Newcomer Yorkville Christian knocks out Harvest Christian
Yorkville Christian did not exist until five years ago.
It was not an IHSA member until three years ago.
The 65-student school didn't get its own building until this school year.
As of Friday, the Mustangs are Class 1A regional boys basketball champions.
No. 3 Yorkville Christian shot 5 of 8 from 3-point range in the second half and limited No. 2 Harvest Christian Academy to 7 fourth-quarter points to win the Class 1A Westminster Christian regional title game 59-46 in Elgin.
"Making history. First one. Feels good," said Yorkville Christian senior guard Tristen Phillips, who scored 9 of his 13 points in the third quarter.
Harvest Christian Academy (16-12) fell in a regional title game for the second straight season after missing some quality shots early, misses they paid for later. The Lions shot 34 percent from the field in the first half (8 of 23).
"We got good looks. They just weren't falling," said Harvest Christian senior Jack Nohava, a 16-point-per-game scorer who finished with 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.
Harvest Christian led 12-9 after a quarter but trailed 28-25 at halftime after shooting 3 of 11 from the field in the second quarter.
"I thought early we had some chances where Jack and some of the other guys missed some good looks," second-year Harvest Christian coach Bryan Bradshaw said. "That's the way it goes. We're successful when Jack gets going a little bit and we never quite got the engine going."
Yorkville Christian (20-11) shot 39 percent from the field (17 of 44) and 44 percent from 3-point range (8 of 18).
Freshman Jaden Schutt led the Mustangs with 17 points and 9 rebounds. He made 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc.
"We didn't want to go home," Schutt said. "I want a lot more."
Harvest Christian sophomore guard Matt Ellett made 4 of 7 attempts from 3-point range in a 16-point performance. The rest of the Lions shot 1 of 8 from distance.
"We knew they had some shooters and we knew (Nohava) is a nice player inside, so we tried to wear him down a little bit and tried to push the tempo offensively," Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said.
"Unfortunately, their zone was pretty good and didn't allow us to do that so we had to improvise, go with a smaller lineup, try to move the ball, execute our cuts and, hopefully, make some plays."
Yorkville Christian led 43-39 after three quarters and extended the lead to 9 points for the first time on a putback by Schutt and a 3-pointer from senior guard Alex Avalos (10 points).
The Mustangs sank 11 of 14 free throws down the stretch to ice the school's first regional title.
Harvest Christian Academy took solace in a 16-win season and a Northeastern Athletic Conference title.
"I thought it was a great year," Bradshaw said. "I thought we got the most out of our guys that we could. I liked the way that we challenged ourselves. I'm really proud of them."