By Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007, The OG, boys basketball & sports

Austin Rundus drives against PBL.
(Gargoyle photo by Jason He)
(click to enlarge)

[Feb. 20 UPDATE: We've added more information about Thursday's game against Decatur Lutheran.]

CHAMPAIGN — The Paxton-Buckley-Loda Panthers got off to a quick start and never trailed as they defeated Uni 60-48 Monday night in the first round of the IHSA Class A playoffs at St. Thomas More High School.

Putting on a gutsy performance, junior Mike Renner led the Illineks with 12 points and 6 rebounds while playing on a sprained ankle that he injured during Friday's victory over Judah Christian.

“It really got me out of my game,” Renner said after Monday's contest. “I couldn't jump at all. Offensively it was killing me.”

“This just shows you how dedicated he is to the team,” said junior point guard Chumar Williams. “He came back and fought through the pain. He's a great teammate, he really is.”

Uni is now 14-13. Although the postseason is over for the Illineks, they still have one more regular-season game to play.

They will make up their conference match against Decatur Lutheran on Thursday at Kenney Gym. The contest was postponed twice last week because of snow. There will be no JV game, so varsity action will begin at 6 p.m.

The Illineks are 10-1 in the East Central Illinois Conference. If they beat the Lions, they will be the undisputed conference champs for the third straight year. Decatur Lutheran, which defeated Lovington in its regional game Monday 65-64, is 14-12, 8-3. If Uni loses, the Illineks will share the title with Judah Christian.

“They are a very aggressive group,” head coach Joel Beesley said of Decatur Lutheran. “They basically play five people, but three of them score lots of points. They have nothing to lose coming into our place, and we have a chance to redeem ourselves.”

Going into Monday's playoff game, Uni and PBL knew each other well. The two nonconference opponents battled into overtime on Jan. 16. The host Panthers came out on top of that one 69-60.

The rematch didn't require an extra period. PBL, seeded 10th in the 12-team Tolono Unity subsectional A, used two 3-pointers and two layups directly off steals to build a 10-2 lead over Uni within the first 3 minutes and 24 seconds of the game.

“We came out aggressive and put them in a hole,” said PBL head coach Scot Vogel. “We had some bad lulls here and there, but overall we stayed in control.”

The Panthers hit six 3-pointers on the night. PBL had three scorers in double figures: junior guard Thomas Rubarts, 16 points; sophomore guard Kendall Cox, 15; and senior guard Tyler Overstreet, 12.

“They exposed our weaknesses,” Beesley said. “We expended a lot of our energy in Friday's overtime win against Judah.”

PBL is now 10-19 and will face No. 2 seed Watseka 7:30 tonight in the regional semifinal at St. Thomas More.

“Not to take anything away from PBL, but we just played really bad,” Williams said. “We gave it away in this game.”

Williams finished with 3 points for 8th-seeded Uni, all on foul shots. He also grabbed 3 rebounds.

No Illinek besides Renner scored in double figures. Junior forward Isaac Radnitzer and junior guard Austin Rundus each finished with 9 points. Freshman guard Dan Lilly came off the bench strong and contributed 7 points, all in the first half.

Radnitzer contributed 4 rebounds and a team-high 3 assists. Both Radnitzer and Lilly recorded 2 steals.

“We came out flat,” Renner said. “Our passes were sloppy. Then they were smart — they protected the ball.”

At the end of the first quarter Uni trailed only 14-8, thanks to a last-second layup by Rundus.

In the second period Lilly came off the bench and provided some offense. His 3-pointer at the 6:24 mark cut PBL's lead to 18-14. Three minutes later his layup reduced the margin to 21-18.

Uni would get no closer the rest of the evening. PBL went on a 7-0 run to stretch its lead to 28-18 with 5.5 seconds left before halftime. Renner then made a free throw to drop PBL's margin back into single digits. But seconds later Cox hit a buzzer-beating trey to give PBL its biggest lead to that point, 31-20.

The Panthers outscored Uni 15-6 in the third quarter to head into the final period with a 20-point cushion. Early in the fourth, Renner gave Uni some hope when he hit two 3-pointers in 14 seconds, cutting PBL's lead to 13.

“The easiest way to get back in the game was with 3-pointers,” Renner said.

But the Panthers were able to limit Uni to only one more trey the rest of the contest — by Rundus with 51 seconds remaining.

On the bright side, the Illineks still have a chance to go out with a victory, something normally reserved for only one Class A team per year, the state champion.

“We do have one more game left,” Williams said. “We're looking to end the season on a positive note.”

ILLINEK NOTES: Two Uni players advanced in the IHSA Three-Point Showdown held before Monday's game. Freshman Dan Lilly led all competitors with nine 3-point shots; junior Chumar Williams made seven. They will compete in the second round tonight at 6:45. The shootout will take place at St. Thomas More High School before the Watseka-PBL regional semifinal.

VARSITY RECORD: 14-13 overall, 10-1 East Central Illinois Conference
(Games at Kenney Gym are in bold)

Season Preview: A new era begins

Nov. 20: Buckley Christ Lutheran (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 50-44
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 12 pts
— story: Uni wins season opener over Buckley Christ Lutheran

Nov. 21: Mahomet-Seymour JV (vs. Uni varsity) (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 58-53
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Illineks defeat Mahomet-Seymour JV in Turkey Tourney

Nov. 24: Bement (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), L 54-46 (OT)
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 13 pts
— story: Illineks fall in overtime

Nov. 25: Martinsville (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney, at A-H), L 51-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Illineks go down to the wire again

Dec. 1: Shiloh, W 55-46
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 29 pts
— story: Illineks get back on winning track, defeat Shiloh

Dec. 5: at St. Thomas More, L 54-32
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 7 pts
— story: Illineks suffer tough road loss to crosstown rival

Dec. 9: Fisher, L 53-39
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts
— story: Renner scores 21 but Uni falls to Fisher

Dec. 12: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 79-51 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Uni wins conference opener against Buckley Christ Lutheran

Dec. 15: Oakwood, L 74-61
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 19 pts
— story: Oakwood denies Uni comeback bid

Dec. 27: Shiloh (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 65-61
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 27: Salt Fork (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 53-32
— leading scorer: Dan Lilly, 10 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Heritage (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 62-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Atwood-Hammond (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), W 62-51
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 29: Oakwood (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 52-50
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Jan. 5: at Decatur Christian (DC's “JV,” as explained in article linked below), W 66-52 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Illineks remain unbeaten in conference play

Jan. 9: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 51-36 *

— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 11 pts

— story: Normal Calvary hands Uni first conference loss of season

Jan. 12: DeLand-Weldon, W 79-43 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 16 pts

— story: Uni rebounds from ECIC loss to win by 36

Jan. 16: at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, L 69-60 (OT)

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts

— story: Illineks lose a heartbreaker in overtime

Jan. 18: at Decatur Lutheran School Association, W 62-56 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts

— story: Uni defeats Decatur Lutheran, takes control of second place

Jan. 23: at Judah Christian, W 65-52 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts

— story: Illineks roll against Judah in showdown for conference lead

Jan. 26: Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 62-55 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 19 pts

— story: Uni defeats BCL, keeps control of conference lead

Jan. 27: at Lexington, L 68-37

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 10 pts

— story: Illineks stumble in Lexington

Jan. 30: Decatur Christian, W 59-38 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 19 pts

— story: Illineks get their groove back

Feb. 2: at Normal Calvary Baptist, W 58-55 *

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 13 pts

— story: Renner scores 1,000th career point as Uni notches 12th win

Feb. 7: at DeLand-Weldon, W 78-36 *

— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 14 pts

— story: Illineks win seventh straight conference game

Feb. 16: Judah Christian, W 63-61 (OT) *

— leading scorer: Chumar Williams, 13 pts

— story: What a game! Overtime win clinches third ECIC title for Uni

Feb. 19: Paxton-Buckley-Loda (Class A regional playoffs at St. Thomas More H.S.), L 60-48

— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 12 pts

— story: see above

Remaining game: Uni will play Decatur Lutheran Thursday at Kenney Gym in a game that was postponed twice last week because of snow.

*East Central Illinois Conference game