Annawan 82, South Beloit 57: There were no tears when the Sobos walked off the court Friday. There was only shock.

“I’m speechless,” South Beloit senior Matt Peterson said. “I don’t know what to say, I’m just so shocked.”

The top-ranked team in the state suffered a gigantic loss to Annawan 82-57 in the championship game of the Class 1A River Ridge Sectional. South Beloit finished the season 28-2, while Annawan advanced to play Newark at Tuesday’s DeKalb Supersectional.

Annawan raced out to a 26-6 lead after the first quarter and led by as much as 21 points in the second. Having come back from a deficit of 22 in the first quarter earlier this season, the Sobos couldn’t believe it when they didn’t make up the difference again this time.

“They’re upset,” South Beloit coach Mat Parker said about his players after the game. “Sometimes teams go through the playoffs and they’re satisfied with where they finish. They think, hey, we won the regional, and we’re happy with that.

“They never felt that way. They expected to win this game, so they’re taking it really hard.”

The Sobos had no answer for Annawan’s 6-5 senior forward Alex Coppejans, who finished with 31 points, including 14 points in the first quarter. Several of the Braves (26-6) were tall and lanky like him, and they passed the ball better than any team South Beloit has faced all season.

“Their length really got to us,” said South Beloit senior Antonio Little, who finished with eight points and one 3-pointer, well below his average. “They play with a lot of teamwork, and they really passed the ball well and got through our traps, and nobody’s been able to do that to us before.”

South Beloit went 3 for 24 in first-quarter field goals and missed its first 14 3-point attempts.

“We wanted to get off to a really great start against them, because we knew they were a very good team,” Annawan guard Matt DeDecker said. “But we didn’t expect them to come out and lay an egg like they did so that all of a sudden we’re up by 20.

“But they are a great outside shooting team, and that first quarter turned out to be huge for us.”

While the Sobos never made up for that first-quarter run, they made a 13-2 run of their own in the second quarter when shots finally starting falling. Matt Ennis’ 3-pointer with 4:09 left in the first half pulled South Beloit within 10 points, 29-19. Denzel Woods and Ennis each added another 3-pointer before halftime, and Annawan led 39-27 at the break.

The Sobos kept battling in the second half, but never came within eight points of Annawan.

“I never thought we wouldn’t come back,” said Peterson, who finished with a team-high 14 rebounds. “The game is four quarters long, and we knew we could come back. We knew that from experience.

“We just didn’t play well at the beginning, and when we got down to playing Sobo basketball, it was too late.”

Woods led the Sobos with 19 points, and Ennis finished with 10. Steven Counts added eight rebounds and two blocks for the Sobos.

Three Annawan players other than Coppejans also scored in double figures, and the Braves outrebounded South Beloit 39-31.

South Beloit finished the season with its best record in school history, won two regular-season tournaments and won its first regional in 31 years last week.

“It’s certainly nothing to be ashamed of,” Parker said.

- Emily Tropp, rrstar.com