Boys basketball: Bolingbrook suffers OT loss to Metamora in Jack Tosh Holiday Classic title game

ELMHURST – The unfortunate thing about Saturday’s championship game at the 49th Jack Tosh Holiday Classic between Bolingbrook and defending Class 3A champion Metamora was that one of the teams had to lose.

Bolingbrook had won the title of the 32-team tournament in 2019 and finished third last season. The Raiders needed every bit of that big-game experience, as they clawed back from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter to take a fourth-quarter lead. The game eventually went into overtime and Metamora won 72-71 on a 3-pointer by Iowa recruit Cooper Koch with 4.9 seconds left.

The Raiders had one last chance, and they got the ball in the hands of freshman Davion Thompson, who scored a game-high 31 points and was named all-tournament along with teammates DJ Strong and JT Pettigrew. Thompson got off a shot before the buzzer sounded, but his deep 3-pointer caromed off the backboard, hit the rim and bounced away, giving the Redbirds the hard-fought victory.

“I am proud of the way our guys competed,” Bolingbrook coach Rob Brost said. “The things we need to work on and do are the same regardless of the outcome of the game. If Davion’s shot at the end went in, those things we need to work on are still there.

“We have some size issues, and Metamora is big, but we still outrebounded them. We will get back to work Tuesday.”

Pettigrew navigated the pair of 6-8 players – Koch and Luke Hopp – that Metamora had underneath and pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds to go with his 13 points. Thompson was able to maneuver through the lane and wowed the crowd with several of his moves to the basket as the Raiders (12-2) took their first lead of the game, 46-45, with 2:56 left in the third quarter on a basket by Thompson.

Metamora then got a 3-pointer by Tyler Mason, who scored a team-high 23 points, before KJ Cathey scored off an assist from Josh Aniceto to tie it at 48. Metamora took a 51-49 lead into the fourth quarter.

Bolingbrook’s Trey Brost (6 points) drained a 3-pointer to open the fourth and gave his team a 52-51 lead. Hopp answered with a basket for the Redbirds before Thompson hit a 3-pointer to put Bolingbrook ahead 55-53. Metamora countered with a basket by Nick Walker and a pair of free throws by Koch to take a 57-55 lead. Thompson then hit a pair of free throws and scored on a putback with 4:25 remaining in regulation for a 59-57 Raider lead.

Metamora got a 3-pointer by Mason to move ahead 60-59 before Thompson hit a 3-pointer then a 2-point basket for a 64-60 Bolingbrook lead with 2:17 to play. Metamora, though, got a basket from Matthew Zobrist (13 points) and a basket by Mason to tie it with 8.5 seconds left and it stayed tied until the buzzer.

“In the second half, we went inside a lot more,” Thompson said. “We attacked the gaps in their zone and we played better defense.”

Metamora shot 13 of 20 from the floor in the first half, including 7 of 8 from 3-point range. It cooled off a little in the second half, but not much. The Redbirds shot 4 for 8 from beyond the arc in the second half and overtime.

“We played well, but they got the win,” Thompson said. “It was tough against them. They were super long. They just made their shots. It’s hard to feel too bad. We feel like we played a good game.”

In the overtime, Metamora got a pair of free throws by Mason before Bolingbrook’s Strong, who had not scored all game, hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining for a 67-66 Raider lead. With the score tied at 68, Aniceto hit a pair of free throws for a 70-68 lead. Metamora got a single free throw from Hopp and Bolingbrook answered with one by Aniceto with 15.5 seconds left. Koch then hit the game-winner from the right wing with 4.9 seconds left.

“I am proud of our guys, not only as players, but as people,” Brost said. “We were down 10 a couple times in the first half and could have folded things up, but we didn’t. That speaks to the work ethic of these kids.

“Metamora is the defending state champ for a reason, and we showed that we can compete with anybody. I am proud to be a part of this group of guys and the entire Bolingbrook community.”