The 3-point bombs started flying early Friday night — much to the delight of the enthusiastic Senior Night crowd on hand at H.F. Brockman Gym.
The Boilermakers came out firing on all cylinders and opened up a 27-7 first-quarter lead over a stunned Hall Red Devils team. Kewanee outscored Hall in every quarter and won going away, 72-39, to pick up their 20th win and move to 20-7 on the season.
Just as impressive, however, was Kewanee’s smothering defense. The Boilers picked Hall’s pockets for six steals in the first quarter and five of the steals resulted in points. Senior point guard Blaise Lewis was the stingiest with three steals.
Two of Lewis’s steals resulted in kick out 3-pointers (one from Lewis to Catrelle Reed and one from Braden Clark to Reed).
The junior trio of Colson Welgat, Brayden Conley and Davontae Jordan were the other three culprits. Welgat and Conley ran their steals in for layups and Jordan was fouled going in for a layup. He cashed in one of two free throws.
Reed hit his first four treys for 12 points, which was ultimately his point total for the game. In addition to three steals, Lewis made two 3-pointers of his own in the first quarter.
On Lewis’s last three, there were 3.3 seconds left in the first quarter. Clark hastily brought the ball across the half court line and zipped the ball to Lewis for a smooth corner three at the buzzer.
“Our first quarter set the tone for us tonight,” said Kewanee Coach Matt Clark. “We’ve struggled starting games at times this year, but tonight (with the emotions of it being Senior Night) we were focused and we played solid defense,” he added. “Catrelle and Blaise knocked down six threes between them.”
Kewanee extended their lead to 41-19 at the half. Clark and Lewis each scored nine in the first half, while sophomore Braden Curran led the Red Devils with seven.
The Boilers kept the pressure on in the second half and outscored Hall 31-20 to secure the win and move to 7-2 in the TRAC-East title hunt.
“What I’m proud of is how we continue to improve at both ends of the court,” noted Clark. “Our guys have bought into the team first mentality and have raised their defensive effort game after game.”
Senior Blake Johnston scored six points from his post position in the second half and hauled in seven rebounds on the night. Welgat added five more points in the fourth quarter.
Gianni Guerrini picked up the scoring slack for Hall with 10 points in the second half.
Seven players scored for Kewanee as the continuous shot clock ran in the fourth quarter. Fan favorite, Korbin Kidd, entered the game with two minutes left. With about 30 seconds left, Kidd drove in for a left-handed layup to light up the crowd.
“I’m really proud of our three seniors, Brady Clark, Blaise Lewis and Blake Johnston,” said Coach Clark. “They’ve been leaders for this team and have stepped up their play in practice and games.”
The aforementioned Braden Clark nearly recorded a triple double. He scored 14 points, dished out 10 assists and pulled down nine rebounds.
Blaise Lewis played a nice all-around game as well. His stat line includes 14 points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds. Reed and Welgat contributed 12 and 10 points, respectively.
“We set goals for ourselves at the beginning of the season and one of them was to win 20 games, which we accomplished tonight,” noted Clark. “Next up, hopefully a conference championship.”
TRAC-East title to be decided Tuesday
The Princeton Tigers will make the short trek to Kewanee Tuesday night to settle the question of who will win the TRAC-East conference title. Princeton (13-12) is 7-2 and Kewanee is 7-2 as well.
The Riveters game will start at 5:30 p.m. in Brockman Gym and the varsity game will follow at 7 p.m.
Coach Lewis Night
The Boilers will also honor former Kewanee basketball Coach Shaune Lewis by holding their annual Coach Lewis Night. Shaune is the father of KHS senior guard Blaise Lewis.
