Belleville West beats Bolingbrook, will return to state tournament to defend title
Belleville West was better in every facet — shot making, defense and rebounding — and will be making a repeat visit to Peoria’s Carver Arena, site of the IHSA State Tournament, because of it.
The Maroons (33-4) beat Bolingbrook (24-8) 72-60 in the Class 4A Normal Super-Sectional at Redbird Arena, on the campus of Illinois State University, Tuesday.
“The experience is normal to us,” West senior Jaylin Mosby said. “We did this last year and we already know what to do. We’re going back to state and we’ve got to win again.”
Mosby scored 17 points to take the pressure off EJ Liddell and draw the perimeter defense out of the paint.
“We’re showing them that it’s not just me, it’s not just (Lawrence) Brazil and it’s not just Keith (Randolph), but everybody on the team can step up,” said Liddell, the senior Ohio State commit.
The Maroons will meet Chicago-Curie in the state semifinal game Friday at 7:15 p.m.
It was a slow start for the Maroons, which turned it over seven times in the first quarter and trailed 10-4 through five minutes. Coach Joe Muniz said his team thought the ball was slick.
Muniz took a timeout and the game shifted.
“I just thought they’re better than this,” he said. “They’re making excuses and you just have to learn to play through it. I thought we were trying to do too much on our own and trying to play too fast. Just let the game come to you and I just challenged them to play better.
“The greatest part about it is that EJ told everybody ‘my bad, I’ve got to get better.’ And he played a lot better.”
West would take a 17-14 lead by quarter’s end, closing on a 13-4 run over the final 2:27. Randolph’s bucket with 1:14 left gave the Maroons control of the lead for the remainder of the game.
“Man, they were really aggressive. In the post, they were doubling and helping and when they didn’t double, I brought the ball down, put it on the ground and they were just reaching in and getting steals,” Liddell said. “I think we got a little more aggressive down low, I started holding onto the ball and we just started playing together.”
West finished 24-for-37 from the floor to Bolingbrook’s 26-of-64. The Raiders were 3-for-15 from 3-point range. Drake recruit Joseph Yesufu and Northern Illinois recruit Tyler Cochran combined to shoot 7-for-21 and 1-for-8 from 3-point range.
“We had opportunities right around the basket over, and over, and over, and we just didn’t convert, or EJ would block it or alter several shots,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “Then on our kicks, we shot 18 percent from 3 and that’s not a recipe to beat these guys. You’ve got to give them all the credit.”
Said Muniz: “We just tried to keep them in front. We did a great job of not letting them get downhill and making them have to hit tough jump shots. I credit our guards — Tommie Williams, Will Shumpert, Jaylin Mosby, Lawrence Brazil — because we switched on everything and just tried to keep everything in front of us. They didn’t make their shots and we did.”
Bolingbrook’s leading scorer, Darius Burford, left the game late in the third quarter after colliding with Mosby on a 50-50 ball. He did not return, finishing with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
The Raiders made a charge back, cutting the deficit to 65-60 with 1:35 left before West knocked down its free throws to seal the game.
Liddell earned high praise from Brost, finishing with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 blocks and 3 assists. Now he and his teammates can return to Peoria to defend their title.
“EJ’s good because he’s unselfish, and that makes it really hard defensively,” Brost said. “I thought there was a point there in the game when it was (65-60) and we had five or six consecutive possessions where we turned it over or we took a shot that really was not optimal at that time, and we didn’t score again.”
Standing in Belleville West’s way Friday is Curie, which is ranked No. 1 in the last Associated Press poll. It’s a spot that had belonged the the Maroons, which gives the defending champions added motivation.
“We were No. 1 in the poll and they took our spot when we were going through a rough stretch (lost three of their final six games), but we’re going to show them in Peoria why we deserve to go back-to-back,” Liddell said.
This story was originally published March 12, 2019 at 10:48 PM.