Kaneland nips Hampshire to reach regional final
The fact that it came down to a 3-pointer provided for a fitting end to Wednesday's Class 3A Kaneland regional basketball game between Hampshire and the host Knights.
Trailing by 3 points with 6.8 seconds remaining, Hampshire's Justin Bieber inbounded to Sarwan Khan. His pass to Brock Ralphs left the sophomore without a good look so he heaved an off balance 3-point attempt before the buzzer sounded.
The shot clanked off the iron and Kaneland held on for a 48-45 victory.
"You know they're going to be outside of the three line and that's why I put Sarwan in," Hampshire coach Bob Barnett said. "He can stroke the 3 and I thought if he could dribble back to the line and get a 3 off, you never know."
Kaneland (17-9), which earlier this season lost 54-49 in overtime and won at home 50-35 against the Whip-Purs, will now face DeKalb on Friday in the regional championship. The Barbs beat the Knights twice in Western Sun Conference play.
The Knights had to feel a huge sense of relief once the buzzer sounded, especially after seeing the Whip-Purs tear it up beyond the 3-point line in the first half.
Hampshire (17-10) took a 28-27 lead at halftime thanks to its prolific long-range shooting and 7 second-chance points. The Whip-Purs drained six 3-pointers, including 3 from senior Grant Yoder, and took the lead at intermission after Justin Bieber was fouled and converted three free throws with a few seconds remaining.
The Whip-Purs would not make a 3-pointer in the second half and neither would the Knights, who scored 15 of their 27 points in the first half with the trifecta.
The Knights trailed by as many as 5 points in the first half but would take the lead for good at 29-28 on a driving layup by Ryley Bailey in the first minute of the third quarter.
Bailey's basket ignited an 8-0 Kaneland run that pushed the Knights ahead 35-28. Still, they would never break the game open.
"Hampshire is too good of a team to rout," Kaneland coach Brian Johnson said. "They've got a phenomenal coach who has been doing this for a long time and have won 17 games so we knew we wouldn't be able to run away from them."
The Whip-Purs pulled to within 44-43 with 1:22 remaining after a pair of Shyler Ralphs free throws. Kaneland's Dave Dudzinski and Ralphs then exchanged baskets, but with little time remaining Hampshire was forced to foul.
Dudzinski (22 points, 9 rebounds) proved to be the wrong guy to send to the free-throw line. He completed a perfect 7-of-7 evening from the charity stripe by making both of his free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining.
"We drew up a play to get me the ball and I've been in that situation before," Dudzinski said. "It was tough. They're a good team. They don't go away, they're physical and we knew it wouldn't be easy."
Shyler Ralphs scored 7 of his 12 points in the final quarter to keep the Whip-Purs within striking distance, but his inside efforts proved to be a little too late.
"It's just a little chip block play," Barnett said. "It worked. It always works. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner."
Bieber also finished with 12 points for Hampshire.
Kaneland received 9 points from Bailey, 7 from Steve Colombe and a pair of 3-pointers from Donavan Williams.
"(Donavan's) stepped up the last month," Johnson said. "He's by far been our most improved player. He's a senior taking it to heart to finish his final season strong."