East St. Louis rolls past Orphans into basketball super-sectional
The Centralia Orphans had the East St. Louis Flyers right where they wanted them Friday night — for about one half. The notion didn’t last long after halftime.
In the third quarter, the Flyers turned up their defensive pressure and parlayed a 16-4 run into a 69-51 win to claim the Class 3A sectional championship at Waterloo High School.
Top-seeded East St. Louis (30-4) moves on to face Decatur MacArthur in an IHSA Class 3A super-sectional Monday at 7 p.m. at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield.
East St. Louis coach Mark Chambers praised his team’s resilience and grit after being patient and eventually wearing down a talented Centralia club.
“We’re a resilient group, and we’re confident, and when we’re playing free and smart, it’s hard to beat us because we have so many people that can score the basketball,” Chambers said.
Scoring was hardly a problem for the Flyers, as East Side had three players in double figures. Senior forward Jamison White pumped in 21 points, point guard Phillip Jones scored 20 and Alex Jones chipped in 17.
No. 2 seed Centralia slowed the pace early and took a 12-7 lead thanks to a pair of Archie Goewey free throws and a Kenny Bratton backdoor bucket.
East St. Louis tied it 25-25 on a White putback in the final minute of the first half, but Bratton answered with a traditional three-point play at the other end, giving the Orphans a 28-25 lead at the break.
Centralia coach Lee Bennett felt good about his team’s position at intermission.
“We played well in the first half,” Bennett said.
Midway through the third quarter, the Flyers heated up their defense with a full-court press and trap as White and Jones each scored, triggering a blistering 16-4 run that pushed the Flyers to a commanding 46-34 lead late in the period.
“We just turned up the pressure and got them uncomfortable and that was the main thing,” Jones said.
Chambers said the third quarter has been the Flyers’ money quarter all season, and that was the case again against Centralia.
“The third quarter, we wanted to come out fast, and I think we held them to like six points,” Chambers said. “In the third quarter we try to come in and impose our will.”
White, Jones and Johnson continued to click in the fourth quarter as the lead grew to as much as 19 points with about 6 1/2 minutes left. Jones also turned in a strong floor game with nine assists.
“I was just getting by my man and getting to the rim,” Jones said. “If somebody was open, I would kick it out to them.”
For Bennett and Centralia, it was a rough end to a very successful 32-2 season.
“We didn’t make the shots we needed to make, and the game was a little bit different in the second half as it got way more physical, and we just didn’t execute,” Bennett said.
Michael Organ led Centralia with 14 points, and Bratton had 10.
This story was originally published March 6, 2026 at 11:16 PM.