Sahly: Cogs show just how far they have come

GENOA - Rockford Christian coach Shane Bautch had to find Genoa-Kingston senior guard Bret Lucca and ask him a question.

"Did we back off?" Bautch asked about the second half after the Royal Lions defeated the Cogs, 63-50, in Friday's Class 2A Genoa-Kingston Sectional final. "Am I seeing something different?"

"No," was the simple response from Lucca.

The 14-16 Cogs gave undefeated Rockford Christian everything it could handle, but fell short in its quest to make further school history and advance to the super-sectional.

A second-half that belonged to the Cogs until the final minutes wasn't enough to erase a big first-half deficit.

The result in itself wasn't surprising. The imperfect team playing the perfect game wasn't going to happen.

Rockford Christian got to 30-0 on a binge diet of opponents' mistakes, as it did in the first half Friday when the Lions built a 13-point halftime lead on G-K's giveaways.

That the Cogs were even playing in Friday's game, much less making it a game in the fourth quarter against the Lions, is more than just a sense of pride for G-K.

This was the school's first sectional final ever in boys basketball.

You wouldn't have guessed it based on how G-K handled itself in the second half against the favorite for the 2A state title, staying within reach because of Lucca (23 points) and fellow senior Bryan Baumgarten (17).

"They were pulling them in our eye," Bautch said. "I'm telling you, those were not open shots. (Baumgarten) and (Lucca) are you kidding me?"

It fit with the theme of the season. G-K had lost so much and returned so little in terms of experience.

None of it mattered when the state tournament started and the Cogs were one of the final 16 teams in the state still playing on Friday.

"No one expected anything from us," Lucca said. "It was just fun to get here and win a regional. It was a rebuilding year and it turned out not to be."

It's why Bautch, who could have been anywhere else in the gym celebrating a sectional championship, was instead seeking G-K players for answers.

G-K coach Corey Jenkins credited his seniors for playing their best basketball of the season at the end.

Bautch credited Jenkins.

"For a 14-15 team to be in this game, that's some coaching," Bautch said. "Let's be clear. That's some coaching. You don't get here if the coach [stinks]. Corey is doing one heck of a job with those guys."

All season long, Jenkins said his team was trying to prove people wrong. By the end of Friday, no one believed the Cogs were unworthy of playing for a sectional title.

"First sectional win in school history," Jenkins said. "It was huge for us especially when everybody didn't pick us to do anything. That kind of meant more. The fact that the sectional game was at home, it was even bigger. It was a lot of fun."

And no one will underestimate the Cogs next time.