CHAMPAIGN—Peoria Manual arrived at State Farm Center with one of the tournament’s biggest stars, Bradley recruit Dietrich Richardson.
Dyett didn’t even have a player on the All-City Team. But the balanced, unselfish Eagles will play for the Class 2A state championship after knocking off Manual 54-50 in the semifinals on Thursday.
This is the first trip to the state finals for Dyett, but unlike most teams, they weren’t rattled by the big court and large arena.
“When I walked out there I just remembered that we are all we’ve got,” Dyett senior Jaden McKinnon said. “Forget the crowd. The moment is on the court. We want to win so we have to focus and stick to it.’
Public League teams have won multiple recent Class 2A state titles. The Eagles don’t fit the same profile. Those Phillips, Orr and North Lawndale teams had multiple star players. Dyett is winning with a balanced approach.
“They understand it takes a team to get these kinds of wins,” Eagles coach Jamaal Gill said. “They are open to sharing the ball and believing in the next player.”
The Eagles jumped out to an early 11-6 lead. Manual dominated the end of the first half and led 21-20 at halftime. Dyett took control with a 7-0 run to end the third quarter with a 39-29 lead.
Richardson drained a three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the game to pull the Rams within four but it didn’t get closer.
Dyett (26-7) shot 18 of 24 from the free-throw line.
“We’ve been pretty good at the line this year but not this good,” Gill said. “These guys have stepped up. I challenged them in the locker room. If you want to be state champs you have to hit your free throws and step up in that moment.”
Richardson finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds for Manual (23-13) but said he had a “bad game.”
“Manual is a good team and the length Richardson has is hard to guard when you don’t have that kind of length,” Gill said.
Aramis Brown Jr., McKinnon and Jah’mir Brown each scored 11 for Dyett. Devon Shelton had nine points and five rebounds and Ricky Coleman scored eight.
Dyett is the only Public League team to reach the state finals this season.
“It’s big for me to represnt CPS,” Gill said. “The support we’ve had coming out here was amazing. All the calls, I can’t even tell you. I probably have 50 messages I haven’t had a chance to respond to. The entire city has supported us. I want to say thank you to them all.”
Dyett will face Althoff in the Class 2A state title game on Saturday at 3 p.m.
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