Amid loss, Stillwater wins
Coach, player help lead team day after death of Butch Lilac
STILLWATER — Sports provided a much-needed outlet for Stillwater boys’ basketball coach Bruce Lilac and his son Lukas on Friday afternoon. In town was Canton, a Class B state-ranked squad like Stillwater, for an early-season test for both programs. Stillwater was playing with the knowledge that Paul “Butch” Lilac, the father of Bruce and grandfather to Lukas, had died Thursday evening.
Stillwater excelled from the opening tip and delivered a superlative all-around showing in posting an 83-60 victory over the Golden Bears.
After the game, Bruce Lilac spoke with several members of the crowd. He did not deny how difficult the circumstances were in preparing to coach a game one day after losing his father, and could not have been more proud of how his team handled things Friday.
“They were very supportive before the game and I told them, ‘My Dad is not here, but he is watching.’ He loved this team,” Lilac said. “I knew they would respond. They are pretty resilient. Lukas made a decision to play (Thursday) and I completely left it up to him. When we decided he would play, I decided I would coach. That is what my father would want.”
“Regarding the circumstances, we all came in with our heads up and focusing on the game,” said Stillwater senior standout Jaxon Mueller, who led the way with a gamehigh 26 points. “We were trying to fire on all cylinders, making easy shots, easy passes and closing out on the 3-point line because they are a very good shooting team.”
Butch Lilac played basketball and baseball at Stillwater and later enjoyed success as a varsity coach of girls’ basket
ball and baseball, including leading Stillwater to five sectional titles and a state championship on the diamond. He was elected into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
“The amount of phone calls, text messages and people coming up to me has been incredible,” Lilac said. “My dad touched so many people in so many different ways. It has been very difficult for us and the family.”
Stillwater (6-0), ranked No. 4 in the state, honored its coach with how they performed Friday. Canton (4-3) trailed 23-14 after one quarter and things got even more difficult for the Golden Bears. Stillwater worked the ball around exceptionally well, spaced the floor and punished Canton with shots from both the perimeter and inside with Mueller, who was battling the flu. The team’s senior center went 7-for-7 from the field in the second quarter, helping the team connect on 12 of 17 shots overall, in opening a 49-35 halftime lead.
“That is going to be some of the best competition we’ll see all year and I don’t think we could have played much better,” Mueller said. “We have been working on our shots and finishing through contact as well.”
Stillwater put away the game by scoring the first 12 points of the third quarter as it quickly turned missed shots from Canton into transition baskets from Lukas Lilac, Mueller and Carter Winchelns, plus executed in halfcourt sets with a pair of post-entry feeds that Mueller converted.
“I am super excited with how we played,” Lukas Lilac said. “The coaching staff and I talked about this. (Canton) was going to come here and challenge us and then we would know where we are at. It was a pretty good game for us and we did a very good job of sharing the basketball. It makes us tough to guard.”
Canton was led by senior guard Ryan Jones with 22 points and sophomore forward Zadok
Roiger tallied 19 points.
Thomas Mcdonough finished with 12 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, Winchelns tallied 12 points, Kaelen Leak contributed 10 points and Lilac added seven points, five rebounds and four assists. Leak, a senior guard, previously played at Christian Brothers Academy and his perimeter prowess meshes well with his new teammates.
“He is an excellent 3point shooter. He also dishes the ball really well as he probably is averaging six or seven assists per game,” Mueller said of Leak. “We have a special group. Thomas Mcdonough said it well, ‘It is states or bust.’ I am looking at it as taking first place in the Wasaren League, take things week to week and then get to our ultimate goal.”