Rockford East rallies from 14 down to knock out Geneva
The downstate dream ended for the Geneva boys basketball team in DeKalb Tuesday.
Rockford East came to life at the end of the second quarter and dominated the second half of a 70-62 victory over the Vikings in the Class 4A Northern Illinois University supersectional.
Geneva (32-2) built a 14-point lead midway through the second quarter, thanks to a solid shooting performance that allowed them to set their defense.
Geneva sank 13-of-23 first-half shots, led by Mitch Mascari. The senior guard scored 17 of his team-high 21 points in the first half on 6-of-9 shooting, 3 of 5 from 3-point range. His 3-pointer with 3:18 left in the second quarter put the Vikings ahead 31-17.
Meanwhile, Geneva junior Josh Preston scored 12 of his 14 points in the first half. Both scorers were helped by point guard Jack McDonald, who notched 8 first-half assists.
"Coach was calling a lot of nice sets and Mitch and Josh were hitting them, so that was big," McDonald said.
Rockford East (34-2) closed the second quarter on a 10-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer from 6-foot-3 junior guard Sincere Parker.
"That run at the end of the second quarter showed us how we could play not only if we played harder, but if we played smarter," Rockford East coach Roy Sackmaster said. "I thought we did from that point."
Parker and the E-Rabs, who will face Evanston in a state semifinal in Peoria on Friday at 5:30 p.m. scored 27 first-half points on 8-of-18 shooting.
They were a different team after halftime. The E-Rabs made 14 of 16 shots in the second half, including 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point line.
Parker made 4 of 5 3-point attempts in the second half, highlighted by a long bomb that gave Rockford East a 47-45 lead through three quarters.
"Parker was making NBA threes," Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. "He shoots it like Mitch. Mitch kind of went off in the first half. I don't think Mitch made a three in the second. They did a good job guarding him. They did a great job on Jack. I told the guys afterward there's a reason they're 34-2."
Geneva won the rebounding battle 14-7 in the first half but Rockford East beat the Vikings 14-9 on the boards in the second half. Geneva shot 10 of 29 from the field in the second half. Rockford East made 14 of 16.
"Our defense has been great all year because our offense is so efficient," Hennig said. 'It's harder to score against anyone if you're playing against a set defense, especially against these guys."
Rockford East opened the fourth quarter on a 9-2 run to take a 56-47 lead. Parker highlighted the spree with a two-handed dunk followed by a layup.
The Vikings were unable to pull within 6 points of the lead thereafter, thus ending a record-breaking season in which they won the DuKane Conference title, two holiday tournaments, a regional, a sectional and a school record 32 games.
That was little consolation to the seniors.
"It's just tough because in the off-season when you work for this, you really don't think about losing," Mascari said.
McDonald finished his final high school game with 11 assists and 10 points.
"It's been really more than I could ask for," McDonald said. "It's been a ton of fun."