Zobrist Shoots Down Wildkits In Final Seconds

METAMORA --- Players on both sides, from Evanston and from the host school, had a chance to be the hero in the waning moments of the prime time high school basketball game at the 14th annual Redbird Classic Shootout event.

And when it was Matt Zobrist’s turn, he didn’t miss.

The Metamora star drained a 3-point shot with three seconds left in a back and forth game and lifted the Redbirds to a 61-58 triumph over Evanston Saturday night. Zobrist’s shot allowed the Redbirds, ranked 8th in Class 3A in the state of Illinois, to earn their 48th consecutive win on their home court.

Zobrist missed most of the third quarter with foul trouble and benefited from the last wrong choice the Wildkits (18-4) made down the stretch. The southpaw shooter, who is committed to play at Bradley University and is the lone returning starter from Metamora’s 2023 state championship squad, found an open space on the floor and delivered from 22 feet.

He finished with 18 points, one of three Redbirds to reach double figures.

Kaidan Chatham’s halfcourt heave bounced off the back iron as time ran out on Evanston. The Wildkits didn’t score at all in the final 3 minutes, 55 seconds of the contest.

“We beat ourselves tonight with some of the choices we made,” lamented Evanston head coach Mike Ellis. “It was just the culmination of a lot of bad decision making that let an opponent slip away from us.

“We didn’t execute on that last play. We were trapping him (Zobrist) all day long and in that situation you’ve got to make him give it up and make someone else beat you. You’ve got to pick your poison against a player like that, but we didn’t get him trapped. You have to take your chances with some of their role players.

“Even when he (Zobrist) was in foul trouble and their big kid (6-foot-10 Jonah Funk) sat down in the first half, we didn’t take advantage. We had opportunities to put this game away --- and we didn’t. We need to play smarter and we didn’t score enough in transition, either. We must have had 10 opportunities where we had numbers and we only converted on about half of them. That’s not how we usually play.”

Theo Rocca led ETHS with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field. Vito Rocca backed him up with 15 points and Chatham totaled 13.

Theo Rocca’s drive for a 3-point play with 3:55 left on the clock gave the Wildkits a 58-56 lead. But they didn’t score again, and the Redbirds finally pulled even on a bucket by Brady Jones (17 points) with 1:45 to play in regulation.

Questionable choices by two seniors --- Jayden Rodriguez and George Richardson --- who haven’t been placed in game-winning type situations much in their careers prior to Saturday’s test came back to bite the losers.

It’s a stretch that will likely cause Ellis to toss and turn at night before the Kits put this loss in the past.

“We told them before we came here that this would be a one-possession game,” said Ellis, who scheduled the matchup because Metamora’s new head coach (Justin Dehm) was the point guard on a state runnerup team coached by Ellis at Peoria Richwoods. “I didn’t like either of the choices they made their, and we did have one good look that Theo missed during that stretch, too.

“If you have the advantage, I don’t mind if you take the shot. But Jayden had to stretch out to his left on that (layup) shot, and George didn’t have the advantage either.”

After the miss by Rodriguez, the 6-7 Richardson tried to score over the 6-10 Funk, who rejected the try with a two-handed block and regained possession for the Redbirds with 37 seconds left and the game still tied.

Both teams went on runs right from the start. Evanston built a 29-16 lead early in the second quarter, only to see Metamora charge back to snatch a 36-32 lead by halftime thanks to some deadly 3-point shooting. Jake Walker’s steal and 30-foot swish at the buzzer was another bad choice for the Kits. It was his only basket of the game for Metamora.

In the third period, ETHS guard Ian Peters’ toughness helped send Zobrist to the bench. Fighting through screens, Peters forced Zobrist to pick up consecutive fouls --- his third and fourth personals --- with the score knotted at 36-all and 5:47 left in the stanza.

Baskets by Vito Rocca and Richardson pushed Evanston back on top at 40-38, and the Redbirds responded with a run of their own with Zobrist watching anxiously from the sidelines. A Metamora backcourt violation with 1.2 seconds left gave Chatham the last shot of the quarter, and he came through, banking in a 30-footer to tie the score at 47-47.

Theo Rocca’s 10-point fourth quarter wasn’t quite enough for the visitors after that.

“Theo got hot for us in the fourth quarter. He does a good job of picking his spots and not forcing things,” Ellis explained. “I really like what he’s doing for us this year.

“Metamora (20-4) is a good team. They can shoot it, and they’re ranked No. 8 in the state for a reason.”