WILMINGTON — There was no revenge on a team that beat it a few weeks prior for Coal City Wednesday at the IHSA Class 2A Wilmington Boys Basketball Regional.
Two days after avenging a prior loss to Reed-Custer, the Coalers met Herscher for the second time in February in the regional's second round. Herscher lived up to its top seeding in the regional, pummeling the Coalers 59-35 to improve to 25-1 on the season. Coal City also fell 53-35 at Herscher back on Feb. 2.
Limited to two field goals on 22 attempts during the entire first half, the Coalers started 0-for-5 from the field as the Tigers scored the game's first 13 points. By halftime, the Coalers were down 37-7. It was a deficit that proved far too much to overcome.
"It kind of makes you go frantic out there," said senior Coal City guard Alec Smith of the Herscher defense. "If you don't make decisions right away, they make you pay. They double team and still rotate before you can get a pass to the open guy."
Four layups — two by senior post Mike Krygowski — and a 3-pointer from senior Alex Petkunas keyed the Tigers' 13-0 run that spanned nearly 5 minutes of the game. Freshman guard Ryan Krob finally got the Coalers on the board by turning a pass from Smith into a made leaner and a 3-point play when he made the free throw after being fouled.
Herscher responded by scoring immediately on an alley-oop pass and layup from Brock Pfeiffer to Justin Ruckman and scoring the final 6 points of the opening quarter. It followed its 19-point first quarter with an 18-point second. Coal City's 4 second-quarter points came when sophomore Matt Halloran put back his own miss just over a minute in and senior Nick Green made two free throws with 5:05 showing on the scoreboard.
During the first half alone, the Tigers made 15-of-27 field-goal attempts and outrebounded the Coalers 20-11.
"They're so solid from top to bottom and they're one of the best defensive teams we've seen in a long time," said Chris Spencer, who coached the Coalers for the final time. "They're 6-5, 6-5 and 6-5 up front, and we're 6-foot, maybe 6-foot and 5-10. They got so many offensive rebounds and second chance looks and that made a huge difference for them early."
Against Reed-Custer on Monday, the Coalers were 11-for-21 from the field during the first half and went on to win 61-38. The hot start evaded them against the Tigers.
"We started out well and were able to finish, and our size advantage was a big help to us," said Herscher coach Todd Schwarzkopf. "Against Reed-Custer, [the Coalers] got lots of good looks. We made it a point to not give them any looks, or to make them shoot over our hands."
The Coalers more than doubled their point total during the third quarter, though they still trailed 45-18 at its conclusion. Senior forward Matt Yakos and Green each went 2-for-2 from the foul line. Krob hit a 3, and Green made a pair of regular baskets.
Green had a short basket and four free throws on Coal City's first three possessions of the fourth quarter, sparking the Coalers to outscore the Tigers 17-14 during the final 8 minutes. Krob hit a long 2-pointer before Halloran scored the final 5 Coalers points late.
"I was proud of the way came back somewhat and didn't give up," said Smith, who is joined by Nate Carpenter, Green and Yakos in the class of seniors the Coalers will lose. "I think us seniors showed we are strong willed this year. Things got kind of tough when we weren't winning that much, but we stuck with it, and kept playing and having fun."
Coal City started the season with a 51-49 victory over Prairie Central at the Gibson City Melvin Sibley Thanksgiving Tournament and was 3-2 after five games. After that, the Coalers lost six straight. They ended up 10-19 overall.
"There were a lot of ups and downs," said Spencer. "We started off well at Gibson City and then hit a skid. And we hit a couple more skids as the season went on. But the best thing I can say basketball-wise about this team is that they were playing their best basketball at the end of the year. We had some guys quit and also had problems with illness, but those that stuck with it were a good group that certainly improved."