Analysis: Shepard's Seniors Leave Everything on the Floor in Frankfort

Right after Brian Greene Jr. had received an alley oop pass from Jay Parker and hammered it home to give Thornton a 12-0 lead in a fan in the stands hollered, "This one is over."

It certainly looked that way from the start, as the Wildcats built a 26-9 lead after the first quarter and were seemingly well on their way to win No. 24 on the season.

But Shepard’s seniors didn't plan on ending their careers without putting up a fight, and the team pulled together. Ultimately, Thornton escaped with a 63-58 win, but Shepard brought plenty of drama to the regional semifinal showdown.

The timing could not have been better for an upset of epic proportions. March had just arrived on Tuesday. Anyone following college basketball knows that a No. 16 seed had never upset a No. 1 seed in the annual NCAA Division I basketball tournament. The IHSA state series is a tournament, it's played in March and No. 16 Shepard was going to try to rally to stun No. 1 Thornton.

Shepard (13-15) outscored Thornton 13-6 in the second quarter to trail by a modest 32-22 score at halftime.

"We were in a huge hole early but they kept at it," Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello
said. "They played as hard as they could defensively and then finally got some things going offensively and we tried to pull one out down the stretch."

Thornton (24-2) tried to pull away from the Astros, taking a 41-28 lead midway through the third quarter, but Shepard junior Martece Weathersoon (24 points) responded with a three-pointer. The Wildcats answered back later in the quarter, seemingly pulling away on a Bernard Brame tip-in to cruise ahead 48-33 with 1:20 left in the quarter. But the Astros proved to be far from done.

"I was really proud of all the guys, especially the seniors, because they battled their hearts out," Chiuccariello said. "They sprinted, they covered up when we were trying to trap and rotate. They gave everything they had and used a lot of heart to stay in the game."

The Wildcats led 53-39 with 6:03 left in the contest, but their lead shrunk all the way down to 54-49 with 2:22 remaining. The Astros put together a productive 10-1 run, getting a pair of baskets from senior Jarrett Foster (15 points), a runner and a nifty underhand layup from senior Kevin Rathbun (6 points) and another bucket from Weatherspoon.

"We got to the basket and just couldn't catch the ball and finish," Thornton coach Troy Jackson said. "We just couldn't score there and they'd go back down and score, and it happened four or five times and then they were back in the game."

Foster made two free throws with 42.4 second left to pull the Astros to within 58-54, but they wouldn't get any closer.

"The kids showed a lot of heart, scraping on the glass and really playing together as a team," Chiuccariello said. "The seniors battled and showed everything they're made of and took it to Thornton all the way to the very end."

In addition to Foster and Rathbun, seniors Dionte Hart and Dontae McCoy both contributed six points off the bench.