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Bucs sail past Vikings to regionals
It was déjà vu all over again as Belvidere swept its season series with Guilford in a 54-41 preface to post-season action.
Like the Bucs dominating 86-58 win back on Dec. 14 in Rockford, the game wasn’t remotely as close as the final score as Head Coach Aaron Pearson and top assistant Nate Lister celebrated Senior Night by tossing the regular rotation and making sure all eight seniors played significant minutes with Xavier Dent leading his classmates and all scoring with 16 points.
Unlike expected regional action, this wasn’t an emotional rollercoaster or edge-of-the-seat thriller.
Though the Vikings only trailed the Bucs 16-11 at the end of the first, Pearson did not unleash his swashbuckling “Buc Tough” offensive weapons or stingy defense even when the guests struggled to cut the lead to 10 points a few times late in the third and early in the fourth.
With last year first-team all-conference Deante Barnes, who now runs the court at Rock Valley Junior College, in the stands, fans recalled last year’s regional championship, first for Belvidere in over a quarter of a century, and know this year’s edition has a much deeper bench along with positive chemistry and coaching at the head of the class in the NIC-10.
With former North Head Coach Darrin Sisk on Guilford Head Coach Dean Martinetti’s staff, notorious for winning big games with thin rosters during his tenure across town, the future looks bright for Guilford as they have only three seniors on a roster punctuated by four freshmen who play significant roles.
Junior Jyaire Robinson led the Vikings with 14 points followed by sophomore Josh Williams (10) and freshman Tyler Knuth (six).
But, it was all BHS seniors on Wednesday.
Jacob Rodriguez directed traffic much of the night with Dent’s game-leading total (16) complemented by Austin Revolinski (11), Will Morris (seven), Nate Horton (seven), Jay Blandin (six), Joey Hernandez (four), and Austin Brockmann (two).
Junior Phil Kolk represented the underclassmen with a point.
