Burlington Central finally nails down regional title

It sounds a bit odd but Burlington Central boys basketball coach Brett Porto was hoping his team wouldn't be "stuck" with its third consecutive 26-win season Friday night.

After suffering agonizing regional title losses to Glenbard South in back-to-back seasons as the top seed, the Rockets captured their first Class 3A regional championship in 10 years by outlasting fourth-seeded Montini 89-78 at Aurora Central Catholic.

"I was a sophomore coach with Coach (Chris) Payne learning how to coach a little bit and now we're here 10 years later," Porto said of the 2007-08 team that claimed the school's last regional crown.

The Rockets (27-4), who will play Kishwaukee River Conference rival Johnsburg Tuesday in the Woodstock North sectional, led from start to finish, blasting off to a great start by grabbing a 14-3 in the first 2 ½ minutes on the strength of three straight 3-point baskets from senior Michael Kalusa (15 points, 5 steals).

"I thought with the experience of playing in the last couple (regional title games) that we wouldn't come out nervous," said Porto. "We came out and hit some shots and caused some turnovers. We kind of got the pace where we wanted it and then we were able to hit some free throws down the stretch."

That is an understatement.

Burlington Central knocked down 21 of its 23 free-throw attempts during a start-and-stop fourth quarter, including its last 15 in a row, to survive a late comeback from the Broncos (17-11).

"It did not feel like it was ever going to end," said Porto, whose team made 38 of 44 free throws (86 percent) for the game. "That's something these guys have worked a lot on - shooting free throws."

"It felt like it took forever," added junior forward Patrick Mayfield, who scored 14 of his 24 points in the second half. "We shot so many free throws and everyone was making them."

Montini, which trailed by as many as 22 points at 60-38 with 3:09 left in third quarter, made things interesting down the stretch.

Led by junior Jermari Harris' 13 fourth-quarter points, the Broncos closed the gap to 7 on two separate occasions late - the last time at 83-76 with 55 seconds remaining before the Rockets scored the game's final 6 points.

"We needed to do a better job defensively," said Broncos coach Daryl Thomas. "When you give up 89 points in a high school game, you're in trouble. That's way too many points. It falls on us."

Senior guard Zach Schutta paced the Rockets with 25 points and 8 rebounds while Caden Scott had 10 points and Dejsani Beamon added 9 points and 4 steals.

"It feels really good to get over that hump," said Schutta. "We've won a bunch of tournament championships but never won a regional so it's a great feeling."

"This is a big step," said Porto. "We've gotten a lot of support from the community and from former players that have meant a lot to this program."

Matthew Morrissey scored 18 points for Montini.

"When you score 78 points in a high school game, you're supposed to win it," said Thomas.