Illinois all-star Beau Eftink, a Quincy Notre Dame graduate, earned MVP honors after leading the Land of Lincoln to a 93-75 victory over Missouri in the fifth annual Muddy River Showcase on Saturday at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center. | Matt Schuckman photo
QUINCY — Beau Eftink didn’t fumble.
He didn’t miss much either.
An Illinois State University-bound golfer who doubled as the Quincy Notre Dame boys basketball team’s top sharpshooter last winter, Eftink buried three 3-pointers in the first half of Saturday’s fifth annual Muddy River Showcase, pushing the Illinois all-stars to a comfortable 13-point lead.
Although Missouri tugged at the deficit several times in the second half, it remained a double-digit affair throughout with the Land of Lincoln finishing off a 93-75 victory at John Wood Community College’s Student Activity Center for its fifth straight victory in the series.
In the process, Eftink secured MVP honors for Illinois after scoring 12 of his 14 points in the pivotal first half. And while accepting the award, he didn’t let it slip through his hands.
“I made sure to have a good hold on it,” Eftink said with a laugh.
Back in February, when QND beat Clopton 59-29 in the Muddy River Sports/Pizza Ranch Shootout, Eftink earned game MVP honors with a 15-point effort. However, the glass award fell out of the box as he turned to celebrate with his teammates. Gavin Doellman caught the trophy before it hit the floor, and the photos captured the reaction of everyone, including QND awestruck sophomore Rowan Stegeman.
No such drama happened this time as Eftink’s grip was as strong as Illinois’ stranglehold on the lead.
QND’s Jace Allensworth, who will play at Quincy University next season, made a pair of second-half 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 15 points, while Quincy High School’s Milton Whitfield, who will play at JWCC, scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
“I like how this game was a more serious game and we could enjoy it a little bit more,” Eftink said.
For Eftink, it was an enjoyable respite from a busy golf schedule.
Already this summer, he won a qualifier for the USWING MOJING Junior World Championship, which takes place at Torrey Pines-South in San Diego in July. This coming week, he will tee it up in the Illinois State Junior Amateur beginning Tuesday in Barrington.
“I hadn’t shot a shot in a while,” Eftink said. “It was fun to come to practice this week and get some shots up and then come out here and play. It was pretty cool.”
Schmitz matches Eftink’s marksmanship
Eftink was the only golfer on the court who could say they finished higher than Colt Schmitz in state tournament competition.
He couldn’t say he outshot him Saturday.
Schmitz, the South Shelby product, matched Eftink with three 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points to earn MVP honors for the Show-Me State. He scored 10 points in the second quarter with a pair of 3-pointers.
A month ago, Schmitz led the South Shelby boys golf team to a third-place finish at the Class 1 state tournament as he tied for fourth individually. Eftink qualified for state three times at QND, finishing as the individual runner-up twice.
But they weren’t the only state-caliber golfers playing in the Showcase.
Monroe City’s Cole Hays finished 39th in the Class 2 meet as the Panthers brought home a third-place trophy. Van-Far’s Pacey Reading tied for 44th at the Class 1 state tournament. Illini West’s Wesley Robertson helped the Chargers to a seventh-place finish as a junior when he tied for 45th.
Schmitz, who was a first-team All-Clarence Cannon Conference guard last winter for South Shelby, is planning to play golf collegiately at Hannibal-LaGrange.
Reading ready for next level
Reading, a 6-foot-5 swingman who was the Class 2 District 5 Player of the Year last winter for Van-Far, showcased why Hannibal-LaGrange coach Jason Durst sees him as a pivotal piece of his incoming recruiting class.
Reading got to the free-throw line four times in the first quarter — he made all four free throws — and buried a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter as part of a 15-point effort. He also grabbed nine rebounds, while adding an assist and a blocked shot.
Neither team shot it consistently well — Illinois was 41 percent from the field and Missouri shot 37 percent — but Reading’s ability to attack off the dribble and step into a 3-pointer showed why he averaged more than 20 points per game as a senior.
Monroe City’s Brent Holland pulled down 12 rebounds for game-high honors.
Illinois all-stars share wealth
The Land of Lincolners had five players finish in double figures — QND’s Robbie Reed scored 11 points and Jacksonville Routt’s Bryson Mossman added 10 — and all 10 players made at least one field goal.
Better yet, they had 18 assists on 36 field goals with Macomb’s Drew Watson dishing out four assists and Pittsfield’s Taylor Graham adding three assists.
“I didn’t think we had our ‘A’ game really throughout the game, but we played together to build that lead,” Eftink said. “We had a good feeling about things throughout the second half.”
Land of Lincoln continues to own series
Blaize Kimmell said the pressure was off when the final buzzer sounded.
The Illini West coach, who skippered the Illinois all-stars, was well aware of the Land of Lincoln’s history of dominating the summer all-star basketball circuit. Saturday’s victory was Illinois’ fifth straight in the Muddy River Showcase as it went 33-3 in the 36-year history of the McDonald’s/Herald-Whig Classic.
“We didn’t want to be the fourth team to lose,” Kimmell said.
Illinois has won four of the five Muddy River Showcase games by 18 or more points. The 2025 game was the closest with Illinois winning 89-82.
“We take this very seriously,” Eftink said. “We don’t like Missouri teams beating us. So we knew coming into this game we really wanted to win.”
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