DEPAUL PREP ROUTS TEUTOPOLIS
CHAMPAIGN — DePaul Prep played without its best players — Jaylan McElroy and Payton Kamin — for almost the entire regular season.
The juniors returned from injuries shortly before the playoffs began, and that instantly turned the Rams into Class 2A state championship contenders.
DePaul Prep kept its head above water without its two stars, but Thursday at the State Farm Center was a different story. The Rams dominated Teutopolis 45-17 in the Class 2A semifinals.
DePaul Prep (22-12) led by eight at halftime and shut down the Wooden Shoes (28-8) in the second half. Teutopolis had only eight field goals in the game and didn’t score for the last 10:40.
“We were a little timid offensively,” Wooden Shoes coach Chet Reeder said. “We didn’t look to attack. We were just tiptoeing around and feeling it out. We had some shots rattle in and out, and it snowballed on us.”
Maurice Thomas, who was DePaul Prep’s backbone all season, led the way with 16 points. McElroy added 10 points and six rebounds. Kamin finished with six points, and junior PJ Chambers contributed seven points and five rebounds.
The Rams lost in the state semifinals last season.
“It was a major learning experience,” Thomas said. “It helped everyone overall. We came up with a better mentality this time. Last year, we came in thinking we had won it all already. We know all these teams are very good down here.”
James Niebrugge led Teutopolis with eight points. The Wooden Shoes shot 8-for-32 from the field and had 16 turnovers.
DePaul Prep will play Bloomington Central Catholic in the Class 2A championship game Saturday.
Cole Certa steps up late
Early-game nerves were a major theme in all four games Thursday.
Several teams struggled all the way through the first half. The jitters even bit one of the state’s most talented players, Bloomington Central Catholic’s Cole Certa.
“Being on the big stage at state, there were nerves,” Certa said. “Once I hit [a big three to close the first half], I think I got the nerves out and was ready to go in the second half.”
He was. The 6-5 junior, who scored only three points in the first half, had 16 in the second to lead the Saints to a 57-44 victory over Rockridge in the Class 2A semifinals.
“I could feel the nerves in them,” Saints coach Jason Welch said. “But Rockridge forced us into tough shots. We hit a few shots [early in the third quarter], and then I could feel the weight come off our shoulders.”
Certa also grabbed eight rebounds. He was 6-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range.
Rockridge junior Carson Klemme, who guarded Certa, slowed him down enough to give his team a chance to win.
“I felt good about the first half, but in the second half, I kind of slowed down, and he stepped it up, and it didn’t work out for us in the end. He’s fast, tall and can shoot from anywhere in the halfcourt. So he’s tough to guard.”
Sophomore Landon Bull led Rockridge (28-5) with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Caleb Cunico added 10 points.
Class 1A Cinderella
Scales Mound, which lost in the Class 1A semifinals last season, knocked off Tuscola 40-27 to earn a spot in Saturday’s state championship game against Gibault.
Scales Mound is a fantastic Cinderella story. It’s a village of 436 people in Western Illinois, 11 miles east of Galena. The high school has only 70 students. That’s even small for a Class 1A school. Gibault has more than twice as many students.
“We had that kind of once-in-alifetime team last year,” Hornets coach Erik Kudronowicz said. “These kids were the No. 2s that pushed the No. 1s. We had some pretty intense practices a year ago, and I think you see the benefit of it.”
Junior Thomas Hereau led Scales Mound (33-5) with 10 points, and senior Jacob Duerr added eight.