Morris boys fall in final seconds to Rochelle

MORRIS – For most of Wednesday night’s Interstate 8 Conference boys basketball game, Morris held the lead over Rochelle.

Unfortunately for the Redskins (3-5, 3-4), Rochelle had the lead when it mattered most.

That was when Garrett Burdin’s shot from the volleyball 10-foot line went through the hoop as time expired and gave the Hubs a 54-51 win.

The defeat put a damper on an evening that saw MCHS students in the stands for the first time this year, as well as the Morris varsity cheerleaders, who performed their sectional championship routine at halftime and stayed to cheer on the team in the second half.

“[Athletic director] Jeff [Johnson] came up with a great idea,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said. “With as easy as it is to livestream the games for the parents, we wanted to have high school students feel like high school students and let about 30 of them into the game.

“Our guys definitely fed off that energy, and it almost felt like a normal basketball game. All that was missing was the band, the poms and a ‘W.’ ”

Morris, which hosted Sandwich at 6 p.m. Thursday and finished the season at home against Syacmore at 7 p.m. Friday, came out strong on both ends of the floor. They went 5 of 6 from 3-point range in the first quarter in building an 18-10 lead. While the offense cooled a bit as the game went on, the defense remained stingy, holding a Rochelle team that had scored 97 points the previous night to just 54.

“We knew they scored 97 in their last game,” Blumberg said. “But our guys played solid defense and kept the game at a pace where we could compete.”

Morris took a 31-24 lead into halftime and led 46-38 entering the fourth quarter.

Rochelle closed the gap to 48-45 at the fourth quarter mask break with 5:11 to play and trimmed it to 48-47 on a basket by Tanner Lager at the 3:21 mark. Colin Cummings, who tied with teammate Myles Johnston for game-high scoring honors with 14 points, hit a 3-pointer to put Morris ahead 51-47 with less than three minutes to go.

Rochelle took advantage of Morris going 0 for 4 from the free-throw line down the stretch and got a basket by Ryan Simmons with 2:35 left to make it 51-49 and Lager tied it at 51 with 1:15 to play on a baseline drive.

Morris ran its offense in the final minute and took time off the clock before Rochelle came away with a steal with 26 seconds left. The Hubs called a timeout with 18.3 seconds left and another with 6.3 to go. The Rochelle inbounds play was defended well by Morris, but Burdin launched his game-winner from more than 35 feet away.

“We gave up some baseline drives late and our help side defense wasn’t there,” Blumberg said. “And we had some empty fourth-quarter possessions and missed some free throws.

“But I am unbelievably proud of the effort and enthusiasm the guys played with tonight. The hard part will be to come back and do it again in 21½ hours. I have faith in these guys. They have yet to disappoint us with how they have handled adversity all season.”

After Johnston and Cummings, Zack Romak had nine points and seven rebounds for the Redskins, while Nathan Jepson had six points. Johnston finished with five assists and Patrick McPherson had five rebounds.

“Myles is seeing the floor unbelievably well right now,” Blumberg said. “He is becoming a threat behind the arc, he can drive for a basket, and he sees the floor well. He is becoming a very solid point guard.”

Sophomores

Morris 39, Rochelle 38: Morris led after three quarters, but Rochelle took the lead with less than a minute remaining. Freshman guard A.J. Zweeres made two free throws on Morris’ final possession, and the Morris defense rebuffed the final Rochelle attack in the final seconds. Jack Amiano led Morris (5-6, 5-5) with 12 points, while Gage Phillips added nine.