Blackhawk Christian got off to a great start thanks to 6'3 senior Jake Boyer, who scored three times inside against Essegian as the Braves got out to a 6-0 lead at the outset. A Conner Lemmon three opened the scoring for Central Noble, but Blackhawk would respond, jumping out to a 16-7 lead. But Central Noble would work their way back, as Ryan Schroeder hit a three from the top of the key and the Cougars would trail by four entering the second period.

 

It was rough sledding for Central Noble as Essegian and Logan Gard, who combined for 66 points in their semifinal win, were held scoreless for much of the first half. Gard would split a pair from the stripe to break the ice, while Blackhawk went cold from the field in the quarter, mustering just six points in the eight minutes. Essegian would come alive in the final 90 seconds of the half, hitting a pullup from the side of the lane, then sticking a three over a defender. He added a pair of free throws late to tally seven points in the half, and give his team a one point lead going into the break.

 

Blackhawk would regain the lead in the third, but Central Noble would take it right back on a pair of Essegian jumpers. The lead would change hands multiple times in the third as both teams expended a ton of energy in a very physical and heavily contested matchup. Boyer would score half of the Braves' 16 points in the third, as they would hold a two point lead heading to the fourth.

 

Blackhawk would take a four point lead with just under five minutes to play, as the frontcourt duo of Josh Furst and Jake Boyer would take turns scoring inside. But Blackhawk was also allowing Connor Essegian to get off clean looks, which he deposited in the bottom of the net. The Braves would still lead by one entering the final minutes, but a turnover on an inbound pass would allow Essegian a path to the basket. He would travel trying to evade Gage Sefton, giving the ball back to Blackhawk with 37 seconds left.

 

The ball would find Jimmy Davidson, who made both ends of the bonus to give the Braves a three point lead. Central Noble would have a change, but Essegian's floater was short and fell into the arms of Gage Sefton, who was fouled. Sefton would miss the front end, and the ball would find Ryan Schroeder on the left wing. He flung a pass to Logan Gard, who fired from the top of the key and drained just his second three pointer of the season to tie the game with 7.8 seconds left. Blackhawk would have a chance at the win, but Gage Sefton's turnaround jumper at the horn would miss the mark, and leave the teams to go to overtime tied at 49.

 

In the extra session, Central Noble jumped out to a lead as Essegian split a gap in the defense and finished through Josh Furst and drew the foul. His free throw would give the Cougars a three point lead. Jake Boyer would score in the post again, and Blackhawk would foul Sam Essegian. The younger Essegian would miss his front end, and Boyer would again score in the post to give the lead back to Blackhawk.

 

Connor Essegian would come to the rescue again, hitting a 15 footer from the left side of the lane to put the score back in Central Noble's favor. After a Boyer miss inside, Jackson Andrews would split his pair of three throws to make it a two point game. Gage Sefton would try to tie, but his shot in the lane fell off, and a tie up resulted from the scramble for the rebound. The possession arrow pointed in favor of the Cougars, who, after burning two timeouts, were able to inbound and get the ball to Ryan Schroeder, who was fouled with 16.5 seconds left. His first free throw was pure, and his second rattled in to make it a two possession game.

 

Blackhawk would get an offensive rebound following a missed three, but Josh Furst would step on the baseline trying to score. Essegian would be fouled with five seconds left, and he would make one of two at the line to provide the final margin.

 

Essegian finished with 30 points, giving him 77 for the day. Ryan Schroeder was the only other Cougar in double figures with 10 points. Blackhawk put four players in double figures, led by 22 from Jake Boyer, but those would be the only scorers for the Braves, as they did not make a substitution the entire 36 minutes.

 

Central Noble moves to 27-2 on the year and will face Carroll (Flora) in the 2A North semistate next weekend.

 

Blackhawk Christian finishes their season with a 23-5 record.