Early lead enough as Eastland downs Newman

MOUNT CARROLL – A hot start and some smothering defense led to a regional title for Eastland on Friday night.

The Cougars hit their first four shots and Newman never recovered after several early turnovers in a 55-44 loss in the Class 1A West Carroll Regional final.

“We’re known to start slow [on offense], but defense has always traveled for us, and that’s kind of what we rely on,” Eastland forward Parker Krogman said. “When you can get some defensive stops, it makes it so much easier, and then once you get those points, you can get that lead for the rest of the game.”

Eastland (29-4) built a nine-point lead in the first five minutes and never trailed. The Comets (19-15) got within five a couple of times and trailed 27-21 at halftime.

But the Cougars came out strong in the second half, dissecting Newman’s defense with aggressive cuts and precision passing. After building a 33-23 lead less than three minutes into the third quarter, they led by at least seven points the rest of the way.

“We’ve been preaching to start off fast, because usually in games this year, we’ve kind of had slow starts,” Eastland guard Peyton Spears said. “It helps a lot when you get a fast start. When we make our first shots instead of turning it over or taking bad shots, it’s a big boost.”

“We had six turnovers in the first quarter, and against a good team like that, every little inch is going to be a lot in the game,” Newman point guard Garret Matznick said. “We lost by 11, but it was really only a seven or eight-point game the whole way. We fought hard, but couldn’t catch up.”

While shooting 50% and assisting on 15 of its 22 baskets, Eastland also clamped down defensively, keeping the ball out of shooter Evan Bushman’s hands and forcing Newman to work hard for shots.

Matznick got loose as the game went on, and he finished with 22 points, four assists and three rebounds, but Bushman only attempted three shots, and forward George Jungerman struggled to find space inside and outside.

“They’re elite defensively, and they did a nice job taking Evan out and not giving him any shots,” Newman coach Ray Sharp said. “They’re a really good team, and we knew we had to play really well to beat them. I thought we played really hard. We didn’t shoot it great and we turned it over a little too much, but a lot of that’s due to their defense.”

“I feel like our scout team is really good, and they gave us a good look yesterday,” Spears said. “We knew that [Bushman] can shoot the ball, so we went over all their plays and we knew they were going to set a lot of double screens for him. We felt like we handled it pretty well.”

Krogman led the Cougars with 22 points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Spears added 10 points, five assists and two steals. Adam Awender had 13 points, three rebounds and two assists as Eastland won its second straight regional title.

The Cougars will face Dakota in a 1A Pecatonica Sectional semifinal on Wednesday, and with a win could get another shot at top-ranked Pec in the title game for the second straight season. Two of Eastland’s losses this season have come against the Indians, who also won that Sweet 16 game last year.

“We played real loose, and it goes back to last year; we’ve all been in this situation before, so we were comfortable with it,” Krogman said. “That’s the goal, to get another shot at them. This regional title is kind of just a byproduct of our goal, which is to get that sectional game again. We just wanted to win this regional on the way there. It feels good, but it’s not our end goal.”

John Rowzee had 11 points, five rebounds, two steals and three blocked shots for the Comets, and Jungerman finished with five points and a game-high eight rebounds. Cody McBride scored four points, and Bushman had two free throws and pulled down five boards.

Newman’s season ends after a late five-game winning streak. But with only three seniors – one of whom is a starter – departing, the Comets should come into next season with some confidence.

“We’ve only got a few seniors, so we’ll be back next year,” Matznick said. “We know how good we can be; we’re losing one starter, so we know we can comeback next year and be really good. Hopefully we’ll be back here for a regional championship again.”