Boys basketball: Ottawa coach Mark Cooper becomes program all-time wins leader

MENDOTA – As Ottawa boys basketball coach Mark Cooper emerged from the locker room after the Pirates’ 47-39 victory over Mendota with clothes dampened from his players’ water bottles, many family and friends approached to shake his hand, give him a hug or extend their congratulations.

The victory over his alma mater Tuesday night gave Cooper win No. 333, passing legendary Pirates coach Dean Riley (1961-1979) for the most in program history.

“This is first a longevity milestone,” said Cooper, a 1987 Mendota graduate who owns a 333-201 record in his 20th season on the Ottawa sidelines. “I have had so many talented and dedicated players play for me, and very committed coaches on every level put in just as much time as I have to help our players improve and excel. From my perspective, this is a time to recognize coach Riley and the tremendous coach – but more, a tremendous person – he was.

“I knew coach Riley since I was 6 or 7 years old. I went to his basketball camps in grade school, I played for him at Illinois Valley Community College. He was at my wedding, he was at the birth of my first child, and I had the honor of speaking at his funeral.

“He had a major influence in my life, not only basketball-wise, but everything outside of basketball. For people to hear his name because of this milestone, that means the most to me. I wouldn’t be here without a man like Dean Riley.”

Ottawa (12-13) used a pair of 6-0 runs and eight points from Evan Snook in the first quarter to hold a 14-6 lead. The Pirates extended the advantage to 22-9 midway through the second after a free throw and 10-foot jumper by Tristian Finley and a left-wing 3 from Connor Diederich.

Coming out of halftime with a 24-14 lead, Ottawa forward Cooper Knoll, with a fist pump from coach Cooper on Ottawa’s second possession, took over. The senior scored all 10 Pirates points in the quarter as the visitors led 34-26 heading to the fourth.

Knoll finished with game highs of 16 points and 18 rebounds.

“[The fist pump] is just his way of telling me to keep doing what he knows I can do,” Knoll said. “Sometimes as a player you just need that little push of encouragement, and coach Cooper always seems to know when that time is. He was just trying to keep me going, and it worked.

“My teammates were setting good picks for me, moving without the ball and getting me the ball in great spots to score. They’ve done that all season.”

“Coop was really, really good tonight for us,” coach Cooper said. “It wasn’t just his scoring and rebounding, which were outstanding, but it was his presence in the lane defensively that was a big key. He’s a good player, a first team all-conference player, and really showed why tonight.”

“I have had so many talented and dedicated players play for me and very committed coaches on every level put in just as much time as I have to help our players improve and excel. From my perspective, this is a time to recognize coach Riley and the tremendous coach, but more a tremendous person he was.”

—  Mark Cooper, Ottawa boys basketball coach

Ottawa put the game away in beginning the fourth quarter with an 11-4 burst in the first three minutes, with Drake Kaufman splashing home a 3-pointer 18 seconds in, followed by a drive by Peterson, a rebound hoop and short jumper by Finley and a steal-turned-layup by Kaufman.

“Mendota came out in a zone that first possession of the fourth, and we were able to dribble into a gap and kick it to Drake for a 3,” Cooper said. “That and back-to-back buckets by Keevon and Tristian gave us a working margin. If our lead stays at six or eight, you feel like a couple of plays it can be a dogfight, but we were able to get it to 13 or so where you then have a little more margin for errors. This is the time of the year where you’re just trying to find ways to win, and we were able to do that.”

Snook finished with 10 points and three steals, while Kaufman had nine points, and Finley had seven points, three rebounds and three assists.

Mendota (12-18) was led by 15 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Izaiah Nunez, with Cale Strouss adding eight points and four steals.

“I think it’s pretty special that Coach was able to do this in the school he played for,” Knoll said. “It’s an honor to be part of the coaching career he’s had and know this team helped a little to add to that win total.”

Mendota hosts Putnam County on Wednesday, while Ottawa entertains rival La Salle-Peru on Friday at Kingman Gym.