Byron survived Mooseheart's upset bid and ended the Red Ramblers' basketball season Wednesday night, but that tells little of the hold the Red Ramblers had on the No. 1-seeded Tigers' tails for better than three quarters.
Mooseheart kept Byron within sight throughout the contest and carried a 34-31 lead into the final three minutes of play. Byron consolidated at that point and scored the final nine points of the game and claimed a 40-34 Oregon Regional semifinal victory.
``I'm very proud,`` Mooseheart senior Stephen Pinto said. ``We played very well for three and a half quarters. The last three minutes, we maybe didn't play as well as we should have against a team ranked so high.``
Byron (26-1) finished the season ranked No. 11 in the IHSA Class A poll. But Mooseheart (17-7) played tenacious defense and never let the favored school pull away.
``We knew we had to play better,`` Mooseheart coach Jeff Perales said. ``We didn't play very well in the first half (Monday) against Oregon. Our intensity was up. We knew we were playing the No. 1-seeded team and we came ready to play.``
After one quarter, Mooseheart trailed 12-10 and the Byron halftime lead was only 18-17. Despite foul trouble that haunted Mooseheart starters Pinto, Anthony Westbrook and Chris Morones, the Ramblers forged a 30-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
And when Westbrook hit a rebound layup with 3:14 to play, the lead stood at 34-31.
``Defensively, we did the job,`` Pinto said. ``They just hit their free throws.``
In the fourth quarter, where Byron was 9-of-12 free throwing, Mooseheart missed its three free throw attempts.
Mooseheart returns the bulk of its team next year, though Pinto and fellow starter Nic Grasty graduate. Pinto finished Wednesday's game as the Ramblers top scorer with 11 points.
``We're losing two starting seniors but we come back with three seniors next year,`` Perales said. ``We had three sophomores who played quite a bit this year - and more than I expected tonight with the foul trouble. Our future is pretty bright. I'm excited. I can't wait for next year.``
Mooseheart's leading scorer, Mike Tovar, scored 8 points.
Travis Bond led Byron with 18 points but was his team's only player in double-figure scoring.
| GAME STATS |
Mooseheart: |
| Kendor |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Moreno |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Morones |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
| Tovar |
4 |
0 |
0 |
8 |
|
| Pinto |
5 |
1 |
2 |
12 |
|
| Mays |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
| Westbrook |
2 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
|
| Grasty |
1 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| TOTALS |
14 |
4 |
9 |
34 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Byron |
| Feimster |
0 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
|
| Voiles |
2 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
|
| Lillibridge |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
| Pickering |
2 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
|
| Rozum |
4 |
0 |
2 |
8 |
|
| Bond |
5 |
8 |
10 |
18 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| TOTALS |
12 |
31 |
21 |
40 |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Mooseheart |
10 |
7 |
13 |
4 |
34 |
| Bryon |
12 |
6 |
9 |
13 |
40 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
3-point goals:
Morones 1, Grasty 1, Voiles 1 |
| Fouled out: None |
|
Mooseheart's bench players and coaches watch as the final seconds ebb off the clock in the team's regional loss to Byron.
In the stands, Mooseheart's fans gave Byron's a run for their money by cheering loudly throughout the contest.
Mooseheart's Mike Tovar scored 8 points in the season-ending loss to Byron and constantly had Tigers players draped on him when he got the basketball.
In his last game as a Mooseheart basketball player, Stephen Pinto scored 11 points to lead his team in scoring.
Foul trouble by some of Mooseheart's starters meant extended playing time for players like sophomore Gabe Kendor, who helped press Byron's players in an attempt to regain the lead.
Floyd Mays looks for a player to pass the ball to in Mooseheart's 40-34 loss to Byron. The defeat ended the Red Ramblers activity in the Oregon Regional.
in the game, Mooseheart coach Jeff Perales exhorts his team to keep up the intensity while it tries to come back against Byron. |
