BY JACK BULLOCK
LITCHFIELD – For the Nokomis Redskins, the way they play basketball never really changes from year-to-year under long time head coach Steve Kimbro.

Even though the faces and names change, the 1-2-2 zone defense and grinding possession basketball that has produced over 700-wins in 36-years continues to be a staple for this winning program.

On Tuesday night against rival Hillsboro, the Redskins overcame their offensive issues in the first half and put together enough productive possessions and defensive stops in the fourth quarter to pick up their second win of the tournament.

Leading just 27-26 heading into the fourth quarter, Nokomis held the Hiltoppers without a field goal for the first 4:16 of the stanza.

Austin McDowell, a 6-foot-1 junior guard, nailed two huge 3-point shots in the beginning of the fourth and he closed the game out by hitting the game clinching free throw with :05.4 remaining as Nokomis advanced into the Gold Bracket championship round with a 44-43 victory.

His free throw gave the Redskins a four-point cushion, which allowed them to survive a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Hillsboro's Kaiden White.

Nokomis will play the winner of Pool A in the first semifinal on Friday at 6 pm.

McDowell paced the Redskins shaky offense with 20-points while 6-foot-7 freshman Carter Sabol added 10-points.

In spite of hitting just 15-of-30 free throw attempts in the contest, Nokomis managed to hold on for the win.

Hillsboro (9-8 overall) had many chances to win the contest but they, too, failed to muster up the sort of offense needed on this night.

“It (style) is always like that with them (Nokomis) they want to play a methodical style. The first four minutes of the game against them is always critical because you don't want to put yourself in a situation where you have to come back against them,” said Coach Vanzo. “We handled everything early okay but the start of the fourth quarter we got some good looks at the basket, some good shots but they just didn't go down. You have to give McDowell credit, he hit some big shots for them.”

The one exception was the exceptional play of 6-foot-2 senior power forward Steven Fenske.

Fenske “powered” his was for 25-points and 14-rebounds on a night where he didn't get a lot of help in the scoring column.

Fenske also stepped up from the outside, hitting four 3-pointers for head coach Joe Vanzo's squad.

White finished with 10-points with three 3-pointers, two of which came in the final frame.

“His best skill is his competitiveness. He has a will to win and he wants the ball on rebounds. He is averaging about 12.5 rebounds a game,” said Coach Vanzo about Fenske. “On the boards tonight was a pretty typical game for him.”

Hillsboro had an early lead of 8-5 at the end of a pedestrian first quarter, thanks to a pair of early scores from Fenske and a 3-pointer from junior guard Drake Paden.

How bad was the offenses in the opening stanza?

The two teams combined to misfire on 17 field goal attempts and together they committed 13-turnovers.

Coach Vanzo saw his Toppers get another five-point lead in the second quarter, with White and Fenske hitting a 3-pointers.

However a bucket by C. Sabol closed the half at 16-13 Hillsboro.

The opportunities were there for Hillsboro in the third quarter but, again, the mistakes kept the offense from exploiting the situation.

Struggling against the 1-2-2, the Hiltoppers committed six more turnovers in the third quarter which ended with Sabol and McDowell closing the frame at 27-26.

Five consecutive possessions in the fourth quarter came up empty for Hillsboro.

Coach Vanzo saw his team miss four 3-pointers in succession and added another close-range failed attempt.

McDowell provided the difference in the outcome, draining his first 3-pointer of the quarter from the left wing with 6:17 left.

His next bomb, from the top of the arc just a minute and a half later gave the Redskins their biggest spread at 34-26.

Nokomis could have cruised home as they ran their offense and got to the foul line.

But they didn't take full advantage as they finished just 13-of-30 overall from the charity stripe.

The good news for the Redskins is they kept getting to the line and eventually made enough to get the victory.

Five-foot-eleven senior Andrew Herpstreith finished with just four-points, but all came from the foul line and all came in the final 2:31 of the game.

In a pair of trips to the line as Nokomis was in the double-bonus, Herpstreith made 3-of-4 shots.

After hitting two-straight with :18.6 left, the Redskins were up 43-37.

Fenske's final points came on the next possession as he connected from the top of the arc for a 3-pointer as Coach Vanzo called timeout with :06.4 left.

Nokomis got the ball in to McDowell who was subsequently fouled. He hit the first of two free throws to send the Redskins into the championship bracket.

“It's a rivalry and in the first half we didn't do much on offense. We didn't do a lot. We didn't shoot free throws well, I don't know what we shot from the field but it wasn't great,” said Coach Kimbro. “Luckily we made enough free throws because they (Hillsboro) took us out of our game tonight a bit but we did enough at the end. We were fortunate to win tonight.”

Neither team shot the ball well from the floor with Hillsboro going just 16-of-41 overall and 5-of-13 from the arc.

Nokomis was slightly worse, hitting 14-of-41 and 3-of-9 from the 3-point line.

The Redskins were better controlling the basketball, after committing six first quarter turnovers, Coach Kimbro saw his club commit just four miscues in the final 24-minutes.

The Redskins held a 29-24 rebounding edge.

Hillsboro ended up with 16-turnovers and they only hit 3-of-8 free throws in a game in which neither team generated much quality offensively.

Coach Vanzo's club needs a win over the host Purple Panthers on Wednesday night in Pool D to get into the fifth place bracket.

“It's tough to get extra possessions against them. You will get (usually) one shot against them and they will get defensive rebounds,” said Coach Vanzo.

Coach Todd Cantrill's club, after playing to an 11-all tie at the end of the first quarter, fell behind in the second period and never recovered in the loss as they now stand 7-9 on the season.

Ryan Hutchinson led the Comets with 11-points while Christian Moss added eight.

CM (11-6 overall) is now 1-0 in the Pool B and can go to the championship bracket final four with a win on Wednesday against Lebanon.

Civic Memorial was led by Jaquan Adams and Caden Clark with 14-points each.

Coach Adam Metzger witnessed his club get behind 31-23 at the half and then get outgunned 21-7 in the third quarter in the loss.

Taylorville is now 1-0 in Pool C and can clinch a spot in the championship bracket final four with a win Wednesday night over East Alton-Wood River in a game that was postponed from Saturday.

The Tornadoes were led by senior guard Logan Clayton with 14-points while Nick Livingston and Jordan Moats added 13-points apiece.

Moats went 9-of-9 from the foul line as Taylorville was 12-of-14 from the stripe.