The East Peoria boys basketball team’s poise in late-game situations carried it to another victory March 1.
The Raiders outscored Metamora 12-2 in the final 6:10 to post a 47-41 win in the Class 3A Limestone Regional quarterfinals.
No. 4 seed East Peoria was led by Dylan Sparkman’s game-high 17 points, 15 of which came in the second half.
With 16 rebounds, many of those at the offensive end, Sparkman had a double-double.
Alex Cline recorded 15 points. He recorded 14 in the first half at Vern Woosley Gymnasium.
“We survived to live another day and we’re very happy about that,” EPCHS head coach Ron Kelch said.
Cline was 3-for-3 from the field to score nine points in the first quarter.
Joe Kelch’s three-pointer at the 2:35 mark broke a tie at 12, but it was the Raiders’ last points for nearly seven minutes.
A 6-1 run in the final 1:07 of the first half got the fifth-seeded Redbirds within 24-23 at halftime.
Cline and Corey Crotz supplied all nine of East Peoria’s second-period points.
Brett McKinney’s seven points in the third quarter sparked Metamora to a 36-33 lead with eight minutes left.
Sparkman kept the Raiders close with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting.
“I thought it was absolutely huge,” Kelch said of Sparkman’s effort over the last two quarters. “He had some big offensive rebounds, some big baskets.”
A Kyle Heck trey with 6:24 left in the fourth gave the Redbirds a 39-35 edge.
Sparkman helped the boys pull within one with a couple baskets.
On an assist from Shane Moses, T.J. Trau put East Peoria back in front, 41-40, with 3:44 to play.
At 2:24, Sparkman broke the last tie with a putback as part of a seven-rebound fourth quarter.
“I was just having a bad day,” said Sparkman of a two-point, five-board first half. “... I needed to pick it up.”
Moses and Kelch completed the win when both made two free throws in the final minute.
Heck had four threes to top Metamora with 13 points.
The Raiders held the Redbirds without a field goal for the final 6:23 in defeating their Mid-Illini Conference rival for the third time in 2009-10.
EP 44, Washington 42
The Raiders won the regional semifinal game in the waning seconds March 2 to extend their winning streak to six games.
On a loose-ball situation, Moses gathered possession and fired a pass to Trau, who made a lay-up with four seconds left to snap the game’s final tie.
“Effort ultimately just took over there,” Moses said. “We wanted it more.”
When Washington’s final shot from halfcourt fell short, East Peoria advanced to the final.
“We knew it was going to be like this,” Kelch said. “I didn’t feel like it was going to be any different than we had (Feb. 26).
“We were just fortunate to have the ball at the end.”
Moments earlier, the Panthers knotted the game at 42 on Connor Underwood’s fourth bucket of the final quarter.
Moses, who shared team scoring honors with Cline with 10 points, also made a crucial steal with East Peoria clinging to a 39-37 lead with 1:16 on the clock.
“You’ve got to love guys like Shane Moses,” said Kelch. “They’re just winners.”
Six different players chipped in baskets to stake the Raiders to a 15-14 margin after one quarter.
The teams were tied at 21 at intermission after a sluggish second quarter.
The pace did not improve any in the third period.
A 7-1 spurt in the last 4:44 of the stanza gave East Peoria a 28-25 surplus after three.
It was 32-27 in favor of the Raiders after a Cline triple at 6:35 in the fourth quarter.
But the Panthers responded with an 8-2 run that put them ahead with just more than four minutes to go.
East Peoria then tallied seven of the next nine points. Kelch’s two free throws at :52.4 made it 41-37.
Unheralded Cameron Sharp hit the second of two big shots for Washington before Underwood’s game-tying basket with 19 seconds remaining.
The Raiders won the season series with the Panthers.
“It was a lot of finally buying it at the end of the year,” Moses said about the best East Peoria hot string in years. “We came together as a team.”
Kelch, Trau and Sparkman all totaled six points.
Isaac Fisher, who had 11 points in the first quarter, guided Washington with 16.
Morton 49, EP 38
The Raiders were just 16 minutes away from an Ottawa Sectional berth.
Instead, Morton worked the ball inside with renewed vigor and scored 15 of the first 17 points of the third quarter to erase a 22-16 deficit at halftime.
East Peoria (15-12) bowed out after an exciting end to the season in which it won four close games.
“We just kind of ran out of gas,” Kelch said. “We hit the third quarter and we had a hard time scoring.”
Sparkman narrowly missed another double-double with team-highs of 13 points and nine rebounds.
A 7-0 spree gave the Raiders a 16-9 lead after one quarter. Cline had nine points in the frame after getting to the line for five free-throw attempts.
The boys went 5-of-9 from the field and matched the Potters’ two treys to incite loud applause from their fans.
East Peoria held No. 2 seed Morton to two points over the last 3:45 of the second period to stay six in front at intermission.
The Raiders endured a nearly seven-minute dry spell in the third quarter to fall behind 33-26 with eight minutes to go.
Back-to-back scores by Sparkman and Trau got East Peoria as close as 35-30 with 6:22 showing on the fourth-quarter clock.
The Raiders answered a Potter three-point play with a nifty fastbreak bucket.
Cline passed to Kelch in transition and the point guard hit Sparkman with a perfect bounce pass that led to a lay-up to make it 38-32.
Trau and Cole Nieukirk tried to keep East Peoria within range with field goals at 2:59 and 2:07, respectively, but Morton always responded.
Cline had nine points in his finale. Classmates Moses, Trau, Nieukirk and Cole Terry also will depart.
The 15 wins for the Raiders is their most since 2004-05.
“I’m proud of these kids,” Kelch said. "They showed great leadership, especially, the seniors. We’re going to miss those guys a lot.”
Tyler Lundeen of Morton led all scorers with 15 points. Brett Bisping added 12. Twenty-one of their points came in the second half.
