BASKETBALL: Z-R's fast start leads to Falcons' demise

ZEIGLER, IL - Elverado's varsity boys basketball squad never recovered from an 11-0 start by Zeigler-Royalton in Tuesday's Class A Regional Quarterfinal. The Tornadoes gradually continued to build on that early advantage, finishing off the Falcons 52-33 to move on to Thursday's Semifinal at Z-R High School.

Nick McPhail had a game-high 13 points and was one of eight different Zeigler-Royalton players to score.

The Falcons had committed five turnovers on offense before they finally got on the board with a Kyle Whittington three-pointer with 1:33 remaining in the opening quarter. Whittington then hit a pull-up jumper with 37 seconds left in the period to bring EHS to within six.

The Tornadoes weren't having any part of a Falcons comeback, though. Z-R responded with a 9-1 run to start the second quarter, capped off with a three from Jeremy Weddle with 4:36 to go in the half that made the score 20-6.

Elverado managed just two field goals in each of the first two quarters - Whittington's pair of hoops in the first, and a fast-break bucket and a driving lay-up near the end of the half by Kody Ellett in the second.

Z-R led 31-14 at the break and put the game out of reach for good in the third quarter, leading by as many as 26 points.

Whittington, Andrew Jeschke and Alec Valerius all hit three-pointers for Elverado in the fourth quarter, but the hole was too big to dig out of. A 9-for-20 showing at the free throw line didn't do EHS any favors on the offensive end.

Whittington's 12 points led the Falcons, Ellett added 8, Jeschke 7, Valerius 3, Josh Sarensen 2 and Lucas Jones 1.

The loss eliminates the Falcons from the post-season while the Tornadoes will meet (TV or CO) in Thursday's Semifinal matchup at 7:30 p.m. The winner of that game draws the winner of Wednesday's Goreville-Cobden contest in the Championship on Friday night in Zeigler.