SPRINGFIELD – Benjamin Logan defeated Urbana, 69-54, in the Division II boys basketball sectional on Tuesday.
The Raiders jumped out to a 9-0 lead and took a 33-14 lead into halftime.
“I’m not real sure what happened there in the first half. Things were certainly not going our way. We had a stretch where we couldn’t make a free throw and they made every free throw and we didn’t make very many shots and they made every shot,” UHS Coach Jeremy Dixon said.
The Hillclimbers gave up too many second-chance points and gave the ball away early, before a furious rally saw them slice the lead to as few as seven points in the fourth quarter.
Isaiah Fonseca had a game-high 27 points before fouling out for Urbana, with Marion Krebehenne adding 9 and Reid Taylor 8 before both of them fouled out as well.
Urbana (12-11) flew all over the floor defensively and gambled on nearly every pass in a vigorous attempt to claw its way back into contention over the final 12 minutes.
“We just dug ourselves too big a hole. We played in the second half, we were running around like maniacs. And you can’t do that all the time, because you’ll do what we did and foul everybody out,” Dixon said. “It’s no consolation, but when things don’t go your way, the only thing you can do is fight. And we did that.”
Ben Logan’s leading scorer, Cole Jones, scored 25 for the Raiders. Jones averages 12.6 points on the season, but had 16 at intermission, including five connections from beyond the arc.
“We didn’t do a very good job guarding. We gave them open shots, and they made us pay for it, repeatedly. And when we got open shots, we didn’t hit them,” Dixon said. “The only thing I’d add in there is that we have three seniors – Jevin (Edley) and Reid (Taylor) and Ethan (Burnside) … You say it every year, but those three will really, really be missed.”
Benjamin Logan advances to face Northridge here on Friday at 7 p.m.
