At last, Timothy Christian heading back to state
Good things often take some time to happen.
Like Timothy Christian's latest downstate appearance in boys basketball.
The Trojans beat Fieldcrest 59-43 Tuesday at the Class 2A Northern Illinois University supersectional, winning their first supersectional since 1980.
Headed by Josh Harris' 14 points, Ben VanderWal's 12 points and 11 rebounds and Matt Owens' 10 points, Timothy Christian (28-5) will face Sacred Heart-Griffin on Friday in the Class 2A semifinals in Peoria. The Trojans finished second in Class A in 1975 and third in Class A in 1979, and did not place in 1980.
"At this point I think we're using it as more encouragement rather than confidence and satisfaction and things like that," Owens said. "It's definitely a big booster for us, though, just knowing that we can beat any team on any given night and knowing at the same time that after all it's the playoffs and any team can beat us on any given night."
Unlike a couple of their other games this playoff run, Timothy Christian was held reasonably in check. Fieldcrest (28-5) trailed 20-11 at halftime, shooting just 4 of 22 from the floor and 0 for 8 from 3-point range.
"Coach (Scott Plaisier) just told us to keep our heads, shoot the ball with confidence, get to the rim first and then keep playing defense like we were doing," Harris said.
The Trojans held Fieldcrest at bay with a combination of man-to-man and a 1-3-1 zone defense.
"Their zone shut us down completely," said Fieldcrest coach Matt Winkler, the only coach the Knights have had in their 28-year history. "We didn't hit any open looks. We kind of did what we did the first half against Sterling Newman, throw the ball back and forth and not attack it."
Cruising to a 15-6 run to start the third quarter, Timothy Christian entered the fourth quarter leading 36-18. Fieldcrest's Cory Land and Jaxon Cusac-McKay carried the team on their backs, leading the Knights back within 50-41 with 2:15 left to play.
Timothy responded with Zach Orange's free throw and kept the ball alive with an offensive rebound. The Trojans did the same thing with Owens at the line, and after a Fieldcrest miss Timothy's Marquis Johnson scored a transition basket that was part of a 10-0 run.
"It's nice that we have like nine guys deep," Orange said. "We've got guys coming off the bench putting in work, we've got guys competing in practice, competing for minutes. That's what keeps our team energy so high. It's just nice to see guys contribute in big games."
For the first time in 40 years, Timothy Christian will be competing in the biggest.
That means as lot to Plaisier.
"It means way more for me that I can help these boys achieve something that I feel like they have earned," he said. "Because when you put in the amount of effort and work that they have, your work deserves some reward."