On Saturday, the Homewood-Flossmoor Varsity Boys’ Basketball team made history by winning their first-ever State Championship.
The Vikings defeated Normal Community High School 60-48 in the Class 4-A State Finals.
Vikings junior point guard Jayden Tayler has had a big shift since Friday’s game, notching 15 points and seven rebounds in the championship game. Immediately in the first quarter, Tyler put up two 3-pointers to set the tone.
But the Ironmen were able to answer back with a 3-pointer by Braylon Roman and the 6-foot-9-inch center Jaheem Webber cleaning up a missed shot in the paint.
Vikings’ Bryce Heard showed and proved to be a key piece for his team by scoring 21 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. In the second quarter, he found room for a slam dunk that electrified the State Farm Center in Champaign.
The first half ended with Homewood-Flossmoor taking a 31-23 lead at the half. The Vikings used their speed against Normal’s many big men on the court.
Senior Gianni Cobb caught a fast break for a quick 2 points in the third quarter.
With less than a minute in the game, Donald “Mac” Hagemaster caught the ball off a fastbreak pass from Tyler. Webber blocked his shot, but Heard got the rebound and passed it to Cobb for a layup.
Cobb’s game was lower scoring than usual. He was 1-2 on field goals and 2-4 at the free-throw line. During a postgame interview, he explained how he helped his team control the game’s pace.
“Well, we just had to slow down, get our offense going, and find the hot hand. I wasn’t going that much, but I was getting my team involved, and we won.”
Homewood-Flossmoor Head Coach was blown away by the Vikings’ overall performance this season.
“These kids have now marked their names in history forever at H.F., and I’m proud of them for that. I try not to take a lot of credit for that because I didn’t shoot not one basket this year. So, hats off to these guys.”
To watch the postgame press conference, click the video below:
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