Williamsville Bullets

Williamsville wins first county title since 1991

By DAVE KANE

SPORTS WRITER

Published Sunday, January 13, 2008

Williamsville High School had waited 17 years for another Sangamon County Boys Basketball Tournament championship. And before they could hoist the first-place plaque, the Bullets had to run one final gauntlet: the chaotic, final 14 seconds of Saturday night’s title-game battle against Pleasant Plains.

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“This feels great, especially since the last time we won this was ’91,” said Williamsville senior Chris Hanson after the third-seeded Bullets thwarted the defending-champion Cardinals on their final possession and captured a 43-41 victory before a full house at Lincoln Land Community College’s Cass Gymnasium.

“We knew we had to play harder on the defensive end, and get in help position to help out on their big guys. That’s what we did, and it carried over to points on offense, too.”

Hanson had given the Bullets a 42-41 lead when, on a two-shot foul, he made both free throws with 26.4 seconds left. After top-seeded Plains called its final timeout with :14.8 left, the Cardinals’ David Bergschneider had the ball but slipped near the free-throw circle.

Bergschneider was able to pass to teammate Nick Venturini on the left side. Venturini missed on an 8-footer, and the Cardinals’ Logan Harris missed after getting the rebound. Plains’ Evan Baietto got another rebound but was tied up by Williamsville’s Travis Combs. It was ruled a jump ball, and the Bullets got the alternating possession with :01.1 remaining.

Hanson was fouled on the inbounds pass and made 1-of-2 free throws with :00.1 showing to account for the final score and erase the Bullets’ county drought. It was the sixth championship overall for 14-5 Williamsville, which hadn’t even reached the title game since taking back-to-back crowns in 1990 and ’91.

Plains (15-3) fell short in a county final for just the second time in 10 appearances, going back to 1995.

“The kids bought in to the philosophy that it’s team-first,” Williamsville coach Eric Buerkett said. “They wanted to be unselfish and bust their tails on defense. Defense wins championships, and we proved that old cliche tonight.”

The Cardinals, who dominated the fourth quarter of their 56-48 Sangamo Conference win over Williamsville on Dec. 6, struggled in the final period of Saturday’s rematch. They committed seven of their 20 turnovers in the fourth quarter and were just 3-for-8 from the field.

It was a major turnaround from the third quarter, when Plains used an 8-2 run to hold a 35-27 lead entering the final eight minutes. Williamsville answered back by scoring the first 11 of the fourth quarter as the Cardinals’ first five possessions resulted in four turnovers and a missed shot.

“In that (Plains’ third-quarter) run, we were trying to give some people some rest time,” said Buerkett, whose team led 22-21 at halftime. “But we put Brandon (Donnelly, with three fouls) back in late in that quarter, and it calmed our nerves and we didn’t get rattled.

“We told the kids, ‘Don’t get frustrated. Don’t get rattled. We’re going to be fine. We’ll come back from this.’ We told them at the start of the fourth quarter, ‘We own this fourth quarter. We’re better than them; we’re quicker than them, and you have to go out and do it offensively and defensively.’”

Combs, a 6-foot-2 sophomore who’d scored a total of three points in his first two county games, scored four in the Bullets’ 11-0 run and eventually tallied a team-high 14. He later scored inside and was fouled with 2:20 left. He missed the free throw — the Bullets were just 12-for-24 from the line — to keep it 40-39 Williamsville.

“He didn’t look like he could put the ball in the hole this week,” Plains coach Cliff Cameron said of Combs. “But tonight, he made some good post moves. But I was disappointed with our post defense. It was pretty weak. He (Combs) did the job, but we weren’t giving very much resistance.”

Bergschneider, who had a game-high 18 points for Plains, gave the Cardinals their final lead at 41-40 as he scored inside with 2:00 left. Williamsville missed on its next two possessions. But after Venturini missed the front end of a one-and-bonus chance with :39.5 to go, Hanson was fouled driving to the basket and made both charities for the one-point edge with :26.4 left.

Hanson finished with 10 points, while Donnelly totaled nine. The Bullets held Baietto to four points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor, although sophomore Harris came up with 16 — including eight in the third quarter.

“It’s a setback, but it wasn’t our night,” Cameron said. “I think the team that deserved to win played more like a team tonight. I just think Williamsville deserved to win.”

Dave Kane can be reached at 788-1544.