Decatur Robertson defeats Mount Pulaski 33-27 for Sectional Championship

[February 10, 2022] The Mount Pulaski Bruins lost a very hard fought battle with the Decatur Robertson Wildcats on Wednesday night in the 2022 Class 8-2A Sectional Championship. Mount Pulaski had a really strong first half but the Wildcats came back even stronger in the second half to win the championship by a final score of 33-27. 

The Bruins played an outstanding first quarter, as Beau Tschantz scored the first two buckets for Mount Pulaski. Luke Martin’s two free throws at the 3:37 mark put the Bruins up 6-0. At the 3:00 mark a baseball pass from Martin to Tschantz down court resulted in another basket by Tschantz and Mount Pulaski had an 8-0 lead. After Franklin Wade made two free throws with 2:18 left in the quarter, the Bruins had opened the game on a 10-0 run. The Wildcats would finally score around the 1:30 mark. The Wildcats scored another basket with around forty seconds left and the lead was trimmed to 10-4. With just 1.6 seconds on the clock, Wade made a shot to set the first quarter score at 12-4. 

Wade’s basket early in the second quarter allowed Mount Pulaski to maintain a 14-6 lead. Aaron Kuznik hit a corner three that touched nothing but the net near the 4:00 mark and the Bruins were up 17-6. The Bruins were outstanding on the fast break throughout the first half and with Wade scoring ahead of the pack with 1:42 on the clock, the Mount Pulaski lead was 19-10. Thirty-seconds later, Tschantz’s bucket stretched the lead to 21-10. At the half, Mount Pulaski led Decatur Robertson 21-13. 

Just six seconds into the third quarter, Wade sank a three for Mount Pulaski and little did anyone know at the time that would be the entire offense for the Bruins in the third quarter. The Wildcats put together a 10-0 run of their own and in the blink of an eye, the Bruins were clinging to a 24-23 lead as the third quarter came to a close. 

With 4:02 flashing on the fourth quarter clock, the Wildcats took their first lead of the game, 25-24 the score. After Martin went coast-to-coast for the layup, the Bruins were back in front 26-25. A basket by the Wildcats swung the lead back in their favor a mere twenty seconds later. Tschantz tied the game 27-27 with a free throw with 2:22 left in the game. The Wildcats jumped in front 29-27 with 2:02 left and they never looked back. Over the last minute of the game, the Wildcats were in control. With Eric Cooper and Franklin Wade fouling out and the Wildcats sinking 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds, the game ended with a final score of 33-27.

Mount Pulaski ends their season with a 22-3 record. 

Decatur Robertson (15-0) will play in the IESA 8th Grade Class 2A State Tournament this weekend in Mount Pulaski. 

Scoring

Mount Pulaski 27

Wade 11

Tschantz 7

Martin 6

Kuznik 3

Decatur Robertson 33

Phillips 19

Cook 4

Carson 4

Wallace 2

Brady 2

Clemmons 2

[Teena Lowery]