Homewood-Flossmoor clinches Class 4A title
Mar. 9—HOT OFF THE PRESS@HFVikingHoops makes history@HFHS59 @IHSA_IL pic.twitter.com/qmVIEe9ekp
— News-Gazette Preps (@ngpreps) March 10, 2024
The top player was ... Bryce Heard, who always seemed to have a bucket when the Vikings needed one. The Illini target — among nearly 20 Division I offers — poured in 21 points to pair with 10 rebounds, an assist and a steal to key H-F past a larger Ironmen defense. Heard's points were spread evenly throughout the game — he had five points in every quarter except for the third — and helped the Vikings grow their lead to as many as 16 points with 4:52 remaining in the that quarter. Heard was joined in double-digit scoring figures by Jayden Tyler (15 points) and Carson Brownfield (12 points), both of whom each chipped in seven rebounds apiece to limit the impact of the Ironmen's size advantage. Braylon Roman
* led the Ironmen with 18 points, including two three-pointers.
The key moment was ... Heard's run in the third quarter that began with a three-pointer with 1:42 left in the frame. Normal Community had started to chip into the deficit by that point — Noah Cleveland went on a personal 4-0 run that cut H-F's lead to 41-29 with 2:10 left in the frame — before Heard drained a three to nip the Ironmen's momentum in the bud. Heard was responsible for the Vikings' next eight points, and Normal Community never seriously threatened for the remainder of the game.
This weekend's March Madness ends with Homewood-Flossmoor winning its first-ever state title in a 60-48 win over Normal Community. https://t.co/wJXO1uMVQo pic.twitter.com/mO771gbmBl
— Zach Piatt (@zachpiatt13) March 10, 2024
By the numbers ...
* The Vikings are state champions for the first time in program history after denying the Ironmen the chance to stake the same claim. A torrid start to the game from beyond the arc saw H-F make its first four three-pointers en route to an 8-14 mark overall. Neither team was particularly effective from the free-throw line, but the Vikings got there more often to shoot 14 of 22 to the Ironmen's mark of 4 of 8. Each team grabbed 34 rebounds and H-F created 11 points off turnovers as opposed to Normal Community's four points in the same category. Normal Community only led the game for 32 seconds to H-F's 30:21 spent in front, with the lead changing hands just four times.
What Homewoood-Flossmoor said ... "Wow. It means everything to us. These kids have now marked their names in history forever at H-F and I'm proud off them for that. I try not to take a lot of credit because I didn't shoot one basket this year, I didn't score one point or get one rebound. So hats off to these guys, man. I told everyone from the beginning of the year that this is a special group. We envisioned this, we knew we'd be here, so I'm just happy for these guys. Now, they are truly the best team that's ever walked Homewood-Flossmoor's halls. — coach Jamere Dismukes
What Normal Community said ... "We had so much fun this year, from the beginning. First game of the year until now. Like I said (on Friday after the semifinal win against New Trier), we were traveling all over the state playing the best teams and we ran into the best team in the state (on Saturday night). We just had so much fun, community support, (Friday) before we came, the bus went around to a couple of grade schools and they had posters and things like that. It was just a great run for Normal Community and the feeder schools and the kids around there. Like I told the guys, we proved that Normal Community kids can play for state championships. We were right there, but sometimes the most talented isn't the best." — coach Dave Witzig
