By Alan Liang & Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Saturday, Feb. 17, 2007, The OG, boys basketball & sports

[Feb. 18 UPDATE: We've added quotes throughout the story.]

URBANA — The Illineks clinched a share of their third straight East Central Illinois Conference title with a thrilling 63-61 overtime victory Friday on Senior Night against crosstown rival Judah Christian.

“Every one of the guys who got into the game played outstanding,” head coach Joel Beesley said. “This was an unbelievable performance this evening.”

But the win may have come at a price. Junior Mike Renner, the Illineks' leading scorer this season (17.2 points per game), sprained his left ankle with 2:29 remaining in the third quarter and did not return. There was no word on if he would miss Monday's first round of the Class A regional playoffs.

“I stepped on someone's foot while I was driving in the lane and it just came underneath me,” Renner said. “I tried to jump off it so all the force went down and I got it on the outside and inside. I really hope I'll be ready to play Monday.”

Both teams entered Friday's game with only one conference loss. If Judah won, the Tribe would clinch the ECIC title outright. If Uni won, the Illineks would finish no worse than tied with Judah for the championship.

Add to those stakes Senior Night, with guard Michael Belmont, forward Jeremy Pillow, and center Nick Pratt honored before the game with their parents, throw in raucous fans from both schools, and you had the recipe for the most exciting game Kenney Gym has hosted all season.

With 22 seconds left in regulation, freshman guard Dan Lilly hit a 3-pointer to put Uni ahead 50-48.

But Judah Christian senior Johnny Miller, who came into the contest averaging 22.4 points per game, drew a foul and went to the line with 8.4 seconds remaining.

Miller missed the first of his two shots. Because of that, he needed to miss the second shot and hope he or his teammates could grab the rebound.

That's exactly what happened. Miller missed, got the ball back, and scored the tying basket. Not only that, but Belmont fouled Miller on the play, earning the Illinek his fifth foul and putting the area's leading scorer on the free-throw line with just 5.3 seconds left.

Uni called a timeout. When play resumed Miller took his shot — and missed. As Uni fans roared and Judah Christian fans sat stunned, the game went into overtime.

It was the Illineks' third overtime contest of the season. The two previous games had ended in defeat, but this would be different.

“We haven't been able to finish in overtime before today,” said junior point guard Chumar Williams. “This shows the maturation of the team.”

Junior guard Austin Rundus got things going for Uni by hitting a 3-pointer just 16 seconds into the 4-minute extra period. Junior center Frankie McFarland, who had a breakout game, hauled in a crucial defensive rebound some 17 seconds after that.

Williams then raced down the court. He made a jumper to put Uni ahead 55-50 — and even though 3:14 remained in overtime and the Illineks were playing without Renner and Belmont, the momentum was clearly Uni's.

“We drove in really hard,” McFarland said of Uni's play in overtime. “We got defensive rebounds and that won us the game basically.”

Mike Renner prepares to inbound the ball as Judah's
Blake Porter tries to disrupt him. Renner left the game
with a sprained ankle late in the third quarter.
(Gargoyle photo by Jason He) (click to enlarge)

The Tribe could never regain the lead they held frequently in regulation. Uni built a comfortable 7-point margin after Williams made two free throws to give the team a 61-54 advantage with 1:22 left.

But things were still dicey for the Illineks. A free throw by junior forward Isaac Radnitzer gave Uni a seemingly insurmountable 63-58 lead with 9.3 seconds remaining. But senior forward Evan Stone hit a trey to close the gap to 63-61 with 4.0 seconds on the clock.

After a Uni timeout, Radnitzer hit Rundus with a pass at midcourt. Rundus held the ball until senior Jason Peterson fouled him. Only 1.4 seconds remained.

Rundus missed both his free throws, but the buzzer sounded before Judah could bring the ball up the court.

“It was a big win because we had to do it for the seniors and this was also for conference,” Rundus said. “We knew the season was accumulating to this so we just had to come in and play hard and hit shots.”

The win was Uni's eighth straight conference victory and the team's first game since defeating DeLand-Weldon 78-36 on Feb. 7. The Illineks are now 14-12 overall and 10-1 in the ECIC.

Because of this week's blizzard, a conference game between Uni and Decatur Lutheran School Association (LSA) was postponed twice. According to head coach Joel Beesley, the Illineks will play the Lions after both teams are finished in the IHSA Class A postseason tournament.

If Uni defeats LSA, the Illineks will be the undisputed ECIC champs. If they lose, the Illineks and Judah Christian will share the title with 10-2 records, Beesley said. LSA is 13-12, 8-3.

For Pratt, who saw limited action as a substitute, the Senior Night win was especially sweet because he transferred to Uni last year from Judah.

“Just beating Judah was all I cared about,” he said. “I didn't really care about playing; I just cared about beating Judah.”

Friday's contest was much different from the last time the Illineks and the Tribe played. In their Jan. 23 matchup, Uni dominated Judah 65-52.

But this time the Tribe kept the game close from the start, battling the Illineks to a 14-14 draw in the first quarter. Judah took control in the second period, going into halftime ahead 30-22. Only Renner's 10 points kept the Illineks within single digits of the visitors.

When play resumed, Uni got back on track. The Illineks tightened their defense and played tough on the boards, allowing Judah only 6 points in the third quarter.

“We finally started playing how we're supposed to be playing,” said Pillow. “We just played a better game defensively.”

With 2:33 left in the period, Belmont tied the contest at 34 when he made one of two free throws. Four seconds later Renner sprained his ankle near the Uni basket.

“I've sprained my right one twice and my left one once before this,” Renner said. “My left one in eighth grade and my right one just over the past year twice. This was my left one. It was kind of bad.”

He drew a foul on the play, and Lilly went to the free-throw line in Renner's place. Lilly made both shots, giving Uni a 36-34 advantage, its first lead since late in the first quarter when Uni led 14-12. Later, as time ran out in the third, Rundus nailed a 3-pointer to put Uni up 41-36.

The final period was filled with twists and turns. Using a lineup of Rundus, Lilly, Williams, Radnitzer, and McFarland, the Illineks built a 43-36 lead.

But with 6:05 remaining Judah began its comeback. Sparked by Miller, the Tribe went on a 12-4 run. Judah led 48-47 with 22 seconds left when Lilly hit the 3-pointer that would lead to overtime.

“Today was just a great team effort,” Belmont said. “Everybody came out and contributed. We had some people who stepped up and made some huge plays like Frankie and Dan Lilly. This is just continuing the trend of our bench players stepping up and making huge plays. They've been playing really well in practice and beating us in scrimmages in practice. Now they're starting to step up and carry the team at times. I think it proved that we don't need our starting group out there to win. We have 10 players who are all capable of doing very well.”

Added Lilly: “We won [this] game on defense. That was the main thing. We found a way to win without Belmont or Mike.”

Williams paced Uni with 13 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals. Renner finished with 10 points (including two treys), all scored in the first half.

Lilly and Radnitzer finished with 9 points each. All of Rundus' 6 points came on 3-pointers.

McFarland scored 7 points and led the team with 7 rebounds. Radnitzer added 4 rebounds, followed by Williams with 3.

The Illineks shot 17-for-29 from the foul line. Judah shot 3-for-6.

The Tribe's Miller finished the game with 25 points. Senior Ed Macaraeg added 12 points for the visitors.

With loss, the Tribe ended their regular season 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the ECIC. Both conference defeats were to the Illineks.

Looking to the postseason, Uni will face Paxton-Buckley-Loda in the first round of the St. Thomas More Class A regional on Monday.

The game, which starts at 6 p.m., is a rematch of the exciting overtime contest on Jan. 16 when the host Panthers defeated Uni 69-60. (Uni's other overtime loss this season was to Bement 54-46 on Nov. 24.)

The Illineks are seeded 8th in their Tolono Unity subsectional, while PBL is seeded 10th.

VARSITY RECORD: 14-12 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: see above

Remaining games: see schedule

*East Central Illinois Conference game