Bobcats prove to be Little Ten's big kahuna

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

SOMONAUK -- When it was all over, the first thing Somonauk's Shayne Peterson did was clutch the first-place trophy.

After all, his 18 points helped the host Bobcats beat Newark 61-52 in the Little Ten Tournament title game Friday night.

"I'm at a loss of words right now," Peterson said. "It's gone from the worst ... . We've battled all through practice and all season. We are just reaching our peak. We are heading in the right direction."

Newark (16-5) was seeded first and Somonauk (15-8) second coming into the tournament. But the Bobcats and their fans asserted their home-court advantage. Afterward, the student section crammed the floor and mobbed the players, who were given the chance to cut down the nets as if they won a regional or sectional title.

"I knew it was going to be packed in here," Somonauk's Andrew Fischer said. "It's great."

Newark had the momentum early, as it led 19-10 after a basket from Drew Tollefson (11 points) with 5:22 left in the first half. Right after that, however, Somonauk caught fire and ended the quarter on a 13-0 run, led by three 3-pointers from Brad Baker.

"We were making good decisions," Newark coach Rick Tollefson said. "(But) their defense, I give them credit. I think it got to us, but our decision-making, our quick shooting (and) unwillingness to take the ball to the post ... . It just seemed like they took us out of our game."

"Jitters, a lot of jitters," Peterson added on being down early. "We had to shake them off. We came through. I'm so proud of the team."

At the break, the Bobcats led 23-19 after outscoring the Norsemen 15-6 in the second quarter. That 13-0 run turned into an 18-0 rally when Peterson and Nick Eichas scored the first five points of the third quarter.

From there, the best Newark could do was slice Somonauk's lead to 40-36 with 6:32 left in the game after a 9-0 run. The Bobcats led by as many as 12 the remainder of the game.

In addition to Peterson, Somonauk was led by Fischer's 12 points and seven rebounds. Newark's leader was John Avery, who totaled 13 points and six rebounds.

To get to the finals, Somonauk defeated LaMoille 72-57 on Thursday.

"They didn't have a whole lot of time from (Thursday's) game to today, so that was probably a good thing," Somonauk coach Ron Hunt said of his players. "They didn't have time to think too much."