Seton Academy 83, Winnebago 58: Winnebago beat a lot of good teams to enter the state tournament with a 31-0 record.
But what the Indians ran into Friday at state was like nothing they’d ever seen.
“We haven’t played against anybody with that kind of quickness all year,” Winnebago coach Joe Murphy said. “They’re a very good team.”
Seton Academy handed Winnebago its first loss of the season with an 83-58 decision in the Class 2A state semifinals in Peoria. Seton Academy (30-2) will play Massac County for the title tonight, while Winnebago plays Marshall for third place at 6:30 p.m.
The Indians trailed the entire game against a Sting team led by Ohio recruit D.J. Cooper (15 points, four assists), Northern Illinois University recruit Tony Dixon (seven points, four rebounds) and uncommitted Jordan Walker (seven points, four rebounds) and Corbin Thomas (19 points, three blocks).
“We’ve never played that kind of speed, or a team that keeps its press on the whole game,” Winnebago junior center Chas Cross said. “It was all new stuff for us.”
The Sting jumped out to a 20-9 lead in the first quarter, getting most of their points in the paint. It didn’t help when Cross, Winnebago’s 6-foot-7 scoring leader, missed most of the first half in foul trouble.
“That definitely hurt us,” Murphy said. “Then he couldn’t be quite as aggressive, and we needed him on the floor. We needed that size.
“I think the biggest problem we had was their easy shots in the paint. We didn’t get back quick enough, and they got way too many layups.”
After trailing 44-29 at halftime, Winnebago made its biggest run in the third quarter. Winnebago put together a 9-1 run on buckets from Brad Reinke, Mike Mann and Cross. Cross’ layup assisted by Russ Fiori with 4:45 left in the third pulled the Indians within eight points (52-44). But Seton Academy ended the quarter with an 11-1 run, and Winnebago never came any closer in the fourth.
“We worked all year on getting up-and-down the floor, and that’s what we do,” Murphy said. “We could have tried to slow things down a bit, but I think all that would have done was kept the score lower. I don’t know if it would have changed the result of the game.”
Mann, a junior backup guard, had a season-high 21 points to lead Winnebago. Mann went 4 for 7 from 3-point range and also grabbed a team-high three steals.
“Mann had a great game,” Murphy said. “If it wasn’t for him, we really would have been in trouble.”
Cross finished with 11 points and five rebounds. A.J. Thomas added eight points, and Chuck Misuraca had four assists.
“We went into the game thinking we’d wear them out, but that didn’t happen,” Winnebago guard Jeff Sartorius said. “They just ran right with us.
“Right now we’re in a bit of a shock. We just want to get over this as soon as possible and end our season with a win (tonight).”
- Emily Tropp, etropp@rrstar.com
