Collinsworth, a high-level football prospect as an offensive lineman, showed nimble foot and a soft touch with a array of post finishes against a smaller Cougar frontline.

 

With foul trouble plaguing East Central, coach Dave Disbro began substituting offense and defense with starters Luke Collinsworth, John Hotel, and AJ Messmore, who all had picked up their second foul by the midway point of the second quarter. East Central would roll into the locker room with a seven point halftime lead.

 

Bloomington North forward Aaron Steinfeldt would pick up two quick fouls at the beginning of the third quarter, and head to the bench. Without a post defender, East Central would feed Luke Collinsworth over and over, and the 6'6 junior would dominate. After scoring 13 points in the first half, he would score nine in the third quarter as the Trojan lead would extend into double figures.

 

A final charge for Bloomington North would come from their defense, as they would extend their pressure and trap East Central ballhandlers, forcing several turnovers that would lead to transition baskets. Jeremiah Blair and Isaac Vencel would be the main beneficiaries. But every time North would close, East Central would respond. The closest margin was four with just over four minutes remaining, but Logan Rohrbacher would close out the game at the foul line, where he finished 13-14 on the evening.

 

The nail in the coffin came with just under two minutes remaining. Nate Toohill received a pass on the right wing and prepared to fire a three that would cut the deficit to five for the Cougars, but John Hotel recovered to block the shot. The loose ball fell in the hands of AJ Messmore, who launched a 50 foot pass to teammate Trevor Becker, who was fouled while hitting a layup. That six point swing put the lead back to 11 points and ended any hopes of a North comeback.

 

Bloomington North was plagued by poor shooting, as the Cougars hit just 2-24 from behind the three point line. East Central was just 1-9 from three, but was effective at the free throw line, where they shot 30-40, led by Rohrbacher's 13-14 performance.

 

North finishes the season at 19-6, while East Central moves to 17-8 on the year.

 

 

The second semifinal saw undefeated Bloomington South ride hot three point shooting in the first half to keep host Columbus North at arm's length the entire game.

 

The Panthers jumped out to a 10-2 lead within the first couple minutes of the game, as Noah Jager and Joey Bomba hit three pointers. Jager would continue the onslaught, making four threes on as many attempts in the first half to give Bloomington a comfortable lead heading into halftime.

 

North would cut into the lead at the beginning of the third, but a quick six point spurt would extend South's lead. First, a North turnover would result in an Anthony Leal three point play coming via transition. On the ensuing Bull Dog possession, another turnover would find it's way into Noah Jager's hands, he would push and toss a pass back to Leal, who buried a three from the right wing to push their lead back out to nine.

 

Columbus North would hang around, but could never score consistently enough in a row to seriously threaten South. The Panthers would finish 8-10 from the three point line for the game, while Columbus was only 3-10.

 

Bloomington South moves their record to 25-0 on the season, and will face East Central in the championship game Saturday evening. Columbus North finishes their campaign with a record of 18-6.

 

Bloomington South   12  11  17  19  -  59

Columbus North         6  10  12  21  -  49

 

Bloomington South: Noah Jager 18 points (7/10 FGs, 4/4 3Ps), 4 rebs; Anthony Leal 16 points (4/5 FGs, 1/2 3Ps, 7/9 FTs), 2 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls; Joey Bomba 12 points (4/4 FGs, 2/2 3Ps, 2/3 FTs), 2 rebs; Connor Hickman 11 points (3/6 FGs, 1/1 3Ps, 4/4 FTs), 3 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls; James Bomba 2 points (2/4 FTs), 3 rebs

 

Columbus North: Reese Harmon 10 points (4/8 FGs, 1/3 3Ps, 1/1 FTs), 5 asts; Blake Barker 10 points (1/5 FGs, 8/8 FTs); Casper Clark 8 points (4/4 FGs), 4 rebs, 2 blks; Nick Schiavello 7 points (3/7 FGs, 1/2 3Ps), 2 rebs; Cooper Horn 5 points (2/3 FGs, 1/2 3Ps); Will King 5 points (2/2 FGs, 1/2 FTs); Jakub Trusina 4 points (2/3 FGs)