COLFAX — The Schlarman boys basketball team has seen miracle comebacks and overtime finishes throughout the last month of the season.
But the Hilltoppers had to deal with a lot going into Wednesday’s IHSA Class 1A sectional semifinal against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley.
With junior guard Jerrius Atkinson out with an injury, Schlarman could not come back from a rough start against GCMS and fell by a 69-39 score at Ridgeview High School.
“We were not used to playing without Jerrius,” junior forward Miles Crosby said. “We came out and ran plays and they didn’t work and on defense, Jerrius is a big part of our team and we couldn’t close the deficit.”
The Falcons jumped out to a 16-0 lead before senior Peyton Kuemmerle scored with 4 minutes, 32 seconds left.
“Finishing is big in basketball. They have seniors and the coach has been there for over 20 years and they have a system and believe in it,” Schlarman coach Zack Patterson said. “I am not saying our guys don’t believe in our system, it just takes time to believe. You have only so few possessions in a game and we didn’t take advantage of them.”
Down 26-8 after the first, the Hilltoppers actually outscored the Falcons in the second quarter as Crosby and sophomore Noah Fowler each had six points.
“We didn’t let them get a bigger lead,” Fowler said. “We screwed up in the first quarter to let them get that lead and that put us down in the beginning. In the second quarter, we turned it on and started scoring and make some stops.”
“He’s (Fowler) been sick the last couple of games and we expected a big game out of him with Jerrius out. He was locked and zoned it and he loves basketball,” Patterson said. “Miles has been a monster all year long and he’s been my most consistent player all year long.”
The Hilltoppers were down 38-22 at halftime, but could not do much to get close to the Falcons in the second half.
Fowler would end up with 22 points, while Crosby and Kuemmerle each had eight points.
With the loss, the Hilltoppers end the season with a 17-12 record, but were coming off an amazing run.
Starting with a 78-70 win over Chrisman on Jan. 28 until Wednesday, the Hilltoppers only lost two games en route to a regional title and a trip to Ridgeview.
“Patience is very key. You want to see the big picture,” Patterson said. “The foundation is first and then you have to build up the walls and put the floors in. It takes time and everyone wants a winner right away, but it takes time and those guys worked hard all year long and they deserved the recognition they have gotten in the tournament.”
“We developed a lot as a team and we have come a long way,” Crosby said. “We always had the talent, we just need to come together and build that chemistry. We started playing this year and after we got to know our new coach, we started to build chemistry and a solid offense and defense and we were able to win the regional.”
The Hilltoppers will lose seniors Kuemmerle and Anthony Dye from Wednesday’s starting rotation along with Marc Villaester, Colton Kotcher and Wrigley O’Brien.
“Peyton was a tremendous kid, a blue-collar kid,” Patterson said. “He ran into some tough guys and you saw that we were bumped around on derens and hopefully they can see that we need to be stronger.”
Atkinson, Crosby and Fowler will return, along with some additions from the 8th grade team, who made had a strong run of its own with players like Will Fowler — who is Noah Fowler’s younger brother.
“I think next year, we could be good. With all of us growing together, we could be a powerhouse, win more games at home and be an all-around better team,” Noah Fowler said. “(Will) is my little brother. He’s a ball-handler and he will be very important to our team. He is not going to be a starter, but he’s going to be a solid 6th or 7th man.”
The future for the Hilltoppers is bright, but Patterson hopes the theme for this season will go on to next season.
“Our theme was Handle It,” Patterson said. “We had some trials and tribulations and we hope that Jerrius can return next year so we can be here again. I think we did what we could do as a seventh seed and showed why we got out of that side of the bracket. We earned some respect this year.”