I.V. boys end season with 64-38 blowout
From our weekly issue dated March 11, 2009
The Illinois Valley JV hoop squad put on a show that made the price of admission well worth it, as the team staged a miraculous comeback late in the fourth quarter against North Valley at Ken Mann Memorial Gym on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
The Cougars’ pressure defense, clutch shooting by the offense, individual performances and great coaching made the difference.
Jesse Bethke was the man, especially in the waning seconds of the game. Bethke was fouled and went to the line for two. With less than 30 seconds left and with all the team’s hopes on his shoulders, Bethke’s picture-perfect execution gave the Cougars a 1-point lead.
The Knights then scored, and with only a few seconds remaining, Bethke rose to the occasion. He drained a jumper just inside the 3-point line to win the game: Cougars 43, Knights 42.
Bethke finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds; and Tyler Robbins added 10 points, four assists and two steals.
Said JV head coach Travis Robbins, “Jesse and Tyler were beasts. Their inside presence, pressure ‘D’ and clutch shooting were phenomenal. Not to mention Jesse’s last second heroics. What a game.”
The JV game was indeed one motivating factor for the varsity. It was also Senior Night, which gave the Cougars a sense of urgency. However, it was the Cougars’ natural will to win that proved to be the main reason for the varsity squad’s lopsided victory. The Cougars, took no prisoners, and the seniors played like they would never play again.
Right from the start, the IVHS varsity boys basketball team was impressive. Senior Cory Glasgow opened with a sky hook for the first 2 points of the game. On North Valley’s first procession Roger Hults stole the ball and led the fast break, then finished with a drive to the hoop and put back, off his own shot, to make it 4-0. The Cougars saw an opportunity to jump on the Knights early, but pressed too hard and made two turnovers to let NV tie it up. That was the closest the Knights would get at 4-4.
From then on the Cougars played an up-tempo game to perfection. Head coach Jeff Winter and assistant coach Brian Paul really had their squad prepared and the Cougs followed their well-designed game plan.
A bank shot by senior Nathan Heath, a 15-footer from R. Hults, and a bounce pass from Antonio Escalante to Glasgow for 2 made it 10-6. An outside swish by senior Kevin Snook and two consecutive NBA distance treys by R. Hults ended the first quarter 18-11 in I.V.’s favor.
In the second, the Cougs stayed with the quicker up-tempo game, with crisp passes, open looks on offense and good rotation on defense. R. Hults continued to give the fans their bucks worth. He hit a 3-pointer on an assist from Glasgow, lobbed a pass to Heath for 2; and then he was fouled in the act of shooting. He drained both attempts to end the first half 25-16 I.V.
The third began with a drive and a hoop by Escalante, free throws by Snook and Heath. The Cougars then played perfect team ball the rest of the way. They worked the ball around with five or six passes until they found an open Heath for 2; R. Hults again took control of the game.
It started with Escalante’s mid-air baseline out-of-bounds save, with a flip pass to the free-throw line, where he was wide open and hit nothing but net. It continued when I.V. worked the ball around to him where he hit another trey; he then started a fast break to Snook to Glasgow who laid it in.
R. Hults’ next shot required the twine to be changed. Next, for a little brotherly love, he delivered a scrapbook, Kodak-moment type of sideline inbound pass to his younger brother Fred Hults, who laid it in. Snook ended the Cougar scoring in the third when he was fouled on a rebound and put back. He proceeded to bury both free-throw attempts, that gave I.V. the lead 43-29.
In the fourth, Winter went to his bench and Ben Kendall responded more like a pit bull than a Cougar. Kendall immediately made his presence felt when he went to the floor for a loose ball and ended up in a rugby-style scrum to give the ball to the Cougars.
Kendall was then fouled and made a free throw. Snook then made two more freebies to make it 46-31 I.V. with six minutes left. Heath’s last plays of his career were awesome. They included his falling-down in-control pass for an assist to a wide-open Snook, who hit a 15-footer; his scramble for a loose ball; and then his perfect bounce pass to Escalante. The latter reversed it off glass and made two all-net free throws. Free throws by Escalante and Snook were the last points of their illustrious careers.
That’s when Winter showed his coaching class. With the game in control at I.V. 56-33, he took out the seniors one at a time to let them get their last time of hearing a crowd cheer for them.
The seniors on the pine should’ve been charged admission for what was to come. Kendall put on a show for his departing Cougar teammates. He drove through defenders and hit a falling-down bank shot, was fouled almost flagrantly hard and then picked himself up and drained both charity shots. And for his curtain call he hit a 15-footer with a minute to go.
Senior Harlan Mechling put a remarkable mark on his career when he hit the final two free throws of the game. I.V. played a perfect team game to put an end to its remarkable season: Cougars in a blowout over the Knights by 26, 64-38.
Asked what their most memorable moment was and what they will take from their experience at IVHS, Escalante, Heath and Glasgow comments ranged from, “Being a part of this team, Kevin’s dunk in pre-game, my hook shot, dedication, teamwork and work ethic” respectively.
Senior captain Snook had this to say in response to those two questions: “The 1 point loss to seventh-ranked Hidden Valley, it would have been nice to upset them; hard work pays off, I just wish I would have worked harder my first two years.”
He added. “I also owe a lot of thanks to my parents for their sacrifice and dedication to help make my career a success, they attended and video-taped every game, I think my dad only missed one game, and my mom missed none.”
Snook finished the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks.
R. Hults had a game-high 23 points, 4 treys, nine rebounds, four assists. Heath added 8 points, four rebounds; Kendall 7 points, Glasgow 6 points, and Escalante 6 points, four rebounds.
The Cougars end the season 9-12 overall and 4-8 in Skyline Conference play.
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