03-12-10
BY JACK BULLOCK
PEORIA - The Sesser-Valier Red Devils are a win away from the Class 1A state championship.

The Madison Trojans are wondering what happened to their shooting touch.

On Friday afternoon the Red Devils did the things that they needed to do as they have done all postseason.

Madison did just the opposite.

Taking care of the ball and making the key shots – Coach Chip Basso’s club improved to 26-9 on the season with a 58-40 win in which they never trailed against the state-ranked Trojans.

“I think we had to handle their athleticism and their pressure. That was very important for us,” said Sesser-Valier head coach Chip Basso. “We also had to establish our inside post game. We did a good job of that.”

Justin Matyi put in his usual quiet double-double with 29-points and 15-rebounds and the Red Devils didn’t wilt under the Madison full-court pressure to move into the championship game on Saturday against South Fork.

Madison was its own worst enemy – hitting just 15-of-65 shots from the floor - and never got a lead in a game in which they won the rebounding war but couldn’t execute offensively.

“We usually average between 68 and 70 points. (We got) only six fast-break points. I would never have expected that (scoring only 40 points),” said Madison mentor Jaime Cotto. “It seemed like we were trying to wish the ball in instead of playing with that confidence we do.”

Sesser-Valier didn’t exactly set the world on fire but the role players played their roles to a tee.

Most of the game plan was to get the ball to Matyi in the lane and that worked well.

Matyi hit 10-of-22 shots from the field and was 9-of-10 from the foul line.

Also part of the plan was to keep the turnovers down and keep the Trojans from making big runs. Mission accomplished.

Free up T.J. Eubanks for some open looks from beyond the 3-point line.

The 6-foot-2 senior hit 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc with nearly all of them coming in big moments of the game that stopped Madison from making a run.

All totaled up – S-V moves to the championship game.

Eubanks hit perhaps the biggest shot of the first half when he banked home a 3-point shot in the early part of the second quarter to push his team to a 13-8 lead.

Matyi scored the club’s next seven points and then Dane Eubanks and T.J. each provided big baskets.

Dane drove the lane for a score and T.J. connected again from downtown as Sesser-Valier led 27-18 at intermission.

The key stat of the second quarter was that Madison had 12 offensive rebounds as they scored just ten points on 5-of-25 shooting in the quarter.

Madison closed to within 34-28 in the third quarter when Torian Gregory hit a 3-pointer from the left wing with 4:51 remaining.

But another 3-point bomb by T.J. Eubanks and four points from Matyi closed the quarter at 45-33.

Spreading the floor in the final quarter Sesser-Valier hit 6-of-7 free throws down the stretch to close out Madison.

“Justin (Matyi) had some success down low. More times than not, if we can get him the ball down low in scoring positions, he can get some points on the board for us,” added Coach Basso. “He and T.J. are a pretty good one-two punch for us.”

The Red Devils will face Catlin Salt Fork in the title game on Saturday.

The Storm took care of Lanark Eastland 48-38 – outscoring the Cougars 15-4 in the fourth quarter.

Madison will play Lanark Eastland in the third place game before the championship contest.

“We’re just going to battle tomorrow and try to get that third place,” added Coach Cotto. “It was a tough journey getting here (but) when you shoot that badly, it’s tough to win.”

	1	2	3	4	-	F
Madison	08	10	15	07	-	40
Sesser-Valier	10	17	18	13	-	58

Madison (40) – Hardin 3 0 3-5 9, Mason 2 0 1-2 5, Echols 0 2 1-2 7, Gregory 3 1 1-1 10, Farrar 4 0 1-2 9, Wright 0 0 0-0 0, L. Gregory 0 0 0-0 0, Kirkwood 0 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Simms 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-12, 3FG-3, FT-7-12, PF-18.
Sesser-Valier (50) – Gibson 0 0 0-0 0, T.J. Eubanks 0 5 0-3 15, D. Eubanks 3 0 6-9 12, Matyi 10 0 9-10 29, Tinsley 1 0 0-0 2, Witcher 0 0 0-0 0, Hicks 0 0 0-0 0, DelBene 0 0 0-0 0, Pitchford 0 0 0-0 0, Jenkins 0 0 0-0 0, Donovan 0 0 0-0 0, Vercellino 0 0 0-0 0, Stanley 0 0 0-0 0, Edwards 0 0 0-0 0, Dorris 0 0 0-0 0.
2FG-14, 3FG-5, FT-15-22, PF-11.
Fouled Out – Farrar - Madison.
Technical Fouls – None.