By Gargoyle sports staff
Posted Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007, The OG, boys basketball & sports

URBANA — Mike Renner scored 20 points in a span of 3 minutes and 16 seconds in the third quarter to lead Uni to a 71-42 victory tonight over conference opponent Decatur Lutheran School Association. The junior forward-guard finished with a season-high 35 points, raising his average to 17.1 points per game.

“After the first half I was really disappointed,” Renner said. “I was feeling so well in warmups … I thought it would work out in the game, but then I missed four 3's in the first half. I came into halftime and I said, ‘We're going to win this one guys,' and came back out. I couldn't miss, man. Every time I got the ball, I just shot it — it didn't matter. I wanted to score, and I missed just one or two shots. It was amazing. Can't explain it, it was the best I ever played. Can't believe it.”

Isaac Radnitzer battles LSA.
(Gargoyle photo) (click to enlarge)

The win gives the Illineks their third consecutive undisputed East Central Illinois Conference championship. Going into tonight's game, which was postponed twice last week because of snow, Uni had already clinched a share of the title with Judah Christian.

The Illineks now stand atop the final ECIC rankings with an 11-1 conference record; Judah finished 10-2 last week after Uni defeated the Tribe 63-61 in overtime.

Uni ended its season 15-13 overall. Senior Michael Belmont, who scored 12 points tonight in his final game as an Illinek, became the first Uni male player to be a part of four varsity teams that won at least 15 games per season, according to head coach Joel Beesley. During Belmont's four years on the varsity roster, Uni won 75 games.

For much of tonight's contest, a Uni victory seemed in doubt. The visiting Lions took a 23-22 lead into halftime. By 4:50 of the third quarter, LSA led 31-26.

But then Renner took over.

Playing on a heavily taped left ankle, which he sprained against Judah, Renner went on a scoring tear sure to take its place in Uni basketball annals.

Renner began his run with a 3-point basket at the 4:35 mark. He ended it with another 3-pointer at 1:19. In all, he made five treys, one layup, and three foul shots to singlehandedly outscore LSA 20-3 during that stretch.

By the time Renner finished his remarkable scoring binge, Uni led 46-34. Belmont added a buzzer beater to give the Illineks a 48-34 advantage heading into the final period.

Renner began the fourth quarter with yet another trey. He added one more 3-pointer — his seventh of the night — and two other field goals before leaving the game with about 3 minutes remaining.

The Illineks' final 6 points came, fittingly, from Belmont and fellow senior Jeremy Pillow. The 6-foot-2 Pillow scored two baskets in a row at 1:16 and 00:42.5; Belmont scored the final points of the game on a layup with 26.2 seconds left. (Uni's third senior, center Nick Pratt, was out of town on the school's Habitat for Humanity trip to Clarksdale, Miss.)

“We were struggling early on,” Belmont said. “Mike Renner was shooting like crazy. He was shooting ridiculously well, I couldn't believe it. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my career.”

Renner's 35 points are not only the most by a Uni player all season, they are the most this season by any area player not named Johnny Miller. The Judah Christian star, who leads The News-Gazette's rankings with a 23.2 per game scoring average, netted 50 points in one game this year.

No other area player has scored more than 34 points in a game, according to The News-Gazette. Renner's previous high this year was 29 points against Shiloh in a 55-46 Uni victory Dec. 1.

Renner also led the team tonight with 5 steals and 3 blocked shots. He and junior point guard Chumar Williams led Uni with 4 assists each.

Junior forward Isaac Radnitzer finished a stellar season with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Belmont added 5 rebounds, and sophomore Alan Kessler grabbed 4.

Frankie McFarland rises above LSA's
defense. (Gargoyle photo) (click to
enlarge)

The Illineks made 9 of 13 free-throw attempts and hit eight 3-pointers. Junior Austin Rundus added a late trey to go along with Renner's seven.

Jon Ryherd led LSA with 10 points. The Lions made four 3-pointers and were 4 of 6 from the foul line. With the loss, LSA finishes its season 14-14, 8-4.

With four starters and a deep bench returning next year, the Illineks will have both talent and experience on their side. Going into this season, they had talent but few tested players besides Renner and Belmont.

“This season we didn't start off with a lot of experience, but as the season progressed we gained a lot of experience, and I think this is a big stepping stone for next year,” said junior forward Ammar Rizwan.

“It wasn't just a stepping stone; we had a lot of success and we swept our crosstown rival Judah again, which is always a big thing. We only had one loss in conference.”

Added Radnitzer: “It was good to send our seniors off on a win. I think our team has [developed a] chemistry and has learned how to play together.”

Beesley noted how rare it is for an Illinois high school basketball team to end its season with a win. Usually that's reserved for the state tournament champions. But because the Uni-LSA game was postponed last week, the schools decided to wait until each had finished its run in the Class A playoffs before meeting again. For Uni the playoffs ended Monday, while LSA was eliminated Tuesday.

“We were able to send Michael Belmont and Pillow off in style with a victory at home, which most people don't get to do,” Beesley said. “We started off [the year] as a young group. We tried to find our way, and we finished off on a good note with a
home victory where lots of people contributed. I think on the whole the players really matured and stepped up and found their spots.”

ILLINEK NOTES: A final official tally of Uni's season statistics remains to be done, but at this point it's clear that Mike Renner has set a new Uni boys record for most 3-pointers made in a season. The record had been 53 set by Matt Cho in 1996-97. The Gargoyle's unofficial count gives Renner 61 for the 2006-07 campaign. Renner now has 114 career treys, second on Uni's all-time boys list. Henry Pollock, a 2005 alum, is first with 122.

In addition, Renner finished with 462 points on the year, putting him No. 3 on the list of most season points by a Uni male player. Doug Brown is second with 477 (1962-63), and Tim Monahan is first with 482 (1994-95). For his career, Renner is up to 1,071 points. He is third on Uni's list of boys career scoring leaders, behind 1963 alum Brown (1,113) and 2006 grad Al Renner (1,372), Mike's brother. However, please note that the season statistics given for Mike in this section are the Gargoyle's unofficial figures only.

In other Illinek news, neither freshman Dan Lilly nor junior Chumar Williams advanced out of Tuesday's second round of the IHSA Class A Three-Point Showdown held at St. Thomas More High School in Champaign.

VARSITY RECORD: 15-13 overall, 11-1 East Central Illinois Conference
(Games at Kenney Gym are in bold)

Season Preview: A new era begins

Nov. 20: Buckley Christ Lutheran (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 50-44
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 12 pts
— story: Uni wins season opener over Buckley Christ Lutheran

Nov. 21: Mahomet-Seymour JV (vs. Uni varsity) (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), W 58-53
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Illineks defeat Mahomet-Seymour JV in Turkey Tourney

Nov. 24: Bement (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney), L 54-46 (OT)
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 13 pts
— story: Illineks fall in overtime

Nov. 25: Martinsville (Uni/Atwood-Hammond Central Illinois Turkey Tourney, at A-H), L 51-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Illineks go down to the wire again

Dec. 1: Shiloh, W 55-46
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 29 pts
— story: Illineks get back on winning track, defeat Shiloh

Dec. 5: at St. Thomas More, L 54-32
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 7 pts
— story: Illineks suffer tough road loss to crosstown rival

Dec. 9: Fisher, L 53-39
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts
— story: Renner scores 21 but Uni falls to Fisher

Dec. 12: at Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 79-51 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 18 pts
— story: Uni wins conference opener against Buckley Christ Lutheran

Dec. 15: Oakwood, L 74-61
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 19 pts
— story: Oakwood denies Uni comeback bid

Dec. 27: Shiloh (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 65-61
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 27: Salt Fork (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 53-32
— leading scorer: Dan Lilly, 10 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Heritage (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 62-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 28: Atwood-Hammond (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), W 62-51
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Dec. 29: Oakwood (Hayden's Athletic Classic at Heritage H.S.), L 52-50
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 17 pts
— story: Uni finishes eighth out of 12 teams in holiday tourney

Jan. 5: at Decatur Christian (DC's “JV,” as explained in article linked below), W 66-52 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 15 pts
— story: Illineks remain unbeaten in conference play

Jan. 9: Normal Calvary Baptist, L 51-36 *
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 11 pts
— story: Normal Calvary hands Uni first conference loss of season

Jan. 12: DeLand-Weldon, W 79-43 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 16 pts
— story: Uni rebounds from ECIC loss to win by 36

Jan. 16: at Paxton-Buckley-Loda, L 69-60 (OT)
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts
— story: Illineks lose a heartbreaker in overtime

Jan. 18: at Decatur Lutheran School Association, W 62-56 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 21 pts
— story: Uni defeats Decatur Lutheran, takes control of second place

Jan. 23: at Judah Christian, W 65-52 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 24 pts
— story: Illineks roll against Judah in showdown for conference lead

Jan. 26: Buckley Christ Lutheran, W 62-55 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 19 pts
— story: Uni defeats BCL, keeps control of conference lead

Jan. 27: at Lexington, L 68-37
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 10 pts
— story: Illineks stumble in Lexington

Jan. 30: Decatur Christian, W 59-38 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 19 pts
— story: Illineks get their groove back

Feb. 2: at Normal Calvary Baptist, W 58-55 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 13 pts
— story: Renner scores 1,000th career point as Uni notches 12th win

Feb. 7: at DeLand-Weldon, W 78-36 *
— leading scorer: Michael Belmont, 14 pts
— story: Illineks win seventh straight conference game

Feb. 16: Judah Christian, W 63-61 (OT) *
— leading scorer: Chumar Williams, 13 pts
— story: What a game! Overtime win clinches third ECIC title for Uni

Feb. 19: Paxton-Buckley-Loda (Class A regional playoffs at St. Thomas More H.S.), L 60-48
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 12 pts
— story: PBL downs Uni in first round of playoffs

Feb. 22: Decatur Lutheran School Association, W 71-42 *
— leading scorer: Mike Renner, 35 pts
— story: see above

Remaining games: Uni's 2006-07 season is over.

*East Central Illinois Conference game