Manual awaits 'Bago in DeKalb

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Tuesday’s supersectional at DeKalb promises to be a dandy when undefeated Winnebago takes on No. 2 ranked Peoria Manual.

Winnebago is ranked third and undefeated in 31 games after defeating Princeton 70-54 in Friday’s sectional finals at Byron. Manual (22-7) blasted the NCIC Lincoln’s Kewanee Boilermakers 79-31 for the sectional title at Farmington. The Rams knocked out fourth-ranked Fieldcrest in Wednesday’s semifinals, giving the Knights their first loss of the season.

Tuesday’s date in DeKalb could very well decide the state championship, though top-ranked Hales Franciscan figures to have a say.

Winnebago (31-0) seeks its fourth trip to the state tournament finals in Peoria in the 2000s, and Princeton coach Jesse Brandt likes their chances against anybody they play.
“They’re deep. They got everything you need ... shooters, size, and they handle the ball,” he said.

Manual returns two starters from last year’s team that fell to Princeton in the sectional finals, including Ball State-bound Marvin Jordan, a senior guard, and 6-6 junior Brandon Watson. Lawrence Alexander led the Rams with 31 points in the sectional semifinal win over Fieldcrest and came back with 19 in the title game.

Tip-off is 8 p.m. Tuesday at NIU’s Convocation Center following the 1A supersectional contest between Lanark Eastland vs. Little Ten champ Newark, which starts at 6 p.m.

• Rest/speed lifted Bago: Winnebago coach Joe Murphy told the BCR the extra day of rest and his team’s speed were the difference for the Indians against Princeton Friday.

“I think we had a little more speed than they had,” Murphy said. “We were able to keep it going most of the game and keep that pressure on them. Our goal coming in was to keep pressure on the ball all the time, not let them breathe, not let them set their offense up.”

• Ohio-Winnebago connection: Longtime Princeton Tiger basketball fans will remember vividly their home team falling to tiny neighbor Ohio in the 1986 sectional semifinals at Prouty Gym. There is a tie from that game years ago connected to Friday’s sectional championship at Byron.

Winnebago senior Brad Reinke, broke open Friday’s game with Princeton by knocking down four, first-half threes and scoring 11 of 16 first-half points in the second quarter. A second-year starter for the Indians, Reinke has followed in the footsteps of his brother, Wes, who was a member of the Indians’ state teams in 2004 and 2005.

Their oldest brother, Mitch, played for the Indians in the early 2000s, and their younger brother, Matt, is a freshman and leading scorer of this year’s sophomore squad.

The tie to the Ohio Bulldogs? Their father, Jeff, is the former sports editor of the Dixon Telegraph. He attributes his family’s passion to basketball in large part to his coverage of and affection for the Ohio Bulldogs teams in the mid-’80s.

“I had a ton of respect for the way that team handled itself on and off the court,” Jeff Reinke said. “Lloyd Johnson was a tremendous coach, and the way the community supported them was so impressive to me that I hoped one day that my boys could experience that type of thing.”

The elder Reinke has been a strong follower of former Ohio Bulldog Brad Bickett’s coaching career at Bureau Valley. Reinke has coached all of his boys’ teams in youth and AAU ball.

• Super matchups: At other supersectional sights, Hales Franciscan (27-2) will meet unranked Elmhurst Timothy Christian (24-6) at Joliet Township High School; Robinson (24-5) will face No. 6 Decatur St. Teresa (29-1) at the University of Illinois-Springfield; and unranked Murphysboro (29-2) vs. No. 8 Breese Central (29-3) will do battle in Frankfort.

Hales Franciscan beat No. 9 Paxton-Buckley-Loda 66-56 in Friday’s sectional finals at Clifton Central after taking out No. 10 Herscher 64-42 Tuesday.

In another matchup of ranked teams, No. 8 Robinson beat No. 5 Teutopolis 71-65 at Effingham. Robinson’s all-state 7-foot center Meyers Leonard (18 points) is a second cousin to Princeton junior Michael Murray.

Breese Central beat Pana 69-44 at Nashville. Breese beat Princeton 50-37 at the Riverton Shootout Feb. 13.

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