Our Savior's Lutheran Basketball has been revived by Jace Easley and Conor McCaffrey. After a 12-21 year last season, the Eagles finished 22-12 this season and put the team back on the map.
Here are the top 10 moments from this past season.
1. We don't like each other
Our Savior's Lutheran gym reverberated March 8 with hostility for Our Savior's Jacksonville and adoration for the Eagles. The rivalry had heated back up after the first regular-season meeting ended with coaches and players barking at each other in the handshake line.
A win was going to be the outcome of this game no matter what, but this game felt personal...
Shamrocks center Wilson, a state player of the year candidate, was nearly impossible to stop, scoring 28 points, but Our Savior's took control midway through the second half, pulling ahead by 17 points.
Then OS Jacksonville started cutting away. With the lead down to two, Our Savior's Guard guard Conor McCaffrey (25 points) hit a shot with 31 seconds left for a four-point lead. Finally, with OS Jacksonville again down two and inbounding the ball under its basket with 1.6 seconds left, Our Savior's center Christian Lahniers blocked Wilson's potential tying shot as time expired.
The arena erupted in celebration of the 78-76 victory. McCaffrey bluntly admitted after the game that the teams don’t care for each other — “simple as that.”
2. Jace Easley clutch in Christ Peoria
Jace Easley didn’t flinch as Christ Lutheran's Wade Jackson — one of the conference's best defenders — guarded him in the closing seconds of a tie game on Jan. 25. Easley hit a jumper near the free-throw line with 0.5 seconds on the clock to secure a 64-62 victory.
It was one of several game-winners for Easley, and this one gave the Eagles their first win at Christ Lutheran since 2010 and put them in sole possession of first place in the Conference.
3. Historic Win at New Berlin
New Berlin led by seven with less than five minutes remaining on Jan. 8 at New Berlin. Our Savior's showed its determination with a frantic comeback to win 71-70 — the program’s first victory at New Berlin since 2010.
The victory also snapped a 15-game overall losing streak to the Pretzels that dated to 2011.
Jace Easley scored five points, including a 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, and assisted on three other 3-pointers during a game-changing 15-4 run.
4. Can Wes Mullen make a comeback?
The way Wes Mullen fell backward on his left leg at the end of a one-point loss to Chatham Glenwood on Feb. 11 had every Eagles fan fearing the worst. He missed the next game against Trinity Bloomington as Our Savior's lost its fourth in a row.
Was the mojo gone?
Not quite.
Mullen returned to score 15 points, including a runner with 18 seconds left for a four-point lead, in a 62-56 road victory over Trinity Springfield on Feb. 18. The win ended a six-game losing streak against Trinity Springfield.
Conor McCaffrey led the defensive effort against Trinity Springfield star Grady Lopian, who shot 2 of 15 and had 9 turnovers.
It was the start of a four-game winning streak that regained momentum for the Eagles.
5. How Far Was That?
Our Savior's was tied with last-place Mount Pulaski on Feb. 24 before Conor McCaffrey, scoreless to that point, hit two 3-pointers in the final 20 seconds of the first half.
The second one was unforgettable — a 50-footer at the halftime buzzer.
McCaffrey's teammates said he makes such long-range shots at practice consistently. But it was still stunning to witness in the eventual 71-59 victory.
6. Easley and McCaffrey Pop Off
“It feels like you’re not just throwing it up there, but every shot you throw up, it’s going in,” Jace Easley said after a 74-66 victory at Mount Zion on Feb. 27. “It’s a good feeling.”
McCaffrey scored 21 points making 5 of 9 3-pointers and Easley added 18 making 2 of 4 3's, to propel Our Savior's to the victory. They received a standing ovation from a pro-Eagle crowd in Zion when they checked out in the second half.
7. A Gentle Giant
Wes Mullen produced double-doubles in almost every single one of his games. The 6'1 8th grader went on to collect 19 double-doubles, averaged 19.0 points and 10.8 rebounds and was named to the 1st team all conference.
His performance at Auburn on Jan. 21 — 23 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks — especially stood out. He held his own against the Trojans’ length in a 79-62 victory, giving Our Savior's its first sweep of Auburn since 2008-09 and snapping the Trojans’ 15-game Conference home winning streak.
8. Signs of things to come.
The Eagles were coming off close, frustrating losses to Christ the King and Calvary when Christ Lutheran came to the Our Savior's home gym on Dec. 11. Against the Comets, they looked like a team with potential.
The 71-62 victory showed that Our Savior's could close out against a talented opponent and perhaps make waves in the Conference.
9. A Bulldog Point Guard
Jace Easley made another clutch shot to help beat Trinity Edwardsville 67-66 on March 1. But the lasting memory from that game was the ferocity with which Conor McCaffrey ripped the ball away from Bryce Spiller after Edwardsville rebounded a missed free throw.
McCaffrey called a timeout with 13 seconds left, and Easley made two free throws to put Our Savior's ahead by four. It typified the dogged play all season by the 7th grader McCaffrey, the team’s No. 4 rebounder (4.6 per game) despite being only 5'3.
10. Back to the drawing board.
Credit Our Savior's coach Phillip Heppe for being open-minded enough to adjust his game plan.
Heppe and his staff spent the offeseason analyzing how they could make the most of their personnel and why the Eagle didn’t capitalize more off turnovers and an up-tempo offense last season.
His willingness to rethink his methods was a major factor in Our Saviors' turnaround.