By the Pantagraph:
NORMAL — Alex Peacock played like a man on a mission Tuesday night, pouring in a season-high 28 points, while teammate Tyler Seibring added 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Normal Community High School basketball team downed Bloomington, 63-46, in the semifinals of the NCHS Class 4A Regional.
“My teammates were getting me going and I could finish,” said Peacock, who sank 9 of 15 shots from the field, made 9 of 11 free throws, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out three assists. “The coaches came up with the game plan and we executed it to the fullest.”
NCHS used its size advantage to outrebound its guest, 32-24. Meanwhile, the Ironmen guards were steady enough to only have one more turnover than BHS (16 to 15).
“It’s hard to handle those two big guys,” said BHS coach Micheal Mosley referring to the 6-foot-7 Peacock and the 6-7 Seibring. “We just had no answers inside for them. They did a really good job handling our pressure, using their big guys to be release valves.”
NCHS guard Duane Farrington added 10 points while Grant Donath had five assists. Antonio Sims paced BHS with 18 points while Jaylen Beasley added 13 and Willie Grayson Jr. 10.
"We were able to get the ball into the paint and got a lot of easy shots,” said NCHS coach Dave Witzig. “We did a good job of sharing the ball and getting it where it needed to go.”
The No. 3-seeded Ironmen improved to 21-8 ahead of Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game against No. 5-seeded Danville (11-16), which won Tuesday’s first semifinal, 63-49, over No. 1 seed Bradley-Bourbonnais (18-6). No. 2 seed BHS (15-11) had beaten NCHS earlier by scores of 57-52 and 55-52.
NCHS sprinted to a 10-2 lead with help from five points by Peacock. A pair of Peacock free throws later gave the Ironmen a 17-7 cushion after one quarter.
The Raiders came alive the second quarter as Beasley, who finished with nine rebounds, followed his two free throws with a rebound basket before a Sims putback made it 17-13 with 4:44 left in the half.
Another pair of Peacock free throws sparked a 10-5 half-ending run for NCHS, which made 8 of 10 free throws prior to intermission. Seven of Peacock’s 13 first-half points came at the line.
A rebound basket by Seibring, who had eight points the first half, gave the Ironmen a 27-18 advantage at halftime.
BHS was still within seven early in the third quarter before NCHS mounted a 21-9 surge powered by nine points from Peacock. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders never scored more than two unanswered points.
“We had a lot of close games this year,” Witzig said. “It was nice to have one where we were able to keep pushing away from them.”
BHS standout Brady Rose was held to two points on 1 of 11 shooting.
“I think he still has a career average of about 25 against us,” Witzig said. “He’s obviously a focus of our team. Duane Farrington did a great job. He was with him wherever he went.”
Mosley agreed.
“Farrington is a heck of a defender,” he said. “He played really well tonight face guarding Brady. He just had an off night. If a few of those go (in), we’re in the game.”
BHS shot .319 from the field (15 of 47) compared to .550 (22 of 40) for NCHS, which owns two wins over Danville.
“We know them real well,” said Witzig, who watched Denzel Smith notch 33 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday. “It will be a great challenge for us.”
It was a challenge the nine college-bound seniors of BHS wanted to face.
“I told them, ‘look forward to what we’ve built,’” Mosley said. “Hats off to Normal Community because they are extremely good. They are a sectional or super-sectional championship type team."
NORMAL — Alex Peacock played like a man on a mission Tuesday night, pouring in a season-high 28 points, while teammate Tyler Seibring added 15 points and 13 rebounds as the Normal Community High School basketball team downed Bloomington, 63-46, in the semifinals of the NCHS Class 4A Regional.
“My teammates were getting me going and I could finish,” said Peacock, who sank 9 of 15 shots from the field, made 9 of 11 free throws, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out three assists. “The coaches came up with the game plan and we executed it to the fullest.”
NCHS used its size advantage to outrebound its guest, 32-24. Meanwhile, the Ironmen guards were steady enough to only have one more turnover than BHS (16 to 15).
“It’s hard to handle those two big guys,” said BHS coach Micheal Mosley referring to the 6-foot-7 Peacock and the 6-7 Seibring. “We just had no answers inside for them. They did a really good job handling our pressure, using their big guys to be release valves.”
NCHS guard Duane Farrington added 10 points while Grant Donath had five assists. Antonio Sims paced BHS with 18 points while Jaylen Beasley added 13 and Willie Grayson Jr. 10.
"We were able to get the ball into the paint and got a lot of easy shots,” said NCHS coach Dave Witzig. “We did a good job of sharing the ball and getting it where it needed to go.”
The No. 3-seeded Ironmen improved to 21-8 ahead of Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game against No. 5-seeded Danville (11-16), which won Tuesday’s first semifinal, 63-49, over No. 1 seed Bradley-Bourbonnais (18-6). No. 2 seed BHS (15-11) had beaten NCHS earlier by scores of 57-52 and 55-52.
NCHS sprinted to a 10-2 lead with help from five points by Peacock. A pair of Peacock free throws later gave the Ironmen a 17-7 cushion after one quarter.
The Raiders came alive the second quarter as Beasley, who finished with nine rebounds, followed his two free throws with a rebound basket before a Sims putback made it 17-13 with 4:44 left in the half.
Another pair of Peacock free throws sparked a 10-5 half-ending run for NCHS, which made 8 of 10 free throws prior to intermission. Seven of Peacock’s 13 first-half points came at the line.
A rebound basket by Seibring, who had eight points the first half, gave the Ironmen a 27-18 advantage at halftime.
BHS was still within seven early in the third quarter before NCHS mounted a 21-9 surge powered by nine points from Peacock. In the fourth quarter, the Raiders never scored more than two unanswered points.
“We had a lot of close games this year,” Witzig said. “It was nice to have one where we were able to keep pushing away from them.”
BHS standout Brady Rose was held to two points on 1 of 11 shooting.
“I think he still has a career average of about 25 against us,” Witzig said. “He’s obviously a focus of our team. Duane Farrington did a great job. He was with him wherever he went.”
Mosley agreed.
“Farrington is a heck of a defender,” he said. “He played really well tonight face guarding Brady. He just had an off night. If a few of those go (in), we’re in the game.”
BHS shot .319 from the field (15 of 47) compared to .550 (22 of 40) for NCHS, which owns two wins over Danville.
“We know them real well,” said Witzig, who watched Denzel Smith notch 33 points and 12 rebounds on Tuesday. “It will be a great challenge for us.”
It was a challenge the nine college-bound seniors of BHS wanted to face.
“I told them, ‘look forward to what we’ve built,’” Mosley said. “Hats off to Normal Community because they are extremely good. They are a sectional or super-sectional championship type team."
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