Boys basketball: Connor Reed’s clutch 2 trumps Carter Ewing’s 3 as Flanagan-Cornell edges Woodland

RURAL STREATOR – On his senior night, Woodland’s only 12th-grader in the boys basketball program, Carter Ewing, ended a lengthy possession with a clutch 3-pointer to put the Warriors ahead with 1:40 remaining.

Over the final 100 seconds, however, it was Flanagan-Cornell coming up with all the clutch in a hard-fought 41-37 win over Woodland on Wednesday at the Warrior Dome.

A Kesler Collins bucket, Connor Reed’s go-ahead drive to the basket with 28 seconds remaining and Collins grabbing an offensive rebound off a free-throw miss and sinking 3 of 4 himself in the waning seconds carried Flanagan-Cornell.

“I couldn’t have done it without my teammates,” Reed said. “We run through that play in practice, and we executed it there. Couldn’t have done it without one through five and my coach.

“I was either going to shoot it or kick it out to one of our shooters. When it went in, I thought we just gotta get back on defense.”

Both teams – friendly but intense rivals who co-op in most other sports – begin the Class 1A postseason on the road Saturday. Flanagan-Cornell (13-17) will visit Normal Calvary for a 4 p.m. first tip. Woodland (9-20) opens the state tournament with a 2 p.m. rubber-game meeting at St. Bede Academy after the teams split their first two meetings.

The high-intensity atmosphere in a crowded Warrior Dome on Wednesday could only help the Falcons and Warriors get ready for the postseason.

“Good game, one of the better ones we’ve had in the series,” Falcons coach Brian Yoder said. “Man, do they play defense ... but in the end, Connor made a good shot, Kesler felt like he had 30 rebounds and just about every one we needed, and we did just enough to win.”

In a game where every possession felt heated and vital, Woodland had what was at the time the possession of the game late in the final quarter, grabbing three offensive rebounds and running over two minutes of clock before Ewing coolly drained a 3 with 1:40 to play that put the Warriors ahead 37-34.

“That possession was very calming,” Ewing said. “I had no anxiety shooting that shot. It just felt right. It came to me, and I just let it go.”

Flanagan-Cornell responded first with a Collins bucket 21 seconds after Ewing’s 3 to pull within one point, then took advantage of Woodland missing the front end of a 1-and-1 via Reed’s drive and one-handed floater in the lane, the ultimate game-winner.

The Warriors had time to respond, but a layup in traffic missed and was rebounded by the Falcons. Although Emerson Weber missed the front end of his 1-and-1 with 15 seconds remaining, Collins corralled the rebound and sank two free throws with 14.2 seconds left to give the visitors a 40-37 lead.

Woodland’s ensuing rushed 3 from the top missed, Collins grabbed his game-high 14th rebound of the night and made the second of two free throws to ice the nonconference victory.

“I thought defensively we were for the most part outstanding tonight,” Woodland coach Connor Kaminke said. “Our guys fought through screens and battled on the glass ... but when it came down to it, we took a lead late, but after that we just didn’t execute.

“I give Carter a lot of credit [draining that late 3]. Nobody wanted this win more than Carter Ewing and then myself for Carter Ewing, and he hit a huge shot to put us up one ... but we didn’t finish. My heart hurts for these kids. They played so hard, but unfortunately 31 minutes and 30 seconds isn’t good enough sometimes.”

Collins finished with a double-double of 16 points, 14 rebounds, four blocked shots and three steals to lead the Falcons. Reed added 10 points and a trio of assists, with Logan Ruddy chipping in seven points and Seth Jones six.

For Woodland, Nick Plesko put in 10 points, while Ewing (five rebounds), Jonathan Moore (six rebounds, two steals) and Connor Dodge added eight points apiece.