Benton, 6-8 Docker Tedeschi relegate Byron basketball to 3rd-place finish at state finals

CHAMPAIGN — With 6-foot-8 power forward Docker Tedeschi altering shots in the paint all night, the Byron Tigers fell behind to Benton early on, and never fully regrouped.

The Tigers scratched back to take their first lead on the first bucket of the fourth quarter, but that would prove to be their last, and only advantage of the game as Benton fended them off by a score of 50-42 in Thursday's IHSA Class 2A state boys basketball semifinals. Tedeschi finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks and four assists, and he had a big hand in Byron shooting 30 percent (17-of-56) from the field.

"Yeah, he maybe altered some shots of ours there, for sure," Byron coach Matt Huels said of Tedeschi, and of his team's worst shooting performance of the postseason. "Docker is an intimidating force. Him being down there and averaging seven blocks a game ... it's going to be in our kids' minds."

Byron (31-3) also made just 1 of its 13 shots from 3-point range, and was then forced to quickly regroup to go to battle with Williamsville for third place just a couple of hours later Thursday night. They found a rythm late, though, and finished the season with a 62-48 victory, and a third-place trophy.

Let's take a look at how it all unfolded.

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Off to a slow start in semis

Unlike in Monday's Sterling Supersectional victory — in which Byron drained 11 of its first 15 shots and shot nearly 61 percent from the field in the game — the Tigers came out cold Thursday. Byron made just one of its first seven shots in the semis and then fell behind 12-3 and then 19-10 in the first quarter.

The team's scoring leader Ryan Tucker, who averaged 23.2 points while shooting 54 percent from the field this season, drained a long 3-pointer on his first shot of the night and laid in a nifty reverse layup to cut the deficit to five later in the first. But even Tucker then went cold, missing his next four shots as Byron shot just 29 percent the rest of the first half.

It didn't get much better the rest of the way, either. The first half set the tone.

"Right away they slowed the game down, and we came down and played at their level, and at their pace," said senior guard Carson Buser. "Especially as a senior, we have a couple of seniors here, and this is a tough one to handle."

Here's where it got away

Byron came out strong to start the second half, slicing the once nine-point Benton lead to one, twice in the third quarter, including at 30-29 following Cason Newton's steal and no-look assist to a fast-breaking Jack Hiveley at the 5:47 mark. And then again, after Caden Considine scratched and clawed for a rebound then used a behind-the-back pass to set up Buser under the basket for a layup that sliced it to 36-35.

The Tigers shut down Tedeschi in the third and held the Rangers to 2-for-11 shooting.

But Byron could never fully break through. And that's because, at one point late in the third, there appeared to be a cover over the Tigers' basket for a two-plus-minute stretch. That happened to be a key point of the game.

"They missed some easy stuff around the rim, and this guy has a lot to do with that," Benton head coach Ron Winemiller said while pointing to Tedeschi. "People just look for him."

In one possession. Hively battled for three straight offensive rebounds, only to miss four shots in a row from close range. Byron missed seven shots in a row in that stretch.

Who led the way?

For the first time this postseason, Byron was led in scoring by Buser in the semis, and he made seven of his 12 from the field and scored 16 points, adding four rebounds and three steals to the mix.

Tucker added 10 points but had just three rebounds and no steals or assists, and he made only 4 of 16 from the floor. Hiveley added eight points and 10 rebounds and Caden Considine chipped in with seven points and six boards.

But they were all well aware of Tedeschi's presence in this one.

"That's the goal of mine being down there: to alter shots," Tedeschi said. "I'm just ecstatic to be able to play for the title on Saturday."

Tigers turn it back on in third-place game

With the loss, Byron surrendered its chance to take on Chicago Phillips for the 2A state championship on Saturday back in Champaign. So instead of playing for the title, the Tigers crushed Williamsville and snagged third place late in the evening on Thursday.

"It's a tough setup they've got here, and these kids have to get ready and get right back out there," Huels said. "But they're resilient. It's just a hard ask for these kids."

But they handled it well. Tucker scored 24 points and Newton added 17, and the two of them combined for 10 3-pointers as the Tigers led from start to finish. A stark contrast from the afternoon game.

And what a double this would've been

And even though they were one of only two 2A teams in the entire state to finish the season with a win, Byron fell one win shy of earning a very rare and impressive double. Byron won the 3A football state championship a little less than four months ago, and then nearly claimed a 2A basketball state title.

"We just couldn't finish the job," Huels said.

Only three other teams have ever pulled off the football-basketball, state-title double, with Stevenson the last to do it in 2015. Carlyle and Maroa-Forsyth have also accomplished the feat.

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA state finals: Byron boys basketball falls to Benton in semis