03-15-14
BY JACK BULLOCK
PEORIA – For the first time in the postseason, the Nashville Hornets faced a team that could exploit their 3-2 zone defense.

Although it took nearly three quarters for this strategy to work, Bloomington Central Catholic got the open looks it wanted for most of the night from beyond the 3-point line and in the fourth quarter (and beyond) they made the shots that counted as they rallied from 11-points down to force overtime.

After playing to a stalemate in the first two extra sessions, the Saints marched home in March Madness style with a 14-0 run in the third overtime for a 76-62 stunning victory in the 2A championship game at Carver Arena in Peoria.

Head coach Jason Welch saw his club rally for a championship win.

“The biggest key was not quitting,” said Coach Welch. “They kept fighting and fighting.”

Coach Brad Weathers’ club looked to be headed for a state title as they led 48-37 with 4:18 to go.

But behind a pressure defense that forced six fourth quarter turnovers and four 3-pointers by 5-foot-11 senior guard Nick Norton in the same frame got the Saints back in the game.

When the two teams finally got to the third overtime, BCC took command and won the program’s first boy’s basketball state championship.

Norton finished with 25-points and he nailed the coffin shut on the Nashville hopes by hitting 8-of-10 free throws in the third OT.

By the time the Hornets knew what hit them in the final overtime, the damage had been done as Nashville ended their season with a second place trophy and a 27-8 record.

“It was an awfully hard fought ball game. Give Central Catholic a lot of credit for coming back and knocking down some big shots. I think both team definitely left on the floor in this one,” said Coach Weathers. “They got the momentum going toward the end of the game (regulation) a little bit. But you know what; we survived that and made it through two more overtimes. I know the momentum shifted but I got to give our kids credit for staying with it through the next two.”

Coach Weathers was trying to win his second state championship, having won the Class A title 25-years ago.

Ironically the last time an Illinois boy’s basketball state championship game went to triple overtime was exactly one week after Coach Weathers’ Carlyle Indians won the 1989 championship.

East St. Louis edged Peoria Central in the Class AA event in three extra sessions.

For the Hornets, there were many factors that led to their eventual defeat.

One stat that stood out that while Bloomington Central Catholic hit 14 3-pointers on the night, the Hornets managed just a 2-of-20 result from beyond the arc.

Overall neither team shot the ball well but when the Saints made shots, they were nearly all treys.

The Hornets finished 21-of-63 overall (33.3 percent) while BCC was 22-of-64 (34.4 percent).

The game for those three quarters was basically played at the tempo that Nashville wanted.

Using their size advantage and being able to slow the game into a half-court contest, Nashville forged a double-digit lead in the third quarter.

Six-foot-seven sophomore Royce Newman led the Hornets with 21-points and 11-rebounds.

He closed a 6-0 run in the third quarter that got Nashville a 30-20 lead.

Daniel Thorson (13-points) and Dylan Mueller (10-points) were also double-digit scorers and they began that run with a drives to the basket.

Another Thorson score followed by a basket by Clint Johannes (13-points) and the Hornets led 37-30 heading into the fourth quarter.

However in the fourth frame, Norton found his range.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by the senior guard cut the Saints deficit to 48-43 and BCC took advantage of three turnovers in the final 2:00 to forge a tie.

Another Norton 3-pointer and 2-of-4 free throws by 6-foot-2 junior guard Jake Reinhart (19-points overall) forced the first overtime at 50-all.

Nashville got a late lead in the first overtime on a bucket in the lane by Newman and a reverse lay in by Thorson to make it 54-53 with :48 left.

But a conventional three-point play by guard Austin Holman gave back the lead to BCC.

Two free throws by Newman evened the game again at 56-each.

The final seconds of the first overtime saw 6-foot-4 forward Elliot Hoerdemann get a wide open look from beyond the arc for the Saints but he missed the mark sending the teams to a second overtime.

Reinhart, with the Hornets now concentrating on Norton, got two open 3-point looks that he converted.

Nashville got buckets by Thorson, Mueller and Newman to send the clubs to overtime number three at 62-62.

Newman got loose in the lane for his basket with 2:22 remaining in the 2OT.

As it turned out, that would be the final points for Nashville.

Bloomington Central Catholic and Nashville each had a shot to win the game in the final seconds.

Holman missed a lay up after a steal and Anderson had an open look from the right corner that misfired at the buzzer.

The third overtime was all Saints.

Nashville went 0-of-12 in the third overtime and committed three of its 15-turnovers in those final four minutes.

Newman fouled out with 1:53 remaining.

"I’m extremely proud of the kids; I can’t be more prouder of the effort that put forth,” added Coach Weathers. “They left it all on the floor tonight.”

Another stat that proved to be part of the difference was points off the bench as Bloomington Central Catholic’s reserves outscored the Nashville bench, 19-0.

Coach Jason Welch saw his club win a state title and finished 27-6 on the season.

”It’s been a whirlwind the last three weeks. I’m so proud of the kids. Resilient. Never quit,” said BCC Coach Jason Welch. “What a game. That had to be fun to watch. We’ve got a bunch of seniors and they’re not going to quit. We talk about we’re not going to die easy.”