PARIS VS. TEUTOPOLIS
PARIS SECTIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
03-07-03
BY JACK BULLOCK
PARIS - It was thirty-two years ago.

The year was 1971 to be exact.

Richard Nixon was in the White House; gas was about 35 cents a gallon.

"The French Connection" won the Oscar for Best Picture.

"Tapestry" by Carole King was the Album of the Year at the Grammy Awards.

And the Paris Tigers won the team's last sectional title.

That Otho Tucker led team was 30-0 before losing to Danville in the state quarterfinals.

It was the last year of the single class system in Illinois.

Friday night in front of a huge crowd of over 3,000, the Tigers exercised their previous sectional demons.

Behind balanced scoring from TJ Dosch, CJ Becher and Adam Ogle to go along with a 17-point contribution from the Tigers' bench, Coach Janis Ludeks' club advanced to play Breese Central Tuesday night at the Charleston Class A Supersectional.

Ogle, who was bothered by an ankle sprain, hit 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute to preserve the 66-63 Tiger triumph.

"I am totally proud of these kids," said joyous Paris coach Janis Ludeks. "This was a total team effort, all year long. We worked hard all this year to get us to this point."

It was Paris that got the game going with a big run from the outset.

CJ Becher stepped up and hit the first shot of the ball game from 15-feet out and that bucket was followed by a Matt Lindley baseline drive.

On the following T-Town possession, Adam Vilk stole an errant pass on the defensive end and took it 'coast to coast' for the score and it was 6-0 Paris. That basket forced a T-Town timeout with 6:31 left.

Teutopolis would not go away in the early part of the game.

Back to back baskets by Matt Schumacher and Sam Deters cut the Paris advantage to 8-7.

Late in the quarter, Vilk canned his only 3-pointer of the night from the left corner on an inbound pass.

But the Wooden Shoes responded with a Brent Weber baseline jumper with :22 left.

Then T-Town's Derrek Hoene stole a pass and his spinning lay in just beat the buzzer to cut the Tigers advantage to 18-15 after eight hectic minutes of action.

"They (Paris) came out in the first half and I didn't think they were ever going to miss," said Teutopolis head coach Ken Crawford. "We kind of rushed some things in the first quarter and I told the kids we need to be more patient."

Hoene hit 1-of-2 free throws to open the second quarter scoring as Paris put T-Town in the bonus in the at the 7:46 mark.

However the Tigers 'cooled their jets' the rest of the half and committed only one other foul.

After a steal and another lay in, this time by Schumacher, made the score 20-18 Tigers, Trogdon scored on a lay in on a great pass by Ogle while being fouled by Brent Weber.

His made free throw pushed the margin back to five at 23-18.

A Schumacher basket and a pair of free throws by Chris Zerrusen were sandwiched around a TJ Dosch short bank shot in the lane left the scoreboard reading 25-22 with 3:17 before halftime.

Paris scored the next five points of the game on a Dosch move in the paint and another 3-pointer by Becher.

Dosch set up Becher's three on another move in the lane and a jump pass out to the right corner.

When the 3-pointer ripped through the net, Paris had its biggest lead of the night at 30-22 that forced another T-Town play stoppage at 2:23 to go.

Teutopolis fought back right away after the timeout as they scored seven of the final nine points of the quarter.

Zerrusen connected on a 3-pointer to get the run started.

Then after a Paris turnover, Zerrusen drove the right baseline and scored on a reverse lay in to cut the lead down to 30-27 with 1:35 left in the quarter.

Becher hit another shot with 1:18 left but that shot was followed by T-Town holding the ball for the final shot of the half.

Schumacher again got the job done as his spinning move in the lane resulted in a soft shot that went in with :04.9 which sent the teams to the locker room at 32-29.

Teutopolis put on a run of its own in the third quarter to tie the game.

Adam Weber hit his first free throw after being fouled by Matt Lindley.

His second shot was off the mark but was corralled by T-Town's Matt Hardiek.

He then found Schumacher on a nice pass and his shot went in with 6:07 left in the third quarter.

However on the play Lindley was called for another foul trying to block out Hardiek.

T-Town quickly scored again as Hardiek hit his 10-foot baseline shot, tying the game at 36-all.

Paris got back in front 42-38 on consecutive baskets by Vilk and Trogdon.

But T-Town pulled even when Hoene scored in close to the basket and Schumacher hit both free throws on a two shot trip to the line.

Teutopolis got its first lead of the game late in the quarter thanks in part to a Paris miscue.

After Becher scored on a steal in a lay in to make it 46-44 Paris, T-Town scored the final four points in the frame.

Hardiek put back an offensive rebound to tie the game 44-all.

After a loose ball went out of bound with the possession going to Paris, the Tigers' Becher tried to inbound the ball to Ogle from underneath the Paris basket. But his pass sailed toward the backcourt.

Schumacher chased down the ball and raced to the basket for a lay in to give T-Town it's first lead heading into the final quarter at 48-46.

Just eleven seconds into the final stanza, the Wooden Shoes looked as if they were ready to run away and hide from Paris.

Hardiek stepped up and canned a 3-pointer with 7:49 remaining to make it 51-46.

But KC Denson came off the bench and gave his team a spark.

He scored on a shot in the lane while being fouled by Hoene.

His subsequent free throw made it 51-49.

Schumacher hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to four at 53-49.

But then Paris made its biggest move of the game to take the lead again.

Denson hit a 3-pointer from the right side, which was followed by Ogle hitting 1-of-2 free throws on one trip down the court.

Ogle then hit a 15-footer the next time Paris had the ball giving the Tigers back the lead.

Dosch picked up a loose ball on the T-Town end of the court and he took the ball to the rack for a lay in that forced T-Town to call time at 57-53 with 5:21 left.

Schumacher and the Wooden Shoes made a final push to take command late in the game.

The 6-5 senior point guard scored five straight points to tie the game at 59-apiece.

A shot from in the paint and a pair of free throws finished off his run with 2:37 to go.

Then Brent Weber hit two free throws with 1:54 to go and T-Town smelled a Supersectional trip with a 61-59 lead.

But Paris roared right back to take the lead again.

Densen scored his final two points of the night on a drive to the basket.

Hardiek missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity after Vilk committed his fifth personal foul with 1:13 left.

Dosch cashed in two free ones at the other end and the Tigers held a 63-61 lead.

Hoene scored T-Town's final bucket on a drive to the basket, tying the score one last time at 63 with :48.1 to go.

With Paris holding the ball apparently looking for a final shot, T-Town's Sam Deters suddenly fouled Ogle who was nearly 20 feet from the basket.

Ogle hit 1-of-2 shots to give the Tigers the lead 64-63 with :35.0 remaining.

T-Town had a chance to take the lead on the next trip down the floor, but some confusion on a pass near the sideline resulted in the ball rolling out of bounds and back to Paris with :10.6.

Now forced to foul, Deters sent Ogle back to the line with :09.1 to go.

Ogle then made both of the charities to give Paris a 66-63 advantage.

After a Paris timeout, T-Town got the ball in the hands of Schumacher who looked to find Hardiek coming around a screen on the right side of the court.

But the play never materialized and Schumacher was forced to throw up a 25-footer that clanked off the right side of the rim.

As the ball fell out of bounds, time expired on both the game and a fine Teutopolis season.

TJ Dosch led the Tigers (24-5) with 17 points.

CJ Becher tossed in 13 points while Adam Ogle added 12, including eight huge points in the fourth quarter.

Reserves KC Denson and Erik Trogdon scored ten and seven points respectively while Adam Vilk added seven for the Tigers, who ended Teutopolis' season at 24-7.

Matt Schumacher ended his brilliant senior season with a game-high 24 points.

Mike Hardiek was the only other T-Town player with double-figures with 14.

The Wooden Shoes were 17-of-24 from the foul line while Paris hit on 10-of-13 attempts.

"Paris plays hard and they are a good defensive team," said Crawford, whose team was eliminated for the second year in a row in the sectional final. "They did the things tonight that allowed them to comeback after we had them down in the fourth quarter. It was a game of big runs and they got the last one."

Paris dropped down from Class AA four years ago and have won all four Class A regional's that they have played in.

"This game was totally about the kids," added Ludeks. "We hit the free throws down the stretch and we got a huge lift from our bench. KC (Densen) and Erik (Trogdon) came in and helped us tonight like they have done all year. I am so proud of this group and this was a big boost for this program."

TOP RIGHT
T-Town's Matt Schumacher drives to the basket as Erik Trogdon tries to defend during Paris' 66-63 win over the Wooden Shoes Friday night.
The senior scored 24-points in his final game for T-Town.
(Jack Bullock Photo)

MIDDLE LEFT
Paris' TJ Dosch scored one of his team-high 17 points in the second half of the Paris win.
(Jack Bullock Photo)

BOTTOM RIGHT
Sam Deters of Teutopolis makes a spin move on TJ Dosch during the first half of the game Friday night.
(Jack Bullock Photo)