The Sabers made life difficult for junior Dan Lilly, who nevertheless finished with a game-high 19 points and set the Uni season-scoring record (483 points) with his final basket. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

MONTICELLO — Despite staying close throughout the first half, the Illineks couldn’t keep pace with St. Thomas More in the second half, falling to the Sabers 63-37 Tuesday night in the first round of the IHSA Class 2A Monticello regional playoffs.

"I think overall as a game it was pretty disappointing," said junior guard Costa Cangellaris.

"We showed we could have stuck with them if we’d controlled the ball better. But I think we could’ve done better, and it was kind of a letdown that we didn’t stay with them and make it a better game."

Uni ended the season with a 16-8 record. Despite the playoff loss, the Illineks won 15 games for the sixth year in a row and earned a share of their fourth conference championship in five years. Uni and Normal Calvary Baptist both went 10-2 in the East Central Illinois Conference.

One good thing did come out of Tuesday's defeat, though. Junior Dan Lilly broke the boys single-season points record on a basket late in the fourth quarter.

Lilly scored a game-high 19 points on the evening and finished the year with 483 points. Tim Monahan held the previous season-best mark at 482, setting the record in 1994-95.

Otherwise it was a disappointing game for the Illineks, who entered as the No. 4 seed in the five-team regional; St. Thomas More was No. 5.

Uni kept pace in the first quarter, trailing by just five at the end of the period, 16-11. And at halftime, the game was still within reach, as the Sabers' lead was just 26-19.

But St. Thomas More came out and dominated the third quarter 21-8, holding a 20-point lead as the final period began. The Sabers stretched their lead to a peak of 29 points with 32 seconds left. Junior Miles Bribriesco scored a three-pointer as time ran out to cut the final margin to 26.

"I think the first half we played well and showed we could play at that level at times," said Lilly. "But eventually their pressure kind of got to us. They have a lot of athletes and we kind of wore down. They wore us down. We couldn’t keep our energy level up for the entire game."

The Sabers hit six three-pointers in the second half on 6-for-10 shooting from behind the arc. The Illineks, in contrast, hit only four of their 17 three-point attempts during the entire game.

Uni shot 26.9 percent from the field in the second half, a major decline from the team's 42.1 percent accuracy in the first half. The Illineks hit 33.3 percent of their attempts on the game.

St. Thomas More, on the other hand, shot 51.9 percent for the game and 56.0 percent in the second half.

The Sabers also outrebounded Uni significantly, grabbing 36 boards compared to 26 for the Illineks. Uni's poor shooting gave STM plenty of defensive rebounding opportunities, and the Sabers capitalized with 23 defensive boards. The Illineks by contrast had 13.

STM enjoyed a 20-16 advantage in turnovers and 11-4 in assists.

Despite intense defensive pressure from the Sabers that resulted in 7-for-21 shooting, Lilly put up more points than the rest of his teammates combined. His two treys pushed his season-record total of three-pointers to 67. He also added five steals, four rebounds, and a block.

Lilly finished the year with a 20.1 points-per-game average, which ranks third in the area, according to The News-Gazette's leader board.

In his final game as an Illinek, senior Alan Kessler had a team-high five rebounds and added eight points. Senior Malcolm Taylor had four points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.

Guard Charlie Wan also appeared in his final game, grabbing one rebound.

"We played real well in the first half," he said. "I thought we might have actually won. But I'm happy for the team even though we lost. It was a good game."

Sophomore Warren Skoza, the 6-7 center who along with Lilly promises to be one of the pillars of next year's team, had three rebounds and two blocks.

The loss ended a six-game winning streak for Uni. In each of those victories, the Illineks scored at least 61 points and held their opponents to no more than 54. The Illineks couldn't reach either of those marks Tuesday night.

St. Thomas More raised its record to 18-10 and advanced to play No. 1 seed Tolono Unity in the regional semifinals.

Despite the loss, the Illineks can look back on a solid season.

"I think the way it turned out was pretty good," said Cangellaris, who advanced in the pregame Three-Point Showdown. "We accomplished our goal of 15 wins. There were some disappointing times, but I think it just made us better, and we're going to come back next year."

Added sophomore Will Fernandez, who finished his first varsity season: "As a team we're going to miss the seniors, Malcolm, Kessler, and Charlie. But we still have a strong core of players for next year, including Dan and Warren. We'll be able to excel as a team next year. We've seen what we have to do. We know what we have to do to be a better team."

The season ends for the 16-8 Illineks. Gargoyle photo by David Porreca (click to enlarge)

At a glance: Uni vs. St. Thomas More (IHSA Class 2A Playoffs)

Game Summary
Played at Monticello Middle School

• STM: 16 10 21 16 — 63
• Uni: 11 08 08 10 — 37

Game Highlights

• Final varsity record: 16-8 overall, 10-2 East Central Illinois Conference, ECIC co-champions
• Junior Dan Lilly scored a game-high 19 points, including two three-pointers
• Lilly now has a Uni season-record 67 three-pointers
• Lilly broke the Uni season-scoring record with 483 points; the previous record was 482 by Tim Monahan (1994-95)
• Junior Costa Cangellaris advanced in the pregame Three-Point Showdown

Uni Individual Statistics

• Dan Lilly (jr): 19 pts, 5-for-12 (2-ptr), 2-for-9 (3-ptr), 3-for-6 (FT), 4 rebs (3 off, 1 def), 1 blk, 5 stl, 5 TO
• Alan Kessler (sr): 8 pts, 4-for-4 (2-ptr), 5 rebs (1 off, 4 def), 2 assts, 2 stls, 2 TO
• Malcolm Taylor (sr): 4 pts, 2-for-8 (2 ptr), 0-for-2 (3-ptr), 3 rebs (2 off, 1 def), 1 asst, 1 stl, 6 TO
• Miles Bribriesco (jr): 3 pts, 1-for-1 (3 ptr)
• Neil Pearson (jr): 3 pts, 0-for-1 (2-ptr), 1-for-5 (3-ptr), 2 rebs (1 off, 1 def), 1 asst, 1 stl, 1 TO
• Seth Bull (so): 0 pts
• Costa Cangellaris (jr): 0 pts, 1 reb (1 def), 1 stl, 3 TO
• Will Fernandez (so): 0 pts, 0-for-1 (2-ptr), 0-for-3 (FT), 2 rebs (2 off), 1 stl
• Nile Hamer (jr): 0 pts, 1 reb (1 def), 1 stl
• Warren Skoza (so): 0 pts, 0-for-3 (2 ptr), 0-for-3 (FT), 3 rebs (1 off, 2 def), 2 blks, 1 TO
• Jack Snyder (jr): 0 pts
• Charlie Wan (sr): 0 pts, 0-for-1 (2 ptr), 1 reb (1 def)

St. Thomas More Individual Statistics
Player: Total Points (2-pointers made - 3-pointers made - free throws made)

• Zach Johnson: 18 pts (9-0-0), 6 rebs, 2 assts, 1 blk, 1 TO
• David Boudreau: 12 pts (3-2-0), 3 rebs, 1 asst, 2 stls, 3 TO
• Kristian Gallivan: 10 pts (5-0-0), 5 rebs, 1 asst, 1 stl, 1 TO
• Clark Schmidt: 7 pts (3-1-0), 4 rebs, 2 assts, 3 stls, 2 TO
• Tyler Brown: 6 pts (0-2-0), 1 reb, 1 TO
• Spencer Waspi: 5 pts (1-1-0), 2 rebs
• Kaleb Clifton: 3 pts (0-0-3), 3 rebs, 1 blk, 1 TO
• Nate Freeman: 2 pts (1-0-0), 3 rebs, 1 asst, 2 stls, 2 TO
• James Demlow: 0 pts (0-0-0)
• Jason Herzog: 0 pts (0-0-0), 1 reb, 3 assts, 3 stls, 2 TO
• Tyler Johnson: 0 pts (0-0-0)
• Jason Pride: 0 pts (0-0-0), 4 rebs, 1 stl, 1 TO
• Tucker Siuts: 0 pts (0-0-0), 1 asst, 2 TO

Uni Team Statistics (opponent totals in parentheses)

• Total Points: 37 (63)
• 2-pointers made: 11-for-28 (21-for-39)
• 3-pointers made: 4-for-17 (6-for-13)
• Free throws made: 3-for-12 (3-for-6)
• Offensive rebounds: 13 (13)
• Defensive rebounds: 13 (23)
• Total rebounds: 26 (36)
• Assists: 4 (11)
• Blocks: 3 (2)
• Steals: 12 (13)
• Turnovers: 20 (16)

*Note: Four of Uni's 26 rebounds were credited to "team" instead of to an individual