03/06/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHAMPAIGN - Thursday morning in Champaign/Urbana the Mounds Meridian Bobcats will step into an arena that will certainly spark some memories of fans old enough to remember the last time this program took the floor at the State Farm Center.

It was March of 1972 during the first Class A state finals that were played at the then named Assembly Hall.

The one-class tournament had been scrapped for the new two-class system and Mounds Meridian played in the first ever Class A quarterfinal contest.

The Bobcats, and then head coach Jim Byassee, beat Elgin St. Edward in the Elite Eight game and then took down high-scoring Thomson in the semifinals to reach the first Class A state championship contest.

Meridian lost to Lawrenceville in that first small school title game and the second place hardware brought home from that weekend is still a cherished part of the Meridian trophy case outside of the gym that Coach Byassee's name adorns.

When you fast forward a few years to 2016 the Bobcats finally made it back to a championship game.

Behind the outstanding play of then senior David Davis, Meridian got to the Class 1A finale, losing to Brimfield.

Perhaps 2024 will be the season that this long standing program brings home the biggest hardware of them all?

Davis was the 2015-16 A Baseline View “Player of the Year” and he was honored with the 1A “Coach of the Year” in 2022-23 as he led his alma mater to the super-sectional at SIU last March.

This season his Bobcats took the next step.

Meridian ended the season of five consecutive teams, reaching the state's Final Four for the third time.

The Bobcats traveled 193-miles one-way to Charleston on Monday night and beat Centralia Christ Our Rock Lutheran, 60-53 to improve to 27-8 on the year.

Meridian is now two victories away from their first state championship.

The Bobcats will tangle with Chicago Hope Academy in the first quarterfinal game of the finals at 9:30 am.

The Eagles won the Normal ISU Super-Sectional on Monday, defeating Heyworth, 69-54.

Hope Academy is making its second trip to the finals, having finished third in 2017.

They're coached by a former all-state basketball player who was well known in the Chicago area and around the state.

Former Chicago Farragut star Ronnie Fields is the head coach of the 29-7.

The school is less than 20-years old and they began varsity basketball in 2008-09.

In its 12 previous full seasons of hoops, not counting the Covid19 year, the Eagles won 10 regional titles, two sectional titles and a super-sectional.

You can add one of each of those championships to the resume in 2024.

In the Eagles' win over Heyworth, they forced the Hornets into 23-turnovers, 20 were steals and Hope converted most of the pilfers into points.

TyJuan Hunter is a 5-5 sophomore guard who scored 30-points in the win and enters the finals with an 18.1 points per game average.

Hope Academy has three other players scoring double-figures per contest and as a team they're averaging over 70.7 points a game.

Cam'ron Centeno, a 6-1 senior, averages 16.3 points a game while Josh Dillon nets 15.

Six-foot-four senior forward Treyvon Prince is at 9.9 per game while 6-foot-3 sophomore Jaiden Simmons adds 7.1 p.p.g.

Meridian began to gel once 6-foot-3 freshman Antonio “AJ” Flenoid, Jr. became eligible in January.

He has led the Bobcats in scoring with 23.8 points a game and 13.5 rebounds in just 17-games suited up.

He scored 15-points and grabbed seven-rebounds in the win over CORL to help get the Bobcats to Champaign.

Javionne Ranson, a 5-foot-8 sophomore guard, has come up big in the postseason for Coach Davis.

Ranson netted 23-points in the victory Monday while handing out four-assists and has an 11.2 points per contest average.

The other double-figure scorer for Meridian is 6-2 senior Will Thurston.

The Bobcats need to get off to a better start on Thursday than they did at EIU and they must take better care of the basketball.

Meridian trailed 14-6 at the end of the first quarter and committed 23-turnovers, the same amount that Hope Academy forced on Monday.

While the Mounds Meridian state finals drought was only eight-years (seven-seasons) its been quite a long time since the Benton Rangers made it to the state finals.

It was 1992 for their last Final Four visit and 2003 since their last Sweet 16 appearance.

Neither tournament run produced a state championship.

You have go back to the time of the center jump after every basket and laces on the ball to find the first Rangers' boy's basketball state appearance.

It was 1933 where Benton finished 35-1 and in third place.

The program has 13-sectional championships counting this season and it now has six super-sectional crowns following their 43-36 win over Teutopolis on Monday night.

Coach Ron Winemiller had to have some anxious moments Monday night, especially after his 6-8 junior “double-double dispenser” Docker Tedeschi picked up his third personal foul just minutes into the super-sectional.

However Tedecshi's teammates thrived in his absence, taking command of the Elite Eight game as they improved to 32-3 on the season.

Tedeschi averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds heading into Monday.

As they proved the other night, the Rangers have multiple offensive weapons.

Three other starters average double-digits in scoring.

Senior guard Isaac Billington is at 14.3 p.p.g., senior guard Luke Melvin adds 12.5 and senior Evan Munoz tosses in 10.4.

Billington led the scoring with 13-points on Monday as Benton advanced to play Byron in the fourth of four semifinals that should begin around 3:45 pm.

The Tigers, known as a football powerhouse, put together a fine run this season on the hardwood for the 30-2 club that bested Chicago Latin in a high-scoring 85-71 Sterling Super-Sectional.

Head coach Matt Huels is 78-55 in his fifth season at running the program.

The Tigers are members of the Big Northern Conference and the win Monday produced the program's first ever super-sectional title after nabbing just the second sectional championship last Friday.

Six-foot-three senior forward Jack Hiveley and 6-foot-1 sophomore Cason Newton both average right at 11-points a night.

Sophomore Caden Considine, 6-foot-3 senior Carson Buser and 6-foot-4 Braylon Kilduff are also part of the rotation and contribute.

Six-foot-three senior Malik Morton is also part of the Tigers lineup heading into there semifinal on Thursday.

Considine was the top rusher for the 14-0 Tigers' 3A football championship team that set a state record for most points scored 823-points in 14-contests.