Results and more courtesy of Kewanee High School Athletics and Coach Matt Clark
Kewanee High vs Chillicothe IVC High School
Saturday, February 18
Game Time: 1:00PM
Location: Kewanee High School
Bureau Valley Regional – Quarterfinal Game
Final Score:
Kewanee – 49
IVC – 38
Boilers start slow; Outscore IVC by 20 in the second half
The Kewanee Boilermakers boys basketball team entered the postseason Saturday with a regional quarterfinal game against the Grey Ghosts of Chillicothe IVC. Per IHSA rules, quarterfinal games are hosted by the higher seed which gave the Boilers home court advantage in the early afternoon tip. Kewanee entered the contest on the heels of a tough “Senior Night” loss on Tuesday to Orion and were looking to survive and advance in the Bureau Valley Regional tournament. With an up and down regular season Kewanee brought a 15-13 record into the contest with the winner of the game to play against the Stillman Valley Cardinals.
Once again the Boilers had a slow start to the game, which has been a theme of theirs for most of the second half of the season. Some hot shooting by IVC coupled with a few defensive breakdowns by the Boilers allowed the Grey Ghosts to jump out to a 17-6 first quarter lead. Kewanee struggled offensively in the opening quarter with knocking down open jump shots and finishing in the lane which allowed IVC to grab the momentum early and hold it for the entire first quarter.
Kewanee would continue their difficulties on offense and from the free throw line. The Boilermakers would finish the first half 0-7 from the foul line which allowed IVC to hold a double-digit lead most of the first half. Kewanee was led in scoring in the first half by junior Brady Clark with 8 points. Fellow juniors Will Rumbold and Blaise Lewis were the only others to score in the first half for the Boilers. Rumbold used some solid post moves to score 6 while Lewis would hit a 3 pointer in the first half. At the break IVC led 26-17 and Kewanee was in need of a second half turn around or their season would be over.
The Boilers opened the second half applying a bit more pressure to IVC which caused some mistakes, the Grey Ghosts would end the game with 20 turnovers compared to only 4 Boilermaker miscues. With the improved defense and rebounding along with the Boilers getting to the foul line 25 times in the second half proved to be the difference in the game. Kewanee would limit the opportunities by IVC in the second half by playing a better team defense and limiting the visitors to just 12 total second half points. The Boilers held IVC to just 6 points in the 3rd quarter while not allowing the Grey Ghosts to score until under a minute left in the game when they would connect on two 3 pointers with under a minute to go in the game.
Blaise Lewis and sophomore Catrelle Reed would combine to go 11-14 in the fourth quarter from the foul line to put the game out of reach. Kewanee was led in scoring by Brady Clark with a game high 12 points, Lewis would score 10 while Reed kept pace with 9. The offensive output was much more balanced in the second half while Will Rumbold would finish with 7 points and senior Jaiden Little added 6. Sophomore Davontae Jordan would hit a big 3 in the fourth quarter to put the Boilers up 5 points with under 4 minutes to play and would finish with 5 points overall. Not scoring in the game was junior Blake Johnston, but his defensive effort in the second half while securing several rebounds and getting a couple of steals proved to be a huge boost for Kewanee off the bench. Johnston broke his leg in late October during the last game of the football season and did not see any game action this basketball season until January 20.
Kewanee improves to 16-13 overall while advancing to play the number 4 seed and 18-10 Stillman Valley Cardinals Wednesday night in semi-final action at Bureau Valley High School. Game time is set for 7:30pm and will follow the matchup between the Hall Red Devils and Princeton Tigers. The winners of the semi-final games will meet at 7pm Friday for the Regional Championship.