March 30, 2025
Shaw Local
NewsSubscribePrep SportseNewspaperObituariesFriday Night DriveNewsletterStarved Rock CountryEvent CalendarGames and Puzzles

Boys basketball: Teegan Davis, Princeton roll past Hall

Tigers will meet Stillman Valley, seeking second straight regional title Friday

By Kevin Hieronymus
Princeton's Teegan Davis throws down a second-half dunk, much to the delight of teammate Christian Rosario in Thursday's regional semifinal win over rival Hall. The Tigers (30-2) will face Stillman Valley (19-11) in Friday's championship game at 7 p.m.

Princeton's Teegan Davis throws down a second-half dunk, much to the delight of teammate Christian Rosario in Thursday's regional semifinal win over rival Hall. The Tigers (30-2) will face Stillman Valley (19-11) in Friday's championship game at 7 p.m. (Mike Vaughn)

MANLIUS - Hall coach Mike Filippini knew he had try something to slow down the Princeton Tiger Express at the Storm Cellar on Thursday night.

He tried holding the ball on the Red Devils’ first possession.

He used a box-and-1 defense on Princeton’s Grady Thompson to try to take away the Tigers’ leading scorer.

Neither worked.

Princeton scored the first 10 points of the game, all at the hands of senior standout Teegan Davis, and cruised to an 88-43 win over the rival Red Devils in a Class 2A Bureau Valley Regional semifinal.

“It’s a great way to come out in the postseason,” Davis said.

Thompson said the Tigers’ fast start “got us in and out quick and gets us ready for tomorrow and rested up.”

The No. 4-ranked Tigers (30-2) will come right back to play Stillman Valley, a 52-46 winner over Kewanee in Thursday’s second semifinal, at 7 p.m. Friday for the regional championship. The Tigers seek their second straight regional crown.

Thompson has no concerns in making a quick turnaround.

“We’ve had doubleheaders all year long. Nothing new. I kind of like it. They won’t have time to prepare for us,” he said.

Davis scored eight points in just over two minutes of play and had 10 points before Hall knew what hit them.

Senior Mac Resetich finally broke the ice for Hall at the 4:25 mark.

Hall's Mac Resetich navigats to the basket against Princeton's Teegan Davis and Noah LaPorte in the first half of Thursday's regional semifinals at the Storm Cellar. Princeton won 88-43.

Hall's Mac Resetich navigats to the basket against Princeton's Teegan Davis and Noah LaPorte in the first half of Thursday's regional semifinals at the Storm Cellar. Princeton won 88-43. (Mike Vaughn)

Davis scored again on a putback, accounting for Princeton’s first 12 points, finishing the first quarter with 16 points as the Tigers raced to a 22-5 advantage.

“We got a lot of scorers and they called my number tonight and I’m just glad to execute,” Davis said. “Grady is a great scorer and if they try to take him away, someone has to step up.”

Davis scored eight more points in the second quarter, finishing the night with a game-high 31.

“Teegan had a great game,” Tiger coach Jason Smith said. “Teammates fed him the ball. He was in good position. When he finishes layups, he’s as good as anyone in the area.”

Smith said he couldn’t have asked for a better start.

“I thought we looked fresh. Looked poised. Looked like an experienced team that’s played postseason basketball. I was excited how we started,” he said.

Filippini said it’s hard to slow down the Tigers no matter what they tried.

“We tried to start the game by holding the ball, but they’re so much bigger, faster and stronger,” he said. “The plan was to try to waste 25-30 seconds, see if we could get a decent shot. But they pressured us so much. We tried to box-and-1 Grady and take him away, and they just lobbed it over to Teegan. They have about three or four Macs (Resetichs).

The real fun for the Tigers was just starting.

They outscored the Red Devils, 26-7, in the second quarter to go up 48-12 at the half. And they did it with some flair with three consecutive dunks by Davis, sophomore Noah LaPorte (9 points) and senior Kolten Monroe (10 points).

Thompson enjoyed the dunk show.

“I’m just at half court watching them. It’s pretty cool,” he said.

Resetich scored 24 points in his final game for Hall, including 17 in the second quarter. He leaves as Hall’s second-leading all-time scorer.

Junior Bennett Williams came off the bench to score 10 points for the Tigers, six in the second quarter.

While this kind of lopsided win was nice, Smith said it wasn’t necessarily what the Tigers needed to open the postseason.

“A win’s a win. Nobody cares about this win now. We move on and advance,” he said. “We could have won by one or won by 30 and I would have probably felt the same way. I’m just excited we came out and played well and played our Tiger caliber basketball.”

Filippini said that caliber of basketball can take the Tigers a long way in the postseason.

“This is the best team to come through this area since Max Bryant’s dad’s teams (at Hall),” he said. “When Eric Bryant (Sr.) had those two (state runner-up) teams with Shawn Jeppson (in the mid-90s). These guys are very comparable ability-wise, size wise. I told them, ‘You just happened to be seniors the same time.’ That’s how good the Princeton team is and there’s no shame in losing to them.

“The whole goal all year was to stay away from them in the regional as long as possible. Unfortunately, we had to run in to them three times this year. I wish Smitty the best and get as far as they can. We want to see our names in that program down at state.”

Notes: The winner of the Bureau Valley Regional will meet the winner of the West Carroll Regional at the Class 2A Orion Sectional at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Two Three Rivers teams, Riverdale and Erie-Prophetstown, will play for the regional title at West Carroll on Friday. ... Stillman Valley beat Princeton in the first game of the 2021 Colmone Classic, but the Tigers managed to still make the championship game by virtue of the tiebreaker and won it.