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This is the second of a series of what ABV considers the 10 biggest postseason upsets in southern Illinois since 1971-72.
TURNING THE TABLES
Breese Central upsets top-ranked Nashville, 66-61, Feb. 26, 1999
12-21-2020
BY JACK BULLOCK
When Coach Stan Eagleson took over as head coach at Breese Central in 1986-87 he wasn't exactly inheriting a powerhouse basketball program.

In the brief history of the high school they had three regional championships in a row (1972, 1973, 1974) when the two-class era began but just two 20-win seasons before this mentor arrived in Clinton County.

Those wins were highlighted because of the team's that eliminated the Cougars in the sectionals.

Breese Central won regional championships in the first three seasons of two-class basketball in Illinois under head coach Max Hook.

In 1971-72, Central lost in the sectional semifinals to a talented Mounds Meridian team, 77-70 at Sparta.

That Meridian team was a season removed from handing state champion Thornridge its only loss in two seasons, 48-40 at the Carbondale Holiday Tournament.

Meridian, after defeating Central, went on to finish second in the state to Lawrenceville in the first year of Class A basketball.

The following year Central again won a regional title.

But they lost to Pinckneyville, 62-51 on the Panthers' home floor.

Pinckneyville would end up at the Carbondale Super-sectional, losing to eventual state champion Ridgway, 57-56.

The 1973-74 season found the Cougars holding up another regional trophy but they lost another opening round game in the sectional.

Sparta defeated Breese Central, 57-49 at Sparta.
The Eagleson Era.

There wasn't much postseason success in the first few years with Coach Eagleson in charge.

In the first 12 seasons for this coach, Breese Central managed just eight postseason wins in what has always been considered one of the toughest Class A Regionals in the state.

Not only powerhouse Nashville but perennial 20-game winners Okawville, Carlyle and Breese Mater Dei would normally “slug it out” for a week with a chance to advance to a sectional.

All four of those programs made state finals appearances.

The Cougars won two games in the 1989 regional at Carlyle.

They defeated Sandoval, 79-66 and Okawville, 61-50.

Awaiting them was state-ranked Carlyle with University of Illinois signee Tom Michael.

Central made a game of it but lost 56-47.

The Indians would go on to win the Class A state championship.

Fast forward eight years and the Cougars were on the verge of snagging that elusive regional title.

Breese Central had a fine season in 1996-97.

They were the top-seed at the Carlyle Regional and expected to finally win a championship.

Coach Eagleson's club was 22-3 heading into the regional as the favorite.
 
The Build Up

The regional title game in 1997 ended up being a matchup of Central and Nashville.

Both were quality teams that had success that season.

The Cougars had won the Nashville Invitational Tournament in January but were beat in the Mater Dei Holiday Tournament by Mascoutah, which kept the Cougars from facing the Hornets in that championship game.

Nashville ended up beating Mascoutah for the title.

Madison took care of the Hornets in the NIT semifinals, which also kept that Central/Nashville game from happening.

Central beat Madison the next night for the championship.

“Our 1996-97 team really hit our stride after Christmas. We won the Nashville Tournament and we beat Madison that year (in the final) and they had Maurice Baker who was basically unstoppable at the time,” said Coach Eagleson. “We were playing as well as anyone in the state.”

When the two teams finally met it was at Nashville on February 8, a game in which the Cougars prevailed 55-45.

To reach the regional title game in 1997, both Central and Nashville had rivals to take care of.

Central eliminated cross-town nemesis Mater Dei, 54-46, while the Hornets ended the season of Washington County rival Okawville, 49-44.

A packed house at Carlyle on Friday, February 28 witnessed the regional title game.

Youth Was Served

This turned out to be a difficult night for the Cougars.

They ended up just 3-of-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 4-of-15 in the second half.

And they couldn't keep Nashville from hitting from the outside.

Nashville's Zach Borowiak nailed a game-winning 3-pointer with :16 left.

It was one of seven 3-pointers that Nashville knocked down in the title game.

“Zach (Borowiak) hit a deep three for us, it was a bomb from right in front of our bench,” said Coach Lee. “It was NBA distance. Central was big that year and that was about as close as we could get attempting shots. We didn't make any two-point shots in the first half but we hit five 3's and were only down 19-15.”

Central had a shot at the win but missed a 15-footer that Nashville rebounded.

When the horn went off Nashville's mostly young squad advanced to its own sectional while Central was left with a shocking defeat.

“At the time Nashville's kids were sophomores. They were all good. When we played them at Carlyle we just didn't shoot the ball well and we didn't make free throws that night. They played well enough and beat us in a close game,” said Coach Eagleson.

Nashville rolled past three opponents (Sesser-Valier, Columbia and Harrisburg) to reach Peoria with their toughest game being against the Cougars.

Not only did Nashville reach the Elite Eight, so did Madison as the Trojans won the Charleston Super-sectional.
More Of The Same

In 1997-98 Coach Eagleson's club finished 25-6, another fine regular season.

But they didn't have success against Nashville.

They lost twice to the Hornets in close games.

Nashville edged Central 50-43 in overtime to win the Mater Dei Tournament championship.

A month later the Hornets beat the Cougars, 46-31 in the Nashville Invitational Tournament semifinals.

The postseason delivered another disappointment.

Mater Dei ended the Cougars' season at the Mater Dei Class A Regional, 47-37, which kept Central from having another shot at a regional crown.

The Knights were demolished by the Hornets, 70-49 in the regional title game two nights later.

As had happened the previous season, Nashville rolled on to the state finals.

“The rivalry we had from my sophomore year until my senior year had been one-sided. It really hit home with me when we lost at Carlyle,” said Tim Schumacher, who was a sophomore starter in 1996-97. “Throughout my high school years they seemed like that had always beaten us. It was definitely one-sided for the Hornets. We were really good that year in 1997 and it was heartbreaking for us.”
Another Trip North?

After two Elite Eight appearances, the Hornets entered the 1998-99 season on a mission.

Coach Lee only lost one senior from 1997-98; 6-foot-3 forward Andy Gajewski.

Everyone else returned from the 30-2 squad that lost to Farmington, 57-54, in the state quarterfinals.

This was a veteran team that had played in many big time games.

The guards were 6-foot-1 senior Brad Fischer and 6-foot senior Kelly Cruser.

The forwards were 6-foot Zack Borowiak, 6-foot-4 senior Travis Schmale and 6-foot-3 senior Jody Gajewski.

The center was 6-foot-6 Brian Piasecki.

Another guard who logged a lot of minutes was 6-foot-2 junior Robert Lea.

They were all capable of producing, from outside or inside.

Each had big games throughout the season.

Up to this moment in time this was arguably Coach Lee's best squad.

They were athletic and, as Class A teams go, intimidating.

Defensively dominant and offensively talented, the Hornets could beat teams in many different ways.

They could outscore teams or shut them down. Often it was both at the same time.

They ran an “X” offense when they had a lead late in games that forced teams to foul them.

Nashville appeared destined for another trip to Carver Arena.

They had the look of a state champion, the first for the school in boy's basketball since 1978.

However several of the hardwood players were also very good on the gridiron.

Nashville advanced in the 3A football playoffs all the way to the championship game, which overlapped into the early season basketball practices.

The Hornets, after finishing second to football powerhouse Maple Park Kaneland, ended up losing the next day on the basketball court.

Nashville lost to Lebanon, and all-state player Les Norman, in the title game of the Lebanon/McKendree Thanksgiving Tournament, 67-66.

Within a 24 hour period, Nashville incurred its only two varsity defeats in almost seven months.

The baseball Hornets the following spring, with many of the same players, advanced to the Elite Eight.
The Rematch

The rest of the 1998-99 regular season, the Hornets 'took no prisoners.'

Several huge tests were passed in this incredible season.

The other two tournaments were little more than speed bumps as the Hornets handily won both the Mater Dei Holiday and Nashville Invitational Tournaments.

At the MDHT they beat five opponents, including the Cougars, by a combined 116 points.

The Hornets handled Breese Central in what turned out to be a Pool Play semifinal, 54-38.

The Cougars ended up in third place at the BMDHT.

The NIT wasn't any closer; three opponents were outscored by 81 points, including a 75-45 win over Waterloo Gibault.

Central lost to Mater Dei in the first round, then responded by winning the consolation title with wins over Trico and Freeburg.

Gibault, after the Nashville upset in the regional, took full advantage and advanced all the way to the championship game at Carver Arena.

Nashville picked up a couple of impressive shootout wins in 1998-99.

At the prestigious St. Louis Coca-Cola Shootout, the Hornets defeated Huntsville (AL.) Grissom, 55-42 at the Kiel Center.

Grissom was led by 6-foot-10 Parade All American and McDonald's All-American Marvin Stone, who eventually played at the University of Kentucky and University of Louisville.

Grissom would go on to capture the 1998-99 Alabama 6A state championship.

They also conquered fourth-ranked Class A Chicago Providence St. Mel at home.

St. Mel eventually made it to Peoria.

All signs pointed towards another long postseason run back to Peoria as most sports writers in the state agreed.

The Hornets were ranked number-one in the final Associated Press Class A poll and deservedly so.

On the other hand Breese Central was no slouch.

They were a good ball club that gelled at the right time of the season.

They were champions of the Cahokia Conference and ended up 25-8 overall.

Schumacher, who was now a 6-foot-5 senior forward, averaged 17 points a game for the Cougars as a senior.

“We wanted another shot at them and at the end of the year we were playing well and on a winning streak,” said Schumacher. “It seemed like everyone on the team found their niche. We were a six or seven man rotation. We weren't a real deep team but the guys that played were good basketball players and winners. There were four of us that ended up playing college basketball. We didn't have the pedigree that Nashville had but we were a well rounded team.”

Six-foot-four junior Josh Kleiboeker was another starter for Breese Central who was second on the team in scoring at 11.5 points a night.

Sophomore Brad Fischer, a 6-foot guard, averaged 10.5 points a game and was part of a very good shooting team.

Ironically both teams had players named Brad Fischer.

Central's Fischer hit 69 3-pointers in 1998-99.

Kraig Santel, a 6-foot-2 senior, 6-foot-3 sophomore Brian Barth, 5-foot-7 junior Danny Peek and 6-foot-1 junior Kevin Foppe were big contributors for the Cougars.

Six-foot senior Brad Kahrhoff was also a big part of the Cougars' success and was a sophomore (along with Schumacher) when Nashville eliminated Central in 1997.

Coach Eagleson saw improvement throughout the 1998-99 campaign from this team and they were shooting the ball really well late in the season.

In the final regular season game the Cougars beat Greenville and shot extremely well from the floor.

“It is just one of those things. We were shooting the ball really well at the time going into the regional. I remember we played Greenville in our final game of the regular season at home. And we just shot 'light's out' and (Greenville Coach) George Grubbs said to me 'if you guys shoot that way in the regional you have a chance' and we did.”
Upset Alert

The game itself couldn't have started off any worse for Nashville.

It what seemed like a blink of an eye Central was up 9-0.

Three consecutive 3-point bombs by Schumacher, Peek and Kahrhoff stunned the Hornets and their huge home crowd.

Some coaches use a boxing analogy in explaining this sort of beginning of games.

In this case it would be correct to say that Central 'answered the bell and punched Nashville right in the mouth' to begin the contest.

After Nashville finally got on the board, with baskets by Cruser and Fischer, Central made another run (7-0) which gave the Cougars a surprising 20-8 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.

“I remember sitting in the lockerroom before the game and Coach Eagleson said 'go out and have fun.' All the pressure is on them,” said Schumacher. “They were supposed to win in front of their home crowd. We jumped out on them but we knew it wasn't going to be easy the rest of the game. We played with confidence. They put pressure on us late but we always made a play to fend them off. We got big steals and made free throws at the end of the game.”

The Cougars continued their good play in the second frame.

Nashville, got baskets from Fischer to cut the Hornets' deficit to just 24-17.

However Breese Central struck right back with another run (8-0) to close the half at 32-17 Cougars.

“They (Central) played well and Schumacher was a tough matchup for us. He (Coach Eagleson) zoned us and we didn't see much of that. Looking back I always just relied on us just shooting people out of zones,” said Coach Lee. “Fischer, Borowiak, Cruser and Schmale would just make enough shots that teams would have to come out and guard us. We did not make shots and that can get contagious.”

Even thought the internet was in its infancy, communications were much better than in previous years.

ABV was at Flora for the regional championship game and found out about the halftime score.

The web was “a buzz” over the halftime score when it was announced at different regional sites around southern Illinois.

Pretty much no one thought that the Hornets would be in any danger in this regional title game.

At least no one other than the players and fans wearing Purple and White on this night at the Assembly Hall.

The hot shooting that the Cougars had shown at the end of the regular season had carried over into the regional.

Coach Eagleson saw his club nail two-thirds of their shots in the first 16 minutes, including five 3-pointers to lead by 15 points.

Nashville hadn't faced any sort of significant deficit during its winning streak and they failed to cut into the Central lead in the third quarter.

Central, behind scores from Schumacher and Fischer, increased its advantage to 19 points heading into the fourth quarter, 53-34.

It was a good thing that Breese Central had such a spread because Nashville suddenly began to show why they were the top-ranked team in the state.

Coach Lee's club started the final quarter on a 12-0 run.

But the Cougars, unlike in 1997, were able to finish off the game from the foul line.

Breese Central hit 15-of-19 free throws, including eight free throws in the final minutes to secure the upset.

“Our team shot a lot of 3's and we just didn't make them. Central got us down and we panicked. They were a good basketball team. They won 25 games,” said Coach Lee. “Stan is a good coach and they were a good program. We still made a run late when we pressed them but we couldn't get over the hump at the end.”

Coach Eagleson's club ended up hitting 57.8 percent from the floor overall, which was the formula for a regional win.

The Hornets were led by Cruser with 19 points while Fischer and Schmale added 11 and 10.

“We came out (in the regional title game) and we shot really well in the first half and got a lead. If you are going to have an upset like that, that almost has to be the blueprint. You have to shoot the ball well and you have to get the lead. Your kids can relax and then the team that is supposed to win gets a little bit tight,” said Coach Eagleson. “They (Nashville) didn't shoot the ball well that night and we built a big enough lead and were able to hold on.”

Nashville hit just 23-of-58 shots (39.6 percent) and got no closer than the 66-61 final score in the season ending defeat.

The Cougars were led by Kleibacher with 18 points, who had sprained his ankle in the third quarter but returned to the game in the fourth.

Central's Brad Fischer ended up with 16 points while Schumacher added 15.

Although the Cougars lost a tough 52-49 decision to Sesser-Valier in their first round sectional game, this regional championship (the first one for the program since 1974) was a real 'shot in the arm' for the school.

“It (the win) was big for our program. It gave our kids a lot of confidence. It showed the younger kids that it could be done. We started a good run and our kids always believed that every time they stepped out on the floor that they had a chance to win,” said Coach Eagleson.

It was a good run, indeed.
Success Breeds Success

From 1996-97 until Coach Eagleson stepped away from the bench following the 2012-13 season, the Cougars never had a losing campaign.

In those 17 seasons, Breese Central was 389-120 (.764) and added to that first regional in the run.

The totals ended up being 10 regional titles, eight sectional titles, five super-sectional championships, a fourth place finish in 2009-10 and then a state championship in 2011-12.

Since 1996-97 the Hornets also "piled up the hardware."

Nashville managed to reach the Elite Eight in 1999-00, losing in the quarterfinals to Teutopolis in overtime.

The Hornets, from 1997 on, totaled seven trips to the state finals and finished second in Class 2A in 2013-14.

Looking Back

Breese Central recently celebrated a 50 year anniversary of the school starting (1969) and one of the things that they did was to watch a replay of that 1999 win over Nashville.

“It was enjoyable to relive it again,” added Coach Eagleson. “Many of the former players were there for the celebration.”

“People still talk about the game. I can be out somewhere and people still bring it up,” said Schumacher. “We knew we accomplished something special that night. I was part of some big games in college (at McKendree) but that regional game will always stand out.”

Coach Lee, who has coached at Collinsville since 2009-10, summed up these two postseason games between the two teams.

“Us upsetting them in '97 was probably as big of an upset as '99 was,” said Coach Lee. “The better team didn't win either night. Everything went right for us in '97 and in '99 it was the same way. Everything went right for them.”
Class A Nashville Regional Championship
1
2
3
4
-
F
Breese Central (25-7)
20
12
21
13
-
66
Nashville (28-2)
08
09
17
27
-
61

Breese Central (66) – Fischer 16, Peek 8, Schumacher 15, Kahrhoff 6, Kleiboeker 18, Foppe 3.
2FG-18, FT-14-19, PF-16.
Nashville (48) – Borowiak 5, Fischer 11, Cruser 19, Schmale 10, Piasecki 6, Lee 4, Gajewski 6.
2FG-22, FT-4-11, PF-15.
1999 Nashville Class A Regional Champions - The Breese Central Cougars