Chicago Uplift nets Class 2A championship
PEORIA, Ill. - Coach David Taylor and Chicago Uplift, in the school's first boys basketball state finals appearance, brought home the biggest trophy.
The Titans (28-5) topped Decatur St. Teresa 53-47 at Carver Arena in the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday to claim the Class 2A championship.
Daniel Soetan scored 13 points, Deshon Fluckes scored 11 and Spencer Foley added 10 to lead the way for the Titants.
St. Teresa all-state forward Christian Williams, who scored 15 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, battled foul trouble in the first half, leaving with his third foul with more than six minutes left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs (27-5) handled the adversity well at first, outscoring the Titans 15-11 until the break. But the second half was a different story.
Foley added 8 rebounds and 4 blocks for the Titans.
• Taylor Ridge Rockridge earned the third-place trophy by edging Breese Mater Dei 52-47 behind a game-high 30 points from Bryan Heath.
Class 1A
Carson Cuevas scored 32 points and Brimfield held on despite a frantic rally by Mounds Meridian to win the Class 1A boys basketball state title 56-52 on Saturday at Carver Arena.
The Bobcats (27-8) trailed by 12 with 6:36 remaining in the fourth but chipped away to cut the lead to 3 with under a minute left. But Brimfield (34-2) made just enough free throws to seal the victory, including Koby White's with 3.1 seconds left to push the Bobcats' lead to the final score.
Cuevas had 17 points in the first half, including a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer that tied the game at 20.
"It's a play we call Spider," Brimfield coach Scott Carlson said. "And Carson ran it to perfection. He curled around and caught it in stride and drilled it. It was a big, big shot. The kids were sprinting to the locker room."
He had the first 4 points of the second half for the Indians (34-2), who never relinquished the lead.
"That was a huge momentum shift," Meridian coach Erik Griffin said. "I thought we did a pretty good job in the first half matching (Cuevas) but that run really gave them a boost."
The Indians had trailed by five with 1:30 left in the second quarter, but they quickly erased that and forged a lead with a Brad Novak layup and then four straight from Cuevas.
It was totally expected from Cuevas, a senior slated to play baseball for Illinois Central College next year.
"It's what we have done all season," he said. "We pull away from teams in the second half. I think if we hadn't done that, it would have been surprising."
The Indians pushed the lead to a dozen early in the fourth but Meridian wasn't done yet.
The Bobcats still trailed by 9 with 1:17 left. DJ Weldon made a jumper. Then David Davis made one and then hit 1 of 2 free throws before Davarae Edmonds made 2 free throws on Cuevas' fifth foul to pull Meridian within 3 at 54-51 with 43 seconds on the clock.
The teams traded a free throw apiece before Koby White was fouled with four seconds left. He missed the first before draining the second, skipping off to waiting teammates for a defensive substitute.
Carlson was just a little nervous finishing the biggest game of the year without his star.
"Well, we certainly would have rather had him out there," Carlson said. "But we have done it before with Carson not out there. I had faith we could do it again. Koby and everyone did just what we needed them to do."
Davis had 14 points and Weldon and Edmonds had 12 each to lead Meridian.
"Our guys did a great job of staying with it," Griffin said. "That is one thing I can say about our kids, they have huge heart. There is no quit in them and I am incredibly proud of the way they fought today."
• Colfax Ridgeview held Forreston to single-digit scoring in each of the first three quarter to claim third place with a 53-35 decision.