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IHSA State Tournament coverage....IHSS style...

St. Anne claims 2008 IHSA Class 1A Title


St. Anne is #1 and all smiles after winning the 1A state championship


Fleming, who attended and played football at Oaklawn Richards (the 2008 4A champion) his freshman year, moved back to St. Anne and ultimately helped nice guy head coach, Rick Schoon , secure St. Anne's (and Kankakee county's) first state basketball championship.

Nokomis (31-6), led by IBCA Hall of Fame coach Steve Kimbro (500+ wins) , finished as state runner-up, their best season ever under the 27-year veteran, The Skins brought home their first state trophy for boys basketball in school history.

Kimbro's son Wade , an IHSS honorable mention all-stater and senior forward on the Redskins, finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds. Senior guard Austin Bertolino led Nokomis with 17 points.

St. Anne defeated Lewistown in the 1A semi-final, 52-45. Varron Burdunice propelled the Cardinals into the championship game with a monster double-double performance, scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Burdunice was helped with another double-double performance by sophomore Javonta Davis, who scored 11 points but dominated the glass with 12 rebounds, five of which came on the offensive end. Lewistown was handed only their second loss of the season. Brian Flaharty led the Indians with 16 points, while Cory Bishop added 13 and Adam Valencia  added 12 points respectively.

Warrensburg-Latham was considered the favorite by many coming into the state tourney, but a #1 (W-L) vs #2 (Lewistown) was just not meant to be as the Cardinals were shocked  in their 36-33 loss to Nokomis . Zach Boyd and Dominique Warnsley led the way for W-L with 12 points each. Nokomis marched into the championship game led by Wade Kimbro's double-double -12 points and 10 boards , while Austin Bertolino contributed 9 points to the effort.

Warrensburg-Latham overcame their utter disappointment from Friday afternnon by rebounding on Saturday and defeating Lewistown 62-51 for third place. Zach Boyd, IHSS' class 1A Player of the Year led the way for the Cardinals with 19 points. Lewistown was playing its third game in 60 hours and it showed as the Indians turned the ball over 24 times.

Warrensburg-Latham finished the year with a 32-2 record, the best in school history and their second 3rd place finish during Vic Binkley's tenure.

Although ranked #2 in our IHSS Class 1A boys basketball poll for the majority of the season with only a single loss to Monmouth-Roseville in the Macomb Holiday Tournament championship game, Lewistown bowed out the season with two consecutive losses at state to finish with a 31-3 record.

Peoria once again did a great job hosting the state tournament, and IHSS looks for that to continue for many years to come!

Class 2A report by Daniel Poneman & Cavan Walsh from ILLINOISHSBASKETBALL.com

After finishing second to Maroa-Forsyth a year ago, North Lawndale (30-4) won the class 2A state championship 56-42, over Peoria Manuel. 6-10 sophomore center Paul Bunch scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Bunch is one of the top-rated players in the class of 2010, and arguably the top big man in the class.


IHSS Class 2A first team all-stater Jonathan Mills of North Lawndale looked to be slowed by an injured ankle. Mills averaged 16+ points and 14+ rebounds per game through the playoffs despite injury, but Jon had 7 points and 11 rebounds in the title game. Mills is one of the top 15 players in the class of 2009.


North Lawndale junior Zilijan “Z” Jones is arguably the most underrated player in the state. Z had 16 points in the title game, and has been the heart and soul of North Lawndale all season. The 5-7 guard does it all in the backcourt for the Phoenix, and plays with unmatched passion and effort.

North Lawndale again takes the crown for the best dressed coaching staff in the state, and they can coach a little basketball too. Coach Lewis Thorpe had this to say about the development of his program, and Lawndale’s three consecutive trips to Peoria : “Hard work…Hard Hard work… a lot of discipline. Everyone from the teachers to my staff. It feels so good! Rigorous schedule of Chicago Public League helped us out tremendously this year.”

Coach Derrick Booth of Peoria Manuel led Peoria Manuel in 1991 to the state championship game, then this year Booth coached his alma-mater to a championship game appearance. Both times he came up short, but his discipline and experience paid off for a talented Rams team which fell just short of their state title dreams, but still finished as state runner-up in a very successful season.

2009 guard Paris Gulley (Peoria Manuel) is continuing to improve, and layering his skill set. Gulley led Manuel with 14 points in the game, and was also named MVP of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament back in December. Look for this junior to raise his recruiting stock this spring/summer on the AAU circuit.


Olney defeated Pinckneyville 55-46 in the class 2A third place bout.  Missouri Southern commit Keane Thomann lead Olney with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Thomann is a 6-10 wide bodied big with a soft touch around the tin. Sophomore Brandon Berry added 14 points and 10 rebounds. Berry is a player to keep an eye on for a few years to come.







































IllinoisHighSchoolSports.com first team all-stater Cliff Fleming led the St. Anne Cardinals to the 2008 IHSA Class 1A state title, scoring 28 points and grabbing 6 steals, in a 67-61 victory over unranked Nokomis. IHSS honorable mention all-stater Varron Burdunice , continued his incredible blue collar play with 19 points and 8 rebounds in the win.

Heading into the post season, St. Anne had dropped to #11 in the IHSS 1A poll after they endured a four game losing streak with losses to Donovan, #1-ranked Warrensburg-Latham at the Riverton Shootout , Kankakee (2A), and a tough OT loss to Momence.

"I knew we were going to be alright. After we beat Lewistown, we really wanted a rematch with Warrensburg-Latham since everyone was doubting us when we loss to them, but Nokomis was a tough team to beat. It feels so good right now to be state champs. Every team has their ups and downs, but we came together and won state ," Fleming said.


Cliff Fleming reverses the ball against #4 Dell Wood


Wade Kimbro scores over Varron Burdunice



Lewistown's Adam Valencia scores over Burdunice


Javonta Davis scores over  Valencia


































 


 

 


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