The Nashville Hornets (28-4) defeated the DePaul Prep Rams (26-6) in double overtime in the IHSA 2A Semi-final in Champaign Thursday afternoon. The Rams rallied to defeat Rockridge Rockets 41-22 in the third-place game.
The Nashville/DePaul Prep game was a defensive battle of historic proportions. Reputed to be the lowest scoring game in IHSA finals history. It was the Rams lowest point total of the season.
The Nashville Hornets from far southern Illinois, about fifty-five miles east of St. Louis, play defense. Hornets’ coach Patrick Weathers described their style of basketball as “winning ugly.”
“[DePaul Prep] executes very differently than a lot of teams in the City. I think that help us. We are not built for a track meet. When they want to keep the game in the thirties and forties, and we don’t have to score fifty or sixty points to win the game that is an advantage for us. It gives us a change. Keep the game close at the end and give ourselves a chance to will at the end, that’s all we can ask for,” Coach Weathers said.
Nashville’s defense was remarkable. The double overtime game was the equivalent of five eight-minute quarters. The Hornets held the Rams to five points in the final two quarters combined.
Even more remarkable is that the Hornets five starters played the entire game and two overtime periods. There were no substitutions. The same five players Saxton Hoepker, Kilton Gajewski, Carter Schoenherr, Holan Heggemeier and Isaac Turner played the whole game at a historic defensive level.
“It’s obvious. We didn’t shoot well. We didn’t score. We took them out of a lot of things. At the end of the game . . . We didn’t get some loose balls. There were two offensive rebounds we did not come up with. There were just a little quicker to the ball late and they made plays. It was a battle. All the credit goes to Nashville. Really well coached team. Kids really play well together,” DePaul Prep Coach Tom Kleinschmidt said after the game.
If there is a good part about losing in a semi-final, it’s that one gets to play in a third-place game with a chance to go out a winner. The DePaul Prep Rams did that in the last state 3A finals in 2019. They lost to Bogan in the semi but won third-place against Peoria Manual.
This year, the Rams drew Rockridge (26-8) from Taylor Ridge, Illinois, a few miles west of Moline, in the third-place game. Rockridge lost in the first game to Monticello.
The Rams and Rockets traded buckets in the first quarter but in the second, the Rams edged ahead with points off the bench from Maurice Thomas.
The third quarter proved the difference. An 8-2 run in the third put the Rams ahead for good as they inexorably extended their lead to a 41 to 24 final score to win third place in the state in state for the second time in three tries.
Does winning third place take the sting out of losing in the semi?
“Well, ya. The kids went out winners. [They can say] their last game was a win. We set a school record for wins. For this group to be around for two trips downstate and last year’s number one ranking, that’s a hell of a three years,” Kleinschmidt said.
Dylan Arnett lead the scoring for the Rams with ten points. Every Ram played. Junior Maurice Thomas had 7. Sophomores starters Payton Kamin and Jaylan McElroy each had 6. Senior Will Brown had 5, including a big three early to open the scoring for the Rams. Henry West had 3 points. Seniors Julian Green Trevon Thomas had 2 each.
Only three months until the Riverside-Brookfield Summer Tournament.
