How Macomb pulled off one of the biggest comebacks of the IHSA basketball playoffs
CANTON — That’s why it’s called March Madness.
Macomb mounted a comeback for the ages, rallying from 17 points down to upset No. 3-ranked Manual, 41-40, in the Class 2A Canton Sectional semifinals on Wednesday night. The Bombers are now a game away from making the Elite Eight for the first time since a 2006 Class A boys basketball state quarterfinal appearance.
“I feel like it’s the fact that it’s win or go home,” Macomb senior Dion Doyle said of the rally. “Nobody wants to go home, so we feel like no matter what the score is, no matter if we win or lose, at least we’re able to say that we gave it our all and I feel like that’s what we did here tonight.”
Now, instead of a Peoria vs. Peoria sectional final in Class 2A, Macomb advances to face Taylor Ridge Rockridge (26-6) at 7 p.m. Friday for the sectional crown at Alice Ingersoll Gymnasium. Rockridge defeated Peoria Notre Dame, 31-28, on Tuesday night in the other semifinal.
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How Macomb pulled off the comeback
Doyle played hero by starting the final quarter with an old-fashioned three-point play. The 6-foot-5 forward, who grabbed five of his game-high 16 rebounds in the fourth quarter, scored a game-high 15 points.
Macomb (27-5) got a pair of 3s by Braden Holthaus (13 points) and a banked-in triple from Connor Bishop.
“We need to make a couple shots,” Macomb coach Jeremy Anderson said of maintaining his team’s confidence. “… After we got a couple of buckets … we’re right back in this.”
On two occasions, Manual stepped to the foul line with a chance to go ahead by five and three points, respectively, in the final 40.9 seconds, but went 0-for-4 in those situations.
However, Doyle’s biggest contribution came in the game’s final 22.5 seconds. He went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line — finishing a perfect 7-for-7 — including the go-ahead freebie with 6.3 seconds left to set the final score.
“I got 10 seconds at the line,” he said, “so try not to use all 10 and just use a good chunk of time and just knock them down.”
Added Anderson, “We were comfortable with him because he’s been our best free-throw shooter the whole year. He’s our guy that’s always ready to make a play for us.”
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The Bombers then had to defend Manual’s final chance at a game-winning shot. Macomb came out in a 1-2-2 zone defense, doubling Rams Division-I prospect Dietrich Richardson, who found an open Reginald Postlewaite. The sophomore’s 3-point attempt from the left wing bounced off the backboard and the side of the rim to leave Macomb celebrating an upset.
“Usually when I play (that defense),” Anderson said, “somebody bangs a 3 from the corner, so we rolled the dice and this time we got lucky.”
How Manual earned its big lead
What started as a vintage Manual postseason performance — intense full-court pressure, converting turnovers into points and holding Macomb to one-shot possessions — quickly unraveled in the game’s final 10 minutes. Manual, which forced seven turnovers and allowed 27.8 shooting percent (5-for-18) in the first half, had just seen Richardson put down a tip dunk, forcing a full timeout by Anderson.
The scoreboard read Manual 36, Macomb 19 with 2:07 remaining in the third quarter.
“It’s impossible,” Anderson said of simulating Manual’s defense in practice. “You ask your fresh/soph guys to do the best they can of being in certain spots, but it’s nothing like you’re going to see in the games. They do such a great job of guarding. They’re not just pressuring.
“They’re in the right spots and then they help and then they recover. … They’re so good at it.”
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Richardson, who stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, four rebounds, two blocks and two assists, says his team was ready to play.
“We came out really strong,” the 6-foot-7 junior guard said. “Everybody was fired up. Everybody was just in the right position, making the right plays. Nobody was really forcing nothing. Everything was going good in the first half.
“We got lazy on defense. They’re a good team. They fought back.”
Macomb closed out the victory on a 22-4 push, limiting the Rams to five fourth-quarter shot attempts and turning them over three times. This leaves Manual (21-12) without a sectional title appearance since the pandemic-cancelled 2020 Class 3A Sweet Sixteen game.
Manual coach Marvin Jordan credits Macomb and says the basketball gods weren’t on his team’s side this outing.
“When you play hard and prepare,” the second-year coach said, “I’m pretty sure the way they did, the basketball gods look out for you. … We were hitting on all cylinders. Everything we wanted to go our way was going our way early on. … Of course, we come out the second half, it’s almost like we just slow down.”
Gerrell Trapps, Daniel Finley and London Tolliver each scored seven points for Manual, which shot 18-for-35 (51.4 percent) from the field.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA basketball: Macomb rallies for comeback win over Peoria Manual
