The Byron Tigers held a brief one-point lead early in the fourth quarter of their IHSA 2A Boys Basketball State Semifinal game against the Benton Rangers on Thursday evening.
Senior guard Ryan Tucker drove to the basket for a contested layup that gave Byron a 37-36 lead over Benton with about six minutes remaining in the game. But the Tigers were unable to hold off the Rangers and 6-foot-8 forward Docker Tedeschi, who drained a fadeaway 3-pointer that sparked a late Benton run and enabled the Rangers to edge the Tigers 50-42. The loss moved Byron (30-3, 8-1 Big Northern) into the third-place game against the Williamsville Bullets.
“It’s tough to have our worst shooting performances on one of the biggest stages, but to come back and lead by one shows our heart,” said Tucker, one of the five IHSA 2A All-State First Team honorees this season. “We knew that our defense would turn them over a little bit and we forced a turnover that helped us take the lead late. Our defense has been a staple for us all season and we didn’t turn them over as much as we wanted to. I think that played in their favor.”
Tedeschi fueled the Ranger offense during the first quarter, where the IHSA 2A All-State First Team honoree scored seven of his 14 points, with most of his points coming around the rim. Benton’s Evan Munoz drained a pair of corner triples in the first half, helping the Rangers command a 19-14 over the Tigers after the buzzer sounded at the end of the opening quarter.
“We felt coming in that we couldn’t let them run all of their offensive sets and we thought we could do that through our ball pressure,” head coach Matt Huels said. “We stopped turning them over late in the second half and the game was played more at their pace. We had 56 shots and with these kids, we’re likely not going to score 42 points. It was an off shooting night.”
Despite a slow start on the defensive end, Byron cranked up its ball pressure as the game moved forward. But the Tigers struggled to finish shots around the basket, as the 6-foot-8 forward Tedeschi proved to be a deterrent with 10 defensive rebounds and six blocked shots. Byron finished just 1-for-13 from 3-point range and shot 30.3 percent from the field despite taking 56 total shots to 39 total shots for the Rangers, who made 46.1 percent of their shots.
“It’s a tough setup since our kids have to go right back out there and play for third place,” Huels said. “I don’t have a doubt, though, that our kids will be ready and we’re fortunate to have one more chance to rebound and be one of two teams in our class who ends the year with a win.”
In a battle of No. 1 seeded teams, Benton (33-3, 9-0 Southern Illinois River-to-River) held a 30-23 halftime lead over Byron, with Isaac Billington scoring nine first-half points for the Rangers. The Tigers made a second-half push to claim the lead, leaning on senior guard Carson Buser, who found success attacking the basket. Buser led all Byron players with 16 points and helped the Tigers bring Benton within one point, 36-35, after three quarters.
“We weren’t able to turn them over early and I thought they were able to slow the game down,” Buser said. “We played at more of their pace and we play better when we’re shooting the ball well, but we didn’t do that tonight. We were able to keep it close because we can still get to the basket, even when we’re not shooting it well. I trust everyone in this room to go out there and play their best at all times. It was a tough loss, unfortunately, especially as one of our seniors.”
As the pace of the game slowed down, Tucker’s layup early in the fourth quarter allowed Byron to hold a one-point lead, but a 7-3 run from the Rangers over the next two minutes quickly swung momentum back to the Benton side. The Rangers clinched their win from the free-throw line, where they finished 8-for-12 in the game. Benton advances to take on Chicago Phillips for the state championship, which will be played at 1 p.m. on Saturday at the State Farm Center.
Billington led all scorers with 18 points on the Benton side. Tucker totaled 10 points for the Tigers, while senior forward Jack Hiveley finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore forward Caden Considine added seven points and six rebounds.
