BLOOMINGTON – Bloomington Central Catholic dropped a 60-50 decision in the championship game of the Small School Boys’ bracket at the State Farm Bloomington-Normal Holiday Classic on Dec.31.

Fifth seeded BCC defeated 12th seed Peoria Christian, 78-55; beat fourth seed St. Joseph Ogden, 63-58, and dethroned top seed Rockford Lutheran, 48-42 to get to the final game, while 2nd seed QND doubled up on Prairie Central in round one, 64-32; beat St. Joseph Ogden, 63-58 in round two; and beat Stanford Olympia, 59-43, in their semifinal, to get to the title contest.

In a contest held at Shirk Center on Illinois Wesleyan University’s campus, BCC was able to keep pace with QND in the first quarter, on the strength of threes from senior John Rave, junior Matt Barnes, and sophomore James Morris, allowing QND only a two-point edge, 17-15, going into the second quarter.

But as that second quarter began, threes by junior guards Carter Cramsey, Johnny Ray, and a layup from senior forward Tanner Stuckman pushed QND out to a 29-20 advantage at 2:36 until halftime. That lead jumped to 31-20 when Stuckman struck again just over a minute later. The Raiders’ defense got impatient with 5.6 seconds left as QND junior forward Justin Bottorff fouled BCC senior Jake Baughman, who sank two free throws, closing QND’s lead, 36-22 going into halftime.

Sophomore Austyn Ellison opened the third quarter for BCC with a basket, pulling the Saints within 12, 36-24. But Ray and Stuckman combined for five unanswered points, pushing QND ahead, 41-24, at 5:24 left in the period. At that point, BCC went on the first of two scoring runs – an 8-0 streak – as junior Jacob Gilmore, Rave, and Baughman hit buckets and Rave adder a free throw to pull BCC within 11, 42-31, at the 2:46 mark.

BCC’s second scoring rush came from baskets from Gilmore ad Baughman and two Baughman free throws. QND’s lead, as a result, was cut to nine, 46-37, going into the fourth quarter.

A Baughman free throw opened the fourth quarter, cutting QND’s advantage, 46-38. After that, baskets by junior Jacob Mayfield and Stuckman, complimented with free throws by senior guard Aubrey Reis put QND up, 52-40 with 5:01 remaining, had BCC head coach Jason Welch call time. After that, BCC outscored QND, 10-3, coming within five, 55-50, with 2:11 remaining. That close a margin had QND head coach Kevin Meyer calling for time to consider his team’s options.

But after that time out, BCC fell into foul trouble, as four different QND players went to the free throw line to successfully score 5-of-8 free shots, resulting in the final score. Mayfield led QND with 18 points, followed by 16 from Stuckman. Rave and Baughman led BCC’s effort, with 16 points, and 15, respectfully.

“Overall, it was a good win for us,” QND’s Meyer said. “Overall, I’m very proud of my guys. BCC ratcheted up their defense in the third quarter, and we just needed to be a little bit stronger.”

“Quincy Notre Dame dictated all the terms in the game,” BCC’s Welch told reporters afterward. “They were able to get whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. I didn’t think our kids responded very well, especially on our defensive end.”

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