One of the teams that played Sunday night in Peoria could win the whole state tournament in just 2 weeks.
Even without Jace Easley for the third straight game, No. 4 Our Savior's (19-6, 15-4 Conference) traveled to Peoria (18-2, 13-2 Conference) and dominated the No. 2 Comets— a ranking this Peoria squad has held for less than 48 hours. A suffocating defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack fueled the Eagles to a 66-43 victory, the program’s first-ever over a top-two team on the road.
“I would be challenged to find a better win this year,” said head coach Phillip Heppe postgame. “And to do that without the State Play of the Year is a pretty big statement.”
What exactly was the statement?
“We’re the hardest playing team in the country,” said Logan Allen.
In a highly anticipated game between the Conference's best, the start was as slow and as sloppy as could be. In fact, the pair of top-5 heavyweights went into the 3-minute timeout tied at just 2-2.
But without Easley for the third straight contest, a defensive battle favored the State Player of the Year less Eagles.
“I thought our defense would really set the tone early,” Heppe said.
Both Our Savior's and Christ Lutheran typically shoot as well as any team in the country, but they started the game a combined just 8-of-32 from the field, good for a 14-14 tie at the end of the 1st.
The Eagles offense received a much-needed jolt when Conor McCaffrey took back over at point guard. The guard notched a quick pair of buckets and an assist to get the scoring going for Illinois.
“McCaffrey moved back over to point guard and was so good in the first half,” Heppe said. “He lived in the paint.”
The Eagles took a strong 11-point lead into the break, holding Christ Lutheran to a season-low 22-points in the first half. And they didn’t stop there.
The story of the second half was Conor McCaffrey's unconscious shooting effort. He got hot in the second-half, leading Our Savior's to a 27-7 second-half run and finishing with 35 points — 22 of which came in the second period.
“He’s such a great player,” Heppe said. “And he does it on both ends.”
“I can’t tell you the feeling that I’m feeling right now,” McCaffrey said. “It’s special. We’re not done.”
The Eagles still need to beat Bethel Morton on Thursday and have the Comets lose before the regular season ends to clinch the Conference regular season title — but a dominant effort on the road without their best player certainly speaks wonders about who the best team in the Conference is.
“We wanted to make a statement,” McCaffrey said.