Fieldcrest rallies past Dee-Mack for share of HOIC championship

MINONK — In a year where adversity was everywhere, the tears streaming down the face of Fieldcrest coach Matt Winkler said it all.

The Knights, needing a win in their very last game of this short, troubled season to clinch a share of the Heart of Illinois Conference championship, found themselves cold from the field and trailing Deer Creek-Mackinaw by 11 points early in the second quarter.

But as they had all season, they battled back and crept within seven at the half and one point through three periods before exploding for 28 points in the fourth, grabbing the lead for good on a Jaxon Cusac-McKay bucket with 4 minutes, 17 seconds to play.

The Knights then used the last of Henry Lorton’s huge 22-point effort to hold on for a 64-56 victory over the Chiefs here Friday night.

“It was all heart. This is a feisty group, and I love them. They just wouldn’t be denied tonight.”

—  Fieldcrest boys basketball coach Matt Winkler

They key play came with just over 3 minutes left when Lorton tipped in his own miss to make the FHS lead three points, then turned a Cory Land steal from D-M’s Lane Thomann at midcourt into a three-point play to give the Knights the cushion they needed to claim their 12th win in 13 games and their 14th league title overall, second in a row under Winkler.

“The difference in this one was right here,” said Winkler, tapping on his chest. “It was all heart. This is a feisty group, and I love them. They just wouldn’t be denied tonight. We didn’t have our best ballgame tonight. We didn’t shoot all that well.

“They have given me every ounce of energy and emotion that a coach could possibly want. I am just so proud of them, and they’ll be special in my heart forever.”

It appeared early that cold shooting would do Fieldcrest in, making 3 of 13 from the field and trailing the Chiefs 17-7 after one period, thanks to nine of the 19 points by Thomann, and 19-8 on a Justin Reedy basket with 6:58 showing in the second.

But that’s where the comeback began.

Noah Nordstrom, who finished with 15 points, canned a 3, then was fouled on his next two trey tries and made five of the six tosses. Those, coupled with six Land points, cut the deficit to just four just before the half.

Meanwhile, the Knights’ defensive pressure seemed to wear on the Dee-Mack attack, limiting them to 2-of-9 shooting and forcing nine turnovers in the third period alone. A Lorton runner in the lane made it 37-36 Chiefs heading to the fourth.

“The middle two quarters, that’s just how good Fieldcrest is, and they have Jaxon McKay over there,” said Dee-Mack coach Mitch Holmgren, his team finishing 12-3. “He’s gonna keep coming at you. We talked about this being a boxing match, one team throws a punch, the other team comes back and throws a punch. ...

“We knew that the fourth quarter was just going to be a battle of who could make plays down the stretch, and tonight it was them.”

A Lorton triple gave FHS its first lead with 5:24 showing, and that Cusac-McKay deuce, paired with a Land floater, made it 53-49 Knights.

The lead was three when Land forced Thomann to stumble at midcourt and, while falling down, underhand the ball to Lorton. That three-point play, plus a Cusac-McKay bucket — the last of his 11 points — a minute later, widened the gap to 60-52.

“That was a huge swing, gave us just a little bit of breathing room and helped fight them off,” Winkler said. “We challenged Henry. … They had a big guy on him, and we kept challenging him to go to the bucket, and he and Cory (Land) finally listened, Jaxon too. We didn’t shoot very well from the perimeter tonight, but we got to the lane, we made some free throws down the stretch.

“But really, defense was the key. We found a way to rise up when we weren’t having our best night and found a way to win a championship.”