It’s not that Evan Schomer doesn’t like history, he just wasn’t interested in any being made at the expense of Newark.
Draining a trio of 3-pointers as part of his 13 points in the third quarter, Schomer helped launch the Norsemen to a 58-45 victory over Hinckley-Big Rock in Friday’s championship game of the Little Ten Conference Tournament at Somonauk.
Having knocked off the defending champion and top seed Somonauk the night before, the Royals (15-8) were hoping to be the first fifth-or-lower seed to win the tournament since Waterman won 45 years ago.
The LTC, the oldest continuous-running conference in Illinois, was staging the 96th edition of its league tournament.
In snapping Hinckley’s eight-game winning streak, Newark (14-10) won the tourney for the 18th time and the first since back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011.
“They kept backing off me just enough and the shots were there,” Schomer said. “Since we struggled in the first half, our focus after half was to break down their zone or man, and it seems like our defense has been clicking more in the second half.”
Technically, Newark started to get on track late in the second quarter after seeing a 12-10 deficit in the first quarter become a 19-12 H-BR lead with 2:49 left before halftime.
Kendell Endres’ hard-way three-point play put the Norseemen up 21-19, and the senior added another basket followed by a Will Clausel buzzer-beater for a 25-23 halftime lead.
Between stone-cold shooting and nine turnovers, H-BR coach Bill Sambrookes’ beard grew grayer as the Royals were outscored 19-6.
“We’re averaging 10 turnovers a game, so nine there, plus we couldn’t hit shots and it’s no wonder they built a lead,” Sambrookes said. “Their defense is the kind of stuff you see from a Peoria Manual.”
“It’s definitely a nice win for us and the third quarter was huge,” Newark coach Rick Tollefson said. “We put a lot of pressure on them and Evan started making a lot of shots.”
In additon to Schomer’s 22, Will Clausel added 14 and Steve McGrath tallied 10. All of which, along with Endres’ efforts, helped fill the void of 6-foot-7 Jack Clausel’s abence due to foot surgery.
“I’m not a big scorer so I try to do whatever helps the team and I know coach likes hustle,” Endres said. “Losing Jack is big, so we all have to pick it up on offense and defense.”
Hinckley-Big Rock was led by Eric Phillips’ 15 points while Jack Bullard added 10 before fouling out.
“We played our hearts out and I’m still proud of the three games we played in three days,” Phillips said. “A fifth seed playing for the championship says a lot about us.”
Steve Nemeth is a freelance writer.
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