 03/09/2024
BY JACK BULLOCK
CHAMPAIGN – Empty possessions. A phrase that coaches hate
to hear and reluctant to experience.
It is exceptionally painful when
it happens in a closely contested contest.
The Benton Rangers went through
this occurrence at the worst possible time; the IHSA 2A state
title game.
Coach Ron Winemiller and his
club started the final quarter of the championship struggle
with Chicago Wendell Phillips down just 37-36.
But the empty trips down the
floor, four opportunities without points, doomed the Rangers
in their quest for the program's first state championship.
Phillips turned its one-point
advantage into an 11-point lead.
The 12-2 run by the Wildcats
put an end to the Rangers' dream of winning a state championship.
Although Benton got to within
five-points with under a minute remaining they fell short of
the championship, 54-47 as the record-breaking season closed
at 33-4.
“We talked about rebounding
and live ball turnovers. We did okay on the glass but the live
ball turnovers, especially at the start of the fourth quarter
was a big difference,” said Coach Winemiller. “We
fought our way back into it and had a possession late that could
have made things interesting but we just didn't finish it.”
One can point to the Rangers'
failure to convert from the 3-point line as their eventual 'Waterloo'.
The Rangers came into the state
finals hitting 36.1 percent from the arc but connected on only
2-of-15 from long range (13.3 percent) and just 20-of-46 overall
from the floor.
Senior guard Isaac Billington
led the Rangers with 19-points and senior guard Evan Munoz ended
up with 11.
First-team all-stater 6-8 junior
Docker Tedeschi finished with just seven-points but led the
team with 10-rebounds.
Wendell Phillips, a member of
the Chicago Public League South Central Red Division, finished
its season with a 25-9 mark in hauling home its second state
championship trophy.
The Wildcats won the Class AA
state championship in 1975.
Wendell Phillips was led in points
by Lawrence Hortin and Phoenix Childs.
Hortin, a 6-2 junior forward,
and 6-4 junior Childs shared scoring honors with 13-points each.
Five-foot-nine junior guard Amari
Edwards added 12-points as the underclassmen stepped up for
Coach Paris Martin.
“I'm just so proud to be
a part of this. To bring it back (championship) to the Chicago
Public Schools,” said Coach Martin. “The moment
is still surreal to me. It will take a couple of days to soak
it in to realize what we did.”
While the Rangers struggled offensively,
the Wildcats were slightly better statistically.
Coach Martin's squad hit a better
percentage of shots (23-of-57 overall, 4-of-9 from the 3-point
arc) and they held a 34-27 rebounding edge.
Another factor not to be overlooked
was the one player missing from the lineup for Benton.
 Senior
guard Luke Melvin, one of the top Benton scorers and team leaders,
sprained his ankle severely in the semifinal win over Byron
and was unable to suit up on Saturday.
Junior Kyle Thomas stepped into
Melvin's spot and played well, scoring six-points and grabbing
six-rebounds for Benton.
After trailing in the early going,
the Rangers got a lift from a Phillips' mistake.
With the Wildcats already up
11-4 after a 3-pointer by Childs and a score inside by 6-6 sophomore
Claude Mpouma, Hortin got loose on a fast break and went in
for a slam dunk.
But the junior missed the dunk
and hung onto the rim too long, getting a technical foul called
on him.
Billington cashed in the technical
pair of free throws and Thomas scored on an offensive rebound
on that same possession.
Two additional free throws by
Munoz cut the Wildcats lead to just 14-10 at the end of the
opening quarter.
“I
thought early in the game we missed some good looks. They just
didn't go in. These guys play so many minutes and we don't sub
a whole lot and I struggle to take them out,” said Coach
Winemiller. “I thought they looked a bit tired late.”
Billington
scored on an assist from Tedeschi and then nailed down his only
3-pointer of the game.
When
Munoz drove inside for a score, the Rangers tied the game at
17-17.
Benton
held two brief leads in the second quarter late.
A
three-point play on a cut to the basket by Munoz off an another
assist from Tedeschi made it 22-20 Rangers with 3:40 left in
the half.
After
an Edwards' 3-pointer, Benton scored again with another assist
from Tedeschi feeding Billington for a 24-23 advantage.
Senior
guard Elijah Harris came off of the bench and scored two important
baskets to close the second quarter for Wendell Phillips.
Harris
took a pass from Childs after a defensive rebound for a transition
score and he then closed the half with a steal and a length
of the floor lay in that beat the buzzer for a 27-24 Wildcats'
lead at the break.
(CONTINUED) |
Tedeschi
scored four of his points in the third quarter and the Rangers
got baskets by junior Grant Owens (two).