q. Anderson 1-3 0-0 2, Hawkins 1-3 0-0 2, Carl 3-5 0-0 6, Parks 3-5 1-1 8, McCants 0-1 2-2 2. Totals: 19-43 6-11 46.
3-point goals - Minooka (3-8), Hill 0-1, Kyle Graebner 0-2, Paige 1-1, Gutierrez 1-2, Hofmann 1-2, Galesburg (4-10) Hodge 2-4, Dotson 1-1, Hawkins 0-2, Carl 0-2, Parks 1-1. Rebounds - Galesburg 34 (Carl 8, Dotson 7), Minooka 27 (Guitierrez 5, Keegan Graebner 5), Turnovers - Minooka 8, Galesburg 10, Total fouls - Minooka 14, Galesburg 14