SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- - Jace Easkey is convinced tournament time requires a sense of urgency. He was quick to demonstrate that against Trinity Bloomington.
The 8th grader scored 18 of his 29 points in the first half as No. 3 Our Savior's built a 19-point lead on the way to a 80-58 rout of the Crusaders in the quarterfinals of the LSA CIL Conference Tournament on Thursday Night.
"I just wanted to come out and give it all I had," Easley said. "Tomorrow isn't promised."
Our Savior's advanced in part because Easley shot 8 of 11 from the field, 7 of 9 from the line and added 7 assists and 11 rebounds. Second seeded Our Savior's (21-6) avenged a regular-season loss to Trinity Bloomington (15-11) to advance to Friday's Semifinals against No.5 Our Savior's Jacksonville, a 62-57 winner over New Berlin.
"Offensively, Jace and Conor got us off to strong starts," Eagles coach Phillip Heppe said.
This game was a reversal of a 81-78 loss at Trinity Bloomington on Dec. 20. In that game, Our Savior's was outrebounded and failed to prevent the Crusaders from getting out in transition and earning trips to the foul line. This time, Our Savior's dominated the boards 44-19, including 17-3 in offensive rebounds.
Center Jeremiah Perkins threw around his body, and clogged up the Crusader centers, allowing McCaffrey and Easley to come flying in and grab the boards. Perkins finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
"Our guys were dialed in," Heppe said.
When not hitting shots, the Eagles forced the action with drives to the rim and getting fouled. Our Savior's made 21 of 31 free throws. 7th seed Trinity Bloomington converted 16 of 22. Our Savior's also had a 12-9 edge in transition scoring.
"In the postseason, it's definitely good to get off to a strong start," Easley said. "We were able to set a tone."
Bloomington reduced a 19-point halftime deficit to 13 early in the second half, but got no closer.
David Null scored 21 points and Drew Dicken had 13 for the Crusaders.
Bloomington coach Steve Pillar still holds out hope that his team will get a chance to keep playing in the LSA State Tournament.
"I like this team a lot," Pillar said. "We don't want to put our uniforms up. We can do some exciting things."
The Eagles scored the first nine points. Bloomington closed within four points before Our Savior's pulled away. McCaffrey puncuated the early effort with a one handed layup off an offensive rebound for a 35-16 lead in the final minute of the first half.
BIG PICTURE
Bloomington: The Crusaders were ranked as high as 11th during the regular season, but injuries took a toll. A modestly successful season after 20 wins the year before was a letdown with a LSA State tournament bid.
Our Savior's: The last time the Eagles were as a high as a second seed was 2015, when they were also a No.2. A tourney title could legitimize the team as the No. 1 seed in the LSA State Tournament. ... Sixteen conference wins in the regular season were the most in team history.
UP NEXT
Bloomington: Looking for a State Play-In Game, or season ends.
Our Savior's: Versus Our Savior's Jacksonville in tourney Semifinals on Friday.