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SHABBONA – Indian Creek closed the first half Wednesday with six straight points, knocking a lead that once stood at 11 down to four.
The run continued into the third with the fourth-seeded Timberwolves briefly taking the lead for the first time.
But No. 5 Aurora Christian regained the lead minutes later and never trailed again in a 46-41 win in a semifinal of the Class 1A Indian Creek Regional.
“A lot of stupid turnovers, a lot of stupid turnovers,” said Aurora Christian junior guard Jacob Baumann, who finished with a game-high 13 points, including shooting 3 for 5 on 3-pointers. “We were like just calm down, get calm and cool and collected.”
The teams combined for 39 turnovers in the game, including 17 for the Eagles (16-12). Both teams struggled to shoot throughout, combining to shoot 29%. The Timberwolves (20-12) shot 15 for 59 (25%) and the Eagles were 16 for 47 (34%)
Aurora Christian led 21-10 early in the second quarter after Baumann’s first 3-pointer. But at the end of the quarter, a steal and layup by Jason Brewer kicked off a 6-0 run to close the quarter and the Timberwolves went into the break down 24-20.
A putback by Everett Willis with 5:24 left gave the Timberwolves 28-27 lead, but a free throw by Baumann with 3:39 tied it up, and another one by him gave them the lead for good with 1:22 left in the third.
Indian Creek got to within 41-38 with 3:32 left and after almost two minutes of scoreless basketball Baumann sank a 3 to push the lead to six with 1:43 left.
Aurora Chrisitan coach Dan Beebe said even though he’s only a junior, Baumann has made many key plays for the Eagles since starting as a freshman. He said that included the team’s run to a fourth-place finish at state last year.
“He’s one of our leaders. He started downstate last year,” Beebe said. “So he’s not rattled. He’s been in the big moment. He hit the big 3 with less than a minute left at DeKalb in the NIU supersectional to put us up against Pecatonica. So he’s used to that big moment.”
Willis was a big factor for the Timberwolves in dominating the boards. He finished with 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. He also had eight points and three steals. Payton Huber led Indian Creek with nine points.
Tyler Bogle added eight rebounds as Indian Creek finished with a 50-29 rebounding edge, including 22-9 on the offensive end.
The Timberwolves had four players with four or more fouls, including Brewer fouling out of the game. He had four steals for IC and Willis added three. Indian Creek coach Nolan Govig said he liked the intensity and effort of his team.
“I think defensively we played awesome,” Govig said. “We held them to 46 points. I think we just missed a couple key shots down the stretch.
Asa Johnson added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
Beebe said that even though his team struggled on offense, he liked the way his team responded on the road against a higher seed, crediting the tough games his team has played in the Chicagoland Christian Conference.
“Our conference gets us battle-tested,” Beebe said. “We’ve had a lot of adversity this year in our conference alone so we’re used to being in these battles.”
The season comes to an end for Indian Creek. Govig said the Timberwolves have been tough and resilient all year long and liked how the year went.
“It’s great to have 20 wins in back-to-back seasons. It’s a great milestone,” Govig said. “I’m really proud of the effort and really grateful for all the work the seniors have put in.”