Gibault facing similar foe in pursuit of Class 1A state championship in Champaign

The Gibault boys basketball team will be making its first trip to the state tournament since the 1998-99 season Thursday at State Farm Center in Champaign.

Here is a preview of the Hawks’ semifinal game:

Gibault vs. Cornerstone Christian, Class 1A

Game time: 10 a.m. Thursday.

How they got here: The Hawks defeated Illini Bluffs 45-44 on Kameron Hanvey’s 3-pointer at the buzzer to capture the Jacksonville Super-Sectional. The Cyclones defeated St. Francis de Sales 58-28 to capture the Normal Super-Sectional.

Records: Gibault is 30-7 as an independent. Cornerstone Christian is 32-5 and went 7-0 in the East Central Illinois Conference to capture the league title.

Gibault history notes: Dennis Rueter is in his 43rd season as the Hawks coach, having amassed nearly 800 wins with the program ... the Hawks reached the state finals in 1998-99 when the IHSA only had two classes ... Gibault won its first two tournament games in dominating fashion — 67-47 against Normal University and 65-37 against Quincy Notre Dame .... the Hawks then led the title game 43-32 with a little more than 3 minutes left only to see Rock Falls go on a game-ending 13-0 run — capped by a last-second 3-pointer — to win 45-43.

Gibault players to watch: Kaden Augustine (senior, G), 16.9 points per game; Gavin Kesler (junior, F), 15.5 points per game.

Cornerstone Christian player to watch: Jakson Baber (senior, F), 1,000-point scorer; Tate Witt (senior, G), shooting 45% from 3-point range.

What Hawks coach Dennis Rueter is saying: ”We’re a man-to-man defense team. We try to put some pressure on the ball most of the time — obviously dictated a little bit by the other team’s personnel. We’re not very big. On the offensive end, we just kind of spread you out. We’ve got a lot of kids who can attack you with the dribble. When we have our starters in there, we have five kids who can make a 3-pointer and five kids who can beat you off the dribble. I’ve been around here a long time and we don’t do things a lot different than we did 20-30 years ago. Cornerstone Christian is similar to us from what I can see. They’re not very big. They’ve got some kids who can beat you on the dribble. They have pretty good athletes. We can’t let them break us down off the dribble. They’ve got some quickness and they can get in the lane on you.”

What Redbirds coach John Schippert is saying: ”A lot of these kids have been together since fifth grade. I’ve had these guys four years. They know what they’re getting as a coach and I know what I’m getting as players. The guys are really hungry to show what they can do. We love to get up the floor as much as we can. Because they’ve been together so long and played so many summer games together and have gone to Chicago to play games, nothing scares us. These guys have got so much tenacity and grit and they love the game of basketball and they love playing with each other. We’re similar styles and similar programs. It’ll be interesting as we prepare for them.”

Next up: The winner plays for the state championship at 11 a.m. Saturday against Tuscola (27-6) or Scales Mound (32-5). The loser plays for third place at 7 p.m. Thursday.