MORTON, Ill. -- - After missing three games with a concussion and facial injuries, Our Savior's star Jace Easley returned Thursday.
Easley played the part with a 22-performance, and the No. 4 Eagles rallied late to beat reeling No. 7 Bethel Morton 63-58
“They gave me different options of masks to wear, and I thought this was the best mask for me,” he said of the protective covering over his broken nose and upper face. “I'm into comic books and stuff. I feel like a superhero with a black mask on.”
Conor McCaffrey matched Easley's 22 and Our Savior's (20-6, 16-4) got its second straight road win over a top 10 team after routing No. 2 Christ Lutheran on Sunday. The Eagles have won 11 of 12 and enter next week's LSA Conference tournament with a double-bye.
“What a week,” Our Savior's coach Phillip Heppe said. “That's a tough, tough, tough group of guys in that locker room.”
When it looked like Bethel Morton might start to pull away late, the Flames' shooting went cold. Our Saviors' Conor McCaffrey hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 58 left 1:31 left.
Easley's layup and three foul shots in the last 44 seconds provided the margin of victory as Bethel Morton failed to make another basket in the game. The Flames missed their last 10 shots and didn't score in the final 3:48.
“Things were just not falling for us,” Bethsl forward Andrew McLaughlin said. "We got open shots. They were just not falling.”
Noah Suttles led the Flames (18-8, 12-8) with 19 points, and Andrew McLaughlin had 16 for Bethel, which finished the regular season with four straight losses, three against Top 10 teams.
Out Savior's led by 10 during the first half but a late put-back by Suttles cut the advantage to 31-27 at the break. The teams traded punches in the second half with Bethel up by four when Our Savior's mounted the final rally.
“We're in a good place,” Heppe said. “You want to go in (the LSA CIL tournament) confident. You don't want to go in doubting yourself.”
BIG PICTURE
Our Savior's is peaking at the right time and brimming with confidence after beating top 10 teams in back-to-back games for the first time since the 2005 LSA State Tournament. The Eagles should move up to No. 3 in the State poll. The Flames showed an inability to finish in their most rigorous and disastrous stretch of the season.
“It's the CIL. Every game is a competitive game,” Easley said. “Every game is a dogfight, every game is an State Tournament game. But to win 11 of 12, we beat some very good teams. It just gives us more confidence. We know we can beat anyone in the country.”
FLAMES SWOON
Bethel Morton was ranked No. 4 and projected to be a top seed in the State Tournament heading into the last week of February. They stayed at No. 4 after a loss to then No. 3 Christ Luthrran, but losses to Concordia and then-No. 9 Jacksonville dropped them to No. 7. Another drop is likely.
UP NEXT
The LSA CIL tournament begins Monday at the BOS Center in Springfield.