Spartans win Class 2A Regional Title
By Fred Kroner
Ty Pence found himself in a location on Friday (Feb. 24) that many basketball players seek to find.
“He was in a zone,” SJ-O boys’ basketball coach Kiel Duval said.
Pence poured in a career-high 45 points – six away from the school’s single-game scoring record – and led the Spartans to a 74-51 victory in the championship game of the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin IHSA Class 2A Regional Tournament.
“It was one of those games,” Duval added. “It seemed like everything was going in.”
Pence knocked down seven three-point shots and owns season (94) and career (245) school records for three-pointers.
The regional crown was the second in a row for the Spartans, but it was no gimme.
In its first two postseason games, SJ-O had to contend with back-to-back 20-win teams, the second one playing on its own home court.
“We knew we had to play pretty well to get through it,” Duval said. “You always look better when you’re knocking down shots. The path is never easy.”
No Spartan knocked down shots during the week better than Tanner Siems. During the regional, the sophomore attempted eight shots and made all eight. Three of them were from three-point range.
Siems tallied 11 points against B-H/R-A.
“He’s had a big impact off the bench,” Duval said.
Teammates adding five points apiece in the title game were McGwire Atwood, Tanner Jacob and Coy Taylor.
Pence collected 11 rebounds while securing his sixth double-double of the season. Atwood cleared six rebounds and Taylor handled five. Jacob produced a season-high seven assists.
“We’ve had quite a few players step up,” Duval said.
Included in that group Is Logan Smith.
“He is consistently creating shots for others and pushing in transition,” Duval said.
As important as the offensive totals were in securing the regional title, Duval pointed to another critical element.
“We knew we had to get stops on certain guys, and we guarded very well at times,” he said. “(Against B-H/R-A), we rebounded well.”
SJ-O (27-4), which has a 13-game winning streak, advances into a 7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 28) sectional semifinal game at Herscher against Illini Prairie Conference rival Pontiac (25-6), which defeated the Spartans on Jan. 13.
Duval said his team has played a juggernaut schedule, which has it ready for the postseason.
“I believe we’re in the best basketball conference in the state,” Duval said “Bismarck is really good, but there’s no way we hadn’t seen as good of players. We were prepared.”
Six of the eight Class 2A schools in the Illini Prairie Conference either won a regional title or were eliminated from the regional by a conference opponent.
The four IPC schools that won regionals did so by margins of 15, 23, 26 and 34 points.
It’s possible that the SJ-O/Pontiac winner will face a conference member in the sectional finals. Prairie Central (30-2), the state’s top-ranked Class 2A squad, takes on Kankakee Bishop McNamara on Wednesday (March 1) in the second semifinal game at Herscher.
Not to look too far ahead, but there is a chance that the winner of the Herscher Sectional could face an Illini Prairie Conference team in the super-sectional. One of the four competing schools in the Pleasant Plains Sectional is IPC member Bloomington Central Catholic.
“We have one of the toughest sectionals in 2A basketball,” Duval said.
