Sesser-Valier led from start to finish in its state semifinal game against Madison Friday afternoon, winning 58-40 to advance to the school’s first state championship game in its history Saturday at 2 p.m
Sesser will face Catlin (Salt Fork), which knocked off Lanark Eastland 48-38 in the first semifinal on Friday.
The Red Devils beat Madison by weathering the pressure and getting the ball inside to first-team all-stater Justin Matyi. Matyi scored a game-high 29 points to total half of S-V’s production in the game.
More importantly, though, Matyi’s inside presence opened up the outside game for the Devils – T.J. Eubanks in particular. Eubanks hit 5 of 7 3-point attempts in the game to help S-V balloon its lead as the game wore on.
“That’s a pretty good 1-2 punch,” Sesser coach Chip Basso said. “When that is working, teams just have to pick their poison. Justin had a great game down low and we got him the ball. He got points on the board.
“Then, when they collapsed on him, T.J. got loose and made them pay. It’s a beautiful thing to watch when it’s working.”
There wasn’t much that wasn’t beautiful about the Red Devils’ game on Friday.
Matyi scored the first two buckets of the game, and Myles Tinsley picked up a steal and coast-to-coast layin for a quick 6-2 Sesser lead.
Madison tied the game 6-6 on baskets from Corey Hardin and Delandus Farrar, but Dane Eubanks answered with a free throw and Matyi scored for a 9-6 lead. D. Eubanks then drew a charge and Matyi was fouled, hitting 1 of 2 at the line for a 10-6 lead.
More defensive prowess allowed S-V to stay in front. D. Eubanks took another charge to kill a Madison possession. Then, Kendall Gibson picked up the first of his four blocks to thwart another Trojans layup attempt.
Sesser led 10-8 after one period.
Madison turned the ball over to start the second quarter and T. Eubanks started his big night on Sesser’s next trip. The 6 foot 2 senior found himself all alone on the left-wing and he fired up a bomb which banked off the backboard and in for a 13-8 lead.
That was the start of a 17-10 run in the period that gave Sesser a comfortable, 27-18 lead at the half.
But the Trojans hung tough for a while. Torian Gregory scored to cut the lead to 13-10, but Matyi answered with two freebies and a free-throw line jumper for a 17-10 lead.
Madison, which had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half, had four on its next possession, with Gregory finally putting the ball in the hole while being fouled. He converted the three-point play to pull the Trojans within 17-13.
But a 9-2 S-V run followed to squarely give it control. Matyi had four points in the run, D. Eubanks adding a pretty drive and hoop, too. The rally was capped by T. Eubanks’ second trey – this one from the exact top of the key – for Sesser’s first double-digit lead, 26-15. The Devils led 27-18 at the half.
The Devils kept the pressure on in the third period. T. Eubanks hit his third 3-pointer to open the second half and give Sesser a 30-18 lead.
But Madison used a 10-4 run to close within 34-28 on Kendall Echols’ 3-pointer with just over four minutes left in the period.
But the Devils closed out the quarter on an 11-5 run of its own for a 45-33 Sesser lead as the fourth quarter began. Matyi scored after an offensive rebound to start the run, T. Eubanks following with his fourth 3-pointer and a 39-28 lead.
Hardin hit 3 of 4 freebies to make it a 39-31 game, but Matyi hit a pair at the stripe, D. Eubanks made a slick move in the paint and Matyi scored on a runout after a Tinsley steal for a 45-31 lead. Sesser led 45-33 at the end of three.
A Matyi stickback gave Sesser a 47-36 lead, but T. Eubanks hit the big shot, his fifth 3-pointer, that bumped the lead to 50-36 and all but put Madison away.
Sesser hit 6 of 10 free throws to put the game on ice late.
Matyi led the way with 29 points and 15 rebounds, T. Eubanks adding 15 points and seven boards. D. Eubanks added 12 points.
Next up is Catlin Salt Fork for the state championship.
“They have a lot of talent,” Basso said. “They have some very nice players and I see a lot of similarities between the teams with their post play.”
Hardin led Madison with 19 rebounds, Gregory leading the offense with 10 points.
Madision will play Lanark Eastland for third place Saturday.
Madison 8 10 15 7-40
Sesser 10 17 18 13-58
Madison (23-8): Hardin 3-11 3-5 3-5 9, Mason 2-10 1-2 9, Echols 2-13 1-2 7, Gregory 4-15 1-1 10, Farrar 4-13 1-2 9, Wright 0-1 0-0 0, L. Gregory 0-1 0-0 0, Simms 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-65 7-12 40.
Sesser (26-9): Gibson 0-6 0-0 0, T. Eubanks 5-9 0-3 15, Matyi 10-22 9-10 29, D. Eubanks 3-8 6-9 12, Tinsley 1-4 0-1 2, Donovan 0-1 0-0 0, Edwards 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-51 15-22 58.
3-pointers: Mad 3-13 (Echols 2-10, Gregory 1-2); SV5-11 (T. Eubanks 5-7). Team fouls: Mad 18, SV 11. Rebunds: Mad 48 (Hardin 19), SV 42 (Matyi 15).
