03-08-16
BY JACK BULLOCK
CARBONDALE - For the senior group of Woodlawn Cardinals, this postseason run has had some redemption value.

After being upset by Sesser-Valier in regional title games the past two seasons, the group came up big this year.

This program has a history of rising to the occasion on the biggest of stages and Tuesday night provided another chapter in the basketball history of this 1A powerhouse franchise.

The four-year veterans stepped up in the bright lights of SIU Arena.

Six-foot-five senior guard Ross Owens was nearly unstoppable and he led the defensive performance that kept Patoka off-balanced all night.

Owens nailed three 3-pointers, and hit 6-of-7 field goals overall.

He also was credited with three of the Cardinals 11-steals as they forced the Patoka into 17-turnovers.

Senior forward Austin Ballard scored 19-points for Woodlawn as he hit for 7-of-12.

Junior guard Blake Wollerman added eight-points while dishing out eight-assists.Senior forward Brett Harris added eight-points and six-rebounds.

In other words, the Cardinals had many contributors to the win and many reasons to smile on Tuesday night after the decisive win.

Woodlawn triggered the blow out with a 16-3 run to begin the second half, hitting their first five field goal attempts.

The total result was a demonstrative showing as they improved to 29-3 on the season with a 63-42 thumping of the Warriors on Tuesday night.

“Everybody knows what happened to us the last two years but we can't think about that, this is this year and this is what we worked so hard for,” said Ross Owens. “We knew we would have to hit some outside shots but we also knew we had to attack the basket. We knew they would pack in the zone real tight so we knew the 3's would be open all game. We knew he (Cain) was a good player, we knew we had to come out and shut him down.”

For head coach Shane Witzel, it was another supersectional title, the school's fourth in boy's basketball, since four-class basketball took effect in 2007-08 as the Cardinals used a very patient offense and a stingy defense to advance once again.

“We were just a little bit more patient offensively and got some scores around the bucket. We have two point-guards that are both over 100 assists for the year and we have some guys that can finish around the rim,” said Coach Witzel. “This group of seniors just love to play, I know that sounds like a cliche but it is true. We tend to over coach sometimes but they just love to come into the gym and play the game.”

The Cinderella-type postseason run of the Patoka Warriors came to an abrupt ending as head coach Joe Eddy saw his club run into a seasoned group of veterans that shut them down in the half court.

After winning its third consecutive regional championship and the school's first ever sectional crown, the Warriors closed their record setting campaign at 24-12.

High scoring junior guard Jered Cain was held to just 14-points and junior forward Garrett Belcher scored just eight points, well below both of their lofty averages.

The Cardinals forced Patoka into a 16-of-37 effort from the field and just 4-of-17 from the 3-point arc.

Despite struggling for most of the night, Patoka trailed just 15-13 at the end of the first quarter as both teams came out a bit nervous, at least they played like it.

Owens' first trey broke the game's final tie with :39 left, and sophomore Trey Isaac (six-points) scored on a fast break after one of Wollerman's two steals.

Cain banked home a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving him nine-points in the frame.

Unfortunately for the Warriors, he would manage just five more points the rest of the way.

Woodlawn nearly broke the game open in the second quarter with back-to-back steals and scores by Owens and Wollerman forced a Patoka timeout at 24-20 with 3:39 left.

“They do a lot of things well. They want to spread the floor and their guys can take you off the dribble. We just tried to keep those guys in front of you as much as you possibly can,” said Coach Witzel. “The hope is over the course of the game we would have some stretches where we could force some turnovers.”

Harris hit a pair of free throws and scored on a drive in the lane.

When Ballard closed the half with another take away and bucket, the Cardinals led 28-24 at intermission.

“We got some guys that can shoot the three, but our point was to try and get the ball inside and see if we could score in the paint,” said Coach Witzel. “In this arena, the team that can get the easiest baskets usually will win the game. They were doing that in the first half, they were getting to the rim. Fortunately we turned them over a few times in the first half. We weren't shooting the ball well early but we did a much better job in the second half of getting the ball inside.”

Seven-consecutive points from Woodlawn opened the barn door.

Harris hit a shot in the paint on an assist from Owens and then on the next trip, Owens hit his second trifecta from the right wing.

Two free throws by Ballard gave the Cards a 35-24 advantage.

Following a Belcher score, Woodlawn slammed the door shut with a 9-2 sprint.

Owens scored on a cut to the basket with an assist from Wollerman.

Wollerman in turn nailed a mid-range shot.

Then the drama was removed with Ballard scoring on yet another assist from Wollerman and Isaac cashed in a steal with a fast break lay in for a 44-31 lead at the end of the third quarter.

“We dug ourselves too big of a hole with some bad possessions and unforced turnovers. We let Ross (Owens) get open for two easy 3's and the next thing you know your four-point deficit turns into 12 or 14. Woodlawn has shown year in and year out that if you are trying to play catch up that they will take the air out of the ball and shoot lay ups and they did against us,” said Coach Eddy. “Their length really hurt us. The shots and passes that we got off in previous games against smaller defenders were tipped tonight.” Their length and athleticism really was the difference.”

Patoka senior Dylan Back netted his final points of his career with a long 3-pointer from the left wing that breathed a bit of life into the Warriors, cutting the score to just 48-36.

Seven-straight points by the Cardinals ended the hope.

Ballard scored while being fouled by Back and his three-point play started his own five-point run.

When Wollerman scored on an in bounds pass from Owens, it made it 55-36 Woodlawn.

Owens padded the stat sheet with four-consecutive free throws after being fouled by Belcher on a drive to the basket as Patoka senior guard Shane Cain picked up a technical foul on the play.

Those throws pushed the lead to its largest at 61-36 before the coaches emptied the pine benches.

Woodlawn finished the night 22-of-41 overall (53.7 percent) and they held a slight 25-23 rebound edge.

Of the 17-turnovers committed by Patoka, the Cardinals scored 19-points as a direct result.

“We had to minimize our mistakes and keep it under ten turnovers and you couple that with poor shooting it snowballs into a pretty big loss,” said Coach Eddy. “I told the kids, everything we have done has been special, and now kids can look back and say 'lets win a sectional like the team did in 2016 did.' They made their mark on Patoka history.”

The Cardinals will face Chicago Leo, a 55-51 winner over defending 1A state-champions Brimfield to win the DeKalb Supersectional.

Woodlawn and Leo will tip Friday afternoon at 1:45 pm at Carver Arena in Peoria.

“I want to congratulate Patoka and Coach Eddy for a great season and an outstanding postseason. We had to play awful well to advance. We are really excited about where we are and we get to go back to Peoria,” said Coach Witzel.