By Jeff Vorva
The best scenario for any team is to finish a season with a perfect record. But in boys basketball in Illinois, it’s rare.
So, when Beecher’s boys beat Clifton Central, 85-53, on January 19 in a homecoming battle of the top two teams in the River Valley Conference, it might be tempting to think the Bobcats can accomplish something that is so rare.
But before fans get too giddy, know this. Coach Tyler Shireman and the Bobcats are bracing for some big-time competition in the coming weeks.
The Bobcats will host a shootout on January 27 and face a strong Rockridge squad at 7:30 p.m. They also have a game against Cornerstone Christian at 4:30 p.m. the same day.
Agricultural Science, Southland, Rantoul, Manteno, Iroquois West, Coal City, Armstrong-Potomac, Momence, Reed-Custer, Westmont, Joliet Catholic, and Lisle also will take part in the shootout.
Beecher was ranked sixth in the January 17 Associated Press Class 2A rankings, and Rockridge was ninth.
The Bobcats also are trying to get a game with Byron, one of the other few unbeaten teams in Illinois, for a game in February. Byron was ranked fourth in the AP rankings in Class 2A.
Senior Adyn McGinley appreciates having his team being pushed to get ready for the regionals, which begin February 19.
“We have some tough games coming up, and I think with the 20 games we already won, there were some tough ones in there,” McGinley said. “We have a couple of tournament championships under our belt. We’ve played some tough games against some of the tough teams in the state in 2A.
“We don’t really listen to the 20-0 much. We just want to get better for the postseason.”
Zach Johnson had 24 points, five rebounds and six assists in the win over Clifton Central. McGinley had 18 points and eight assists. Ethan Rydberg had 16 points and seven assists. Orlin Nesbitt had five rebounds, and Jack Hayhurst came up with four assists.
Bobcat girls on a roll
The girls basketball team opened the homecoming doubleheader on January 19 with a 62-29 victory over Donovan to extend their winning streak to six games. Evelyn Jablonski led the Bobcats with 23 points.
They lost to Reed-Custer, 48-35, the next day to fall to 12-11 but are on the upswing since the calendar turned to 2024.
Don’t look now…
…but Manteno’s boys basketball team also is piling up wins like crazy, including a 55-42 win over Peotone on January 20 to improve to 17-4 overall and 7-1 in the Illinois Central Eight Conference.
Ray Lee led the team with 19 points to extend Manteno’s winning streak to 10 games.
Legend in the house
The Beecher homecoming game was broadcast on the WXNU and WYKT radio stations, with Bill Hazen doing the play-by-play.
He has had a long and storied career and called games for various professional teams, including the Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was a rookie. He also called an Atlanta Braves World Series Championship and Marquette basketball when Al McGuire was the coach.
