'Refuse to lose': Metamora rallies for spot in IHSA Class 3A boys basketball title game

CHAMPAIGN — Metamora has a chance to finish the job.

The top-ranked Redbirds rallied for a 50-43 win over East St. Louis in a Class 3A boys basketball state semifinal Friday at the State Farm Center.

Following last season's dramatic double-overtime state title defeat, Metamora (33-2) now meets Chicago Simeon (31-3), which shared that final No. 1 ranking, in the 5:30 p.m. Saturday state championship. This is also a rematch of last year's state semifinal where the Redbirds stunned the perennial Chicago Public League power, 50-47.

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“In order to win big games, you got to make big shots,” Metamora coach Danny Grieves said, “and our guys sure did (against East St. Louis). Very proud of them.

“They just refuse to lose. If you have that kind of attitude, good things can happen.”

But the Redbirds had work to do before winning its 31st in a row and becoming the first Peoria-area team to play in consecutive state championship games since Shaun Livingston led Peoria High to titles in 2003 and 2004.

How Metamora rallied

Ninth-ranked East St. Louis held a 10-point advantage off Macaleab Rich's drop-step, baseline lay-in at the 3:59 mark of the third quarter. From there, Metamora went on a 12-1 push over the next 8:01 using scoring from Drew Tucker (5 points), Tyson Swanson (11 points, 4 rebounds) and Tyler Mason (11 points, 8 rebounds).

“Just stay calm,” Tucker said of his mindset when trailing. “Relax. Play our game and let the game come to us and we'll find a way to come back.”

Mason's reverse layup at 5:29 of the fourth quarter gave Metamora a 38-36 lead — its first since 5-3.

The 6-foot-1 junior guard had also been big defensively on the previous three possessions before the go-ahead basket. He had grabbed a rebound off Rich's miss, then added a pair of steals on back-to-back plays.

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"I just thought I had to turn the jets up a little bit," Mason said. "Be more aggressive. Even if we had to foul, be more aggressive. Go in there, try to get steals, get more rebounds, then eventually, beat my man.

"Go get some points. I had to get some points on the board."

ESL momentarily regained the lead at 39-38 before Ethan Kizer all but sealed it thanks to his third 3-pointer of the game. His triple came off a set play drawn up by assistant coach Justin Dehm. Mathew Zobrist found his 6-foot-6 senior teammate just near the top of the key for the swish.

"They knew that play would work perfectly, and they put the ball in my hands," Kizer said. "They had confidence in me to knock down the shot."

Metamora then closed out the game by going 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the final 57.8 seconds. Swanson went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe, while Kizer contributed three and Zobrist knocked down a pair.

“I've had a lot of free throws in situations like that,” Swanson said, “so I think I feel confident in those situations. I've been in a lot of high-pressure situations over the last two years.”

Added Grieves, “I wanted the ball in his hands. I told (the team), ‘Find a way to get it to him because he's pretty good down the stretch.’ ”

East St. Louis took control early

In the first half, Rich, an all-stater headed to Kansas State, had his way offensively. The senior guard used his 6-foot-7, 220-pound frame to his advantage, making his way to basket with relative ease.

He scored 11 of his game-high 19 points, shooting 5-for-8 in the opening 16 minutes.

“I just kept trying to attack,” said Rich, who managed six second-half shots. “I was trying to get my teammates involved. I just kept doing what I was doing … The second half just wasn’t going my way.”

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Kizer also got going early, scoring half of his team-high 16 points in the first two quarters He shot 50 percent from the field and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Metamora, though, did trail at halftime, 27-19.

“The team was just doing a great job finding me when I was open,” the South Alabama signee said. “I was just knocking down shots.”

Next up is Chicago Simeon

Now, Simeon, winners of six state championships since 2006, await the Redbirds. The nationally ranked Wolverines want to send their retiring coach Robert Smith out in style. He’s amassed 513 wins with 10 state trophies over 19 seasons.

"Simeon is not happy with us ...," Grieves said. “… These (Metamora) guys collectively can beat a bunch of really good athletes and Division-I guys, though.”

Below are the updates from the state semifinals at State Farm Center.

1:43 p.m. - Metamora 50, East St. Louis 43 Final

The Redbirds will play for the Class 3A state championship at 5:30 p.m. Saturday against Chicago Simeon.

1:40 p.m. - Metamora 46, East St. Louis 43

Macaleab Rich with a dunk to make it a 3-point game with 22.4 seconds to play

1:37 p.m. - Metamora leads by 5 with 35.7 to play

Tyson Swanson hits two FTs to put Metamora up 46-41

1:27 p.m. - Metamora up 38-36 on East St. Louis with 3:58 to play

Tyler Mason's reverse layup gives Metamora its first lead since 5-3

1:17 p.m. - East St. Louis 36, Metamora 34 end of 3Q

Drew Tucker split a pair of FTs right before the third-quarter ended.

1:08 p.m. - East St. Louis 36, Metamora 28 with 3:15 left 3Q

Tyson Swanson's baseline drive makes it an eight-game right before the media TO.

12:46 p.m. - East St. Louis 27, Metamora 19 Halftime

Ethan Kizer with 8 points for Metamora, which is shooting 35.3 percent (6-17). Macalaeb Rich has 11 points for the Flyers.

12:37 p.m. - East St. Louis 20, Metamora 17 with 3:47 left 2Q

Mathew Zobrist just hit two FTs and got into the bonus on the next possession.

12:29 p.m. - East St. Louis 14, Metamora 10 after 1Q

Ethan Kizer (8 points) sneaks one at before the buzzer. ESL had hit back-to-back 3s on its previous two possessions.

12:23 p.m. - East St. Louis 8, Metamora 5 with 1:50 left 1Q

Ethan Kizer hits a 3-pointer but ESL responds with five points in a row.

12:05 p.m. - Metamora and East St. Louis warming up

The game will start roughly at 12:15 or so.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: IHSA state finals: Metamora vs. East St. Louis score, updates, recap