03-12-04
CHICAGO LEO VS. BREESE CENTRAL
CLASS A STATE TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
PEORIA - Making two straight trips to the Class A quarterfinals is a great accomplishment by any school.

However in the case of Breese Central, having to face the Chicago area representative of the Catholic League for the second straight year was certainly not a blessing.

Coach Stan Eagleson's club was 2003 champion Chicago Hales Franciscan's first victim at the Elite Eight last season.

On Friday, they became the first notch on the gun belt of eventual title holder Chicago Leo's gun belt.

Leo took over a close game by out scoring Central 12-2 in the third quarter to advance to the semifinals with a 59-43 decision Friday night in the Class A state quarterfinals. Just like last season, the victor over Central eventually won the championship.

Playing in a different supersectional this season, the winner of the newly formed SIU-Edwardsville super struggled with the athleticism of Leo.

"We played pretty well in the first half and hung in there until right before halftime," said Eagleson, who is 313-193 in 18 seasons at Central. "We didn't rebound like I felt we could but again they are so athletic and their guards are really very physical."

Central, as it has done all season, relied on 6-foot-3 senior Adam Buehne for leadership and scoring.

He hit a pair of opening quarter shots, including a 3-pointer with :41 left to give his club a 9-9 lead at the first horn.

Central made a big run in the middle of the quarter to take its biggest lead of the game.
After baskets by Keelan Donald and Frank Clair sent the Lions to a 12-9 lead, Central responded with nine unanswered points.

Six-five junior Ken Detmer scored on a spin move on the baseline while being fouled by Chicago Leo's Michael Stipe. His made free throw evened the score at 12-apiece with 6:31 left before the half.

Then back-to-back 3-point shots by Central's Ryan Meyer and Buehne had Central in control at 18-12.
But then the athleticism of Leo began to show on the offensive end.

The Lions scored the next six points to even the score as Donald, Tracy Robinson (rebound basket) and Terrance Robinson (lay up) each added to the total.

Buehne responded with another basket and Meyer hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Central its final lead of the night at 21-20 with 2:19 to go.

But Leo at this point took off on a 7-2 run to finish out the frame.

A Tracy Robinson 3-poont shot from the left wing and a steal and lay in by Alan Downing highlighted the run, sending both clubs to the half at 27-23 Lions.

But any chance that the Cougars had at staying close disappeared quickly in the third quarter.

Coach Eagleson's club went 1-for-10 in the quarter from the field.

A lone lay in by Central's Donny Petterson was the lone basket for the Cougars in the period as Leo took over.

Donald, a 6-foot-2 junior guard, scored seven of the 12 Lion points in quarter.

A lay in off of a tipped ball by Downing just before the buzzer ended the third quarter at 39-25 Chicago Leo.

"The third quarter was really a disaster for us. We didn't take care of the ball early and only scored two points," added Eagleson.

Breese Central made a valiant effort to get back into the game, thanks in part to some missed Leo opportunities at the foul line in the final eight minutes of the game.

In fact the Lions missed their first four free throw attempts, which allowed Central to close the gap.

Buehne continued his strong play with a pair of free throws followed by a nice spin move in the lane to cut the lead back to 43-35 with 5:36 to go. However that basket in the paint would be the last of his prep career.

Central got as close as six in the final quarter with a pair of free throws by Detmer that whittled the Leo lead down to just 46-40.

But Central could get no closer the rest of the way as the Lions started hitting from the line as they nailed 13-of-16 in the final 2:39 to advance to Saturday's semifinal round.

Buehne led Central with 16 points while Petterson added nine.

Leo got 14 points each from Downing and Donald to improve to 26-5 while staying unbeaten against Class A competition this season.

"We made a pretty valiant effort but we couldn't get our shots to fall. They (the Lions) made just enough of their free throws to keep it out of reach," added Eagleson, whose team bows out after a fine 26-7 season. "The pace of the game is what we wanted, but we just couldn't afford to get behind. We had a nice run to get within six, but we couldn't sustain it."

Breese Central (43) - Meyer 0 2 0-0 6, Buehne 4 2 2-2 16, Brichler 1 1 0-0 3, Schrage 0 0 1-2 1, Petterson 3 0 3-6 9, Heinman 0 0 1-2 1.
2FG-9, 3FG-5, FT-10-16, PF-26.
Chicago Leo (59) - Clair 3 0 3-5 9, Downing 5 0 4-6 14, Donald 4 1 3-6 14, Stipe 2 0 0-1 4, Tracy Robinson 1 1 10-12 13.
2FG-15, 3FG-2, FT-23-35, PF-19.
Fouled Out - Brichler, Central; Petterson, Central.
Technical Fouls - None.