Chicago Orr wins Class 2A state title

PEORIA, Ill. - Chicago Orr seemed to be everywhere during Saturday night's Class 2A boys basketball state championship game.

The Spartans were there when downstate Mt. Carmel passed the ball. They were there when the Golden Aces shot the ball.

They were even there when Mt. Carmel made shots, responding nearly every time as the Spartans rang up a decisive 59-39 win for the school's first championship in boys basketball.

The Spartans (23-5) used their length and quickness to frustrate Mt. Carmel all night, creating 13 turnovers, blocking 4 shots and disrupting the Golden Aces offense constantly. Orr quickly built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and was rarely challenged after.

"One thing we have thrived on all year is our pressure defense," Orr coach Louis Adams said. "They have bigs that we were concerned with, but we have seen bigs this year. We were able to handle them. Tonight wasn't different."

Mt. Carmel did make a bit of a run late. Trailing by 14 midway through the third quarter the Golden Aces hit their first 3-pointer of the game (after being 0-9 at that point). They hit another a minute later and Jackson Marcotte converted a conventional 3-point play to cut the lead to 9. That was as close as they'd get.

Mt. Carmel coach Tyler Buss was satisfied for the most part with his team's play. It just wasn't enough to overcome the Spartans.

"I thought the pace of the game was good in the first quarter. We just didn't finish," Buss said. "We had a couple of stretches like that and that is too many against a team like Orr."

Marcotte finished with 17 points, Austin Rager grabbed 11 rebounds and Justin Carpenter had 8 points and 9 rebounds for Mt. Carmel.

Smith added 7 assists to his scoring line for the Spartans.

Class 1A

St. Anthony 49, Okawville 46 (OT): Drew Gibson just couldn't get going against Okawville's nagging defense during Saturday's Class 1A state title game.

Averaging 21 points entering the title matchup, Gibson had just 10 points during regulation of the Bulldogs' 49-46 overtime win.

But he shined when his team needed him the most.

Gibson hit an 8-foot jumper with 25 seconds left in overtime and then hit 2 free throws with 3.6 seconds left to lead St. Anthony to its first boys basketball state title.

"They did a great job of stopping up the middle and not letting me get inside," Gibson said. "My teammates hit some big shots and really helped us."

The Bulldogs initially pulled away over the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second. St. Anthony went on an 11-0, 6-minute run during that span, taking an 8-8 tie game to 19-8 Bulldogs. But Okawville only allowed 2 more points in the half and closed to 23-16 at the break.

The Bulldogs created 10 points off eight Rockets turnovers in the first half, but it was the Rockets who took advantage of mistakes in the second half. Okawville had just 4 points off turnovers in the first half but created 11 in the second and held St. Anthony to none after the break.

"We did a better job dictating the game in the second half but it just wasn't quite enough," Okawville coach Jon Kraus said. "We just couldn't get a stop when we needed it. It's a shame someone had to lose that game."

Alex Beesley also scored 14, most in the first half, and Adam Levitt added 12 for the Bulldogs (31-5).

Noah Frederking scored 26 and grabbed 7 rebounds to lead Okawville. Shane Ganz added 9 points and handed out 5 assists for the Rockets (32-5) but was just 1-for-4 from the free throw line, including a missed front end of a one-and-one with 5 seconds to go in overtime that would have tied the game.