IHSA boys' basketball state tournament: Young staves off Barrington in 4A semifinal

Class 4A semifinal

Whitney Young 51, Barrington 47

The top player was … Xavier Amos, Whitney Young. Each of the Dolphins who saw more than 18 minutes in this game provided multiple critical contributions, so it’s hard to pick just one. But the Northern Illinois signee Amos also overcame migraines prior to the opening tip — per coach Tyrone Slaughter — in order to participate in his team’s biggest game of the season. And the senior forward stepped up exactly when Young needed him, netting eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter to go with one rebound, one assist, one steal, one blocked shot and just one turnover.

The key moment was … Slaughter switching senior forward Matthew Somerville to cover Barrington senior guard Will Grudzinski after halftime. Grudzinski went from a nearly unstoppable shooting force (16 points) to hitting just three shots over the final two quarters. And with only three Broncos banking more than two points on the afternoon, the minimization of Grudzinski’s offense was something Barrington couldn’t afford to bear.

By the numbers: Young put four players in double figures scoring, with junior guard Marcus Pigram coming off the bench to produce 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting from the field. Junior guards Dalen Davis (11 points) and Daniel Johnson (10 points) also reached that plateau. … Barrington hit 11 of 17 field goal attempts in the first half to build a lead as large as 13 points. Grudzinski paced all scorers with 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting for the game and was complemented by senior guard Daniel Hong’s 11 points and senior guard Evan Jno-Baptiste’s 10 points. … The Broncos committed three consecutive turnovers in the final three minutes of play, during which Young turned a 44-43 deficit into a 47-44 lead.

Also Read Severe thunderstorms possible in Midwest; heat wave blankets US

What the Dolphins said: “Any time you have an opportunity to play the last game on the last day of the high school season, I think the word you would have to use is gratifying. I think, when you look back over the journey that we’ve traveled this year, it was improbable by many peoples’ account that we would be here today. But (if not) for these young men and the effort they’ve put out, we wouldn’t be here today.” — Slaughter

What the Broncos said: “You can’t duplicate that anywhere, (the Dolphins’) athleticism as well as their length. That’s a pretty tough combination. Sometimes I’m watching some film and thinking, ‘What college team is this I’m looking at right now?’ That’s the cliche, right, it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog. I knew we would battle. I just was wondering how long it would take for us to adjust when they started using that.” — coach Bryan Tucker

03122022 6 metamora — Metamora’s Ethan Kizer shoots a three-pointer at the State Farm Center in Champaign.

Steve Hoffman/The News-Gazette

Class 3A semifinal

Metamora 50, Simeon 47

The top player was … Metamora junior Tyson Swanson. He was unfazed by the Wolverines’ intense pressure on defense, knocking down 2 of 4 three-point attempts and scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting. Swanson capped a lengthy first-half possession with a smooth drive and finish down the lane. Swanson’s three near the 5:45 mark of the fourth quarter pulled the Redbirds within six points. When he scored on another take to the rack, it was clear Metamora wasn’t going to fold late. Swanson went 3 of 4 at the free-throw line, crucially hitting a pair to push the Redbirds’ lead to three points with 42.8 seconds left.

The key moment was … Ethan Kizer’s three from the top of the key to nudge the Redbirds ahead, 48-47, near the 1:45 mark of the fourth quarter. Kizer stepped into the pass with confidence, and hundreds of Redbird students in the Orange Krush seats and above them in the 200 Level erupted in chaotic celebrations. Kizer went 3 of 6 from distance, scoring nine points as the Redbirds erased an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

By the numbers: Throughout the playoffs, opponents struggled to pick apart the Wolverines’ defense. But the Redbirds combined to shoot 52.9 percent and went 7 of 14 from the three-point line. Metamora kept its defense at home, daring Simeon to shoot threes, and the Wolverines connected on 3 of 7 attempts. More crucially, though, was limiting talented forwards Miles and Wesley Rubin to a combined eight points and seven rebounds. The Redbirds also matched the Wolverines’ dedication to the glass, outrebounding Simeon 18-17 while only allowing five second-chance points.

What the Redbirds said: “You’ve just got to believe. There was never a doubt we could come back from that deficit. We just kept coming, kept punching them in the mouth and getting stops on the other end. The score took care of itself in the end. We just rebounded every single one of their misses. Just played tough, hard defense, and then we found what they were doing. They were hedging the ball screens, and Tyson had two unbelievable slips (for layups) that really gained a lot of momentum.” — guard Zack Schroeder; “When I first got (to Metamora), we won a state championship in Mississippi (at St. Stanislaus Catholic High School). I came up here and interviewed for 3 1/2 hours and they told me, ‘Look, you can’t have the same aspirations as where you just came from.’ I told them, ‘Then you’ve got the wrong man for the job, because that’s what we’re attempting to do every day.’ That’s what’s happened. The great thing is, they say if you build it they’ll come. And these guys have taken to it like fish in the water. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.” — coach Danny Grieves

What the Wolverines said: “The emotions right now are pretty low. We expected big things out of this game. We prepared for this since the beginning of the season. Everybody kind of overlooked us, so we figured, ‘Hey, if we win the state championship, we’d shut all the naysayers up.’” — guard Aviyon Morris; “Like I told them, the most important thing is we’re going to wake up tomorrow. That’s what it’s all about. We left it out there on the court. We had three layups, and ain’t nobody in the country is going to tell me they ain’t going to go in. We had a putback (from) Michael Ratliff and it comes out. Jalen Griffith gets a drive and it comes out. Jaylen Drane gets one and it comes out. Then the three ball right there at the end, it rattles in and out. We got good looks. We had our opportunities. … It’s a different standard when you go to Simeon than when you go to another school. They understand that not coming home with that first-place trophy, it’s not something for us. … State championship or nothing. Everything else besides that, it’s like a down season. Some other people, whatever place they come in, third or fourth, they may have a parade getting back to school.” — coach Robert Smith