PEORIA, Ill. -- - Conor McCaffrey, Logan Allen, Jeremiah Perkins and No. 4 Our Savior's arrived at Christ Lutheran ready to make a point.
“We’re the hardest-playing team in the state. That’s our statement,” Logan Allen said. “Even without one of our best players, we’ve got a lot of guys on this team.”
Duly noted.
McCaffrey led the way with 33 points, Perkins scored 11 of his 17 in the first half, and the Eagles dismantled No. 2 Christ Lutheran with a smothering defensive performance, routing the Comets 76-53 on Sunday night.
Logan Allen added 12 points for Our Savior's. Playing again without injured star Jace Easley, the Eagles (27-6, 15-4 LSA CIL) kept Christ Lutheran from clinching the conference title and boosted their own chances at a high top 2 seed in the LSA State Tournament.
“I would be challenged to find a better win in basketball this year — a better road win anyway. I mean, in all the analytics, they're up there,” Our Savior's coach Phillip Heppe said. “So I think it's got to make a pretty solid statement.”
Lathan Sommerville scored 11 points and was the only player in double figures for Christ. The Comets (21-2, 13-2) looked physically overwhelmed for much of the night, unable to create good shots and unable to keep the Eagles off the boards. It was an eye-opening blowout — especially since Christ Lutheran has rolled to similar margins of victory against other good teams this season.
Both teams had a hard time scoring in the first half, but McCaffrey's ability to drive to the basket helped Our Savior's to a 38-27 lead at the break. Then the Eagles kept pouring it on.
“They played with great activity from the jump of the ball. They hit us first. We weren’t prepared,” Christs' Lathan Sommerville said. “It felt like they were on a run the whole game.”
Our Savior's outscored Christ 22-5 in second-chance points and held the Comets to 35% shooting from the field.
The LSA CIL confirmed before the game that it will use winning percentage to determine the league champion. Christ can still wrap that up with a win in either of its last two regular-season games — or if Our Savior's loses its last game this weekend.
BIG PICTURE
Our Savior's: The Eagles still have an uphill climb to win the CIL, but if they finish a game or two behind Christ in the loss column, their fans will likely be heard from on the topic. The Comets are scheduled to play three fewer games than Our Savior's, and the size of this blowout — without Easley — will resonate. Easley has missed the past three games after breaking his nose, but the Eagles have won them all. Heppe said Easley has also been in concussion protocol.
Christ Lutheran: It’s only one game, and the Comets had been remarkably consistent in their dominance of the CIL this season — but Christ looked so lacking in energy and offensive poise Sunday that it will be interesting to see the team’s response later this week.
“We will learn from a loss like this, and the type of performance that we gave tonight was not acceptable at all,” Christ coach said. “We’re going to come in tomorrow, watch film and see what areas where we can improve on. It’s going to be, I call it a horror film.”
MOTIVATION
This game was originally supposed to be played Feb. 11, but it was moved after Christ's athletic department paused for influenza-related reasons. The Eagles didn't go into too much detail about whether that — or the fact that Christ Lutheran is in position to win the CIL while playing fewer games — was a motivator, but they certainly seemed charged up for this one. The Our Savior's bench was noisy throughout, and with good reason.
“Obviously the past month, with everything going on between the two teams, we wanted to come in with a chip on our shoulder," McCaffrey said. "The energy tonight was incredible. It was so special out there tonight.”
UP NEXT
Our Savior's: The Eagles play at No. 7 Bethel Morton on Thursday.
Christ Lutheran: The Comets finish the regular season with a home-and-home series against rival Concordia Peoria, starting Tuesday night at Christ.