Beecher junior Adyn McGinley woke up on Friday morning unsure if he’d be able to play basketball. Congested with a sore throat, it looked like he might not be up for the major River Valley showdown against visiting Momence and the conference’s other star player, James Stevenson Jr.
McGinley rested during the day and then rallied, brushing off any signs of illness to lead the Bobcats to a dominant 79-36 win against Momence.
“I wanted to be out here so badly,” McGinley said. “I just love being with my guys.”
McGinley has been posting big numbers all season and finished with 15 points, nine assists and five rebounds against Momence (12-5, 5-2).
“It’s so nice playing with [McGinley],” Beecher junior Jack Hayhurst said. “He draws all the defense to him so I just there wide open and wait for it.”
Hayhurst scored 19 points, he was 4 of 8 from three-point range. His father, Kevin Hayhurst, now a Beecher assistant, was the head coach at Thornwood back in the Eddy Curry days.
The Bobcats (19-1, 8-0) jumped out to a 27-7 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. There was a running clock in the fourth quarter and the starters played less than three.
This was expected to be one of the best River Valley games of the season, but Beecher was able to nearly completely shut down Stevenson, which made things impossible for Momence. Stevenson, a 6-7 point guard with several Division 2 scholarship offers, finished with four points, four assists and three rebounds. Stevenson has posted some of the most impressive stats in the entire area this season. He had 29 points, 15 rebounds, nine steals and five assists on Tuesday against Gardner.
“That’s all due to Ethan Rydberg,” McGinley said. “He really shut James down. James is such a great player and we have so much respect for him. But we really shook the conference up with this one. And the surrounding area too.”
Junior Zachary Johnson had 13 points and six rebounds for the Bobcats. Rio Llamas, the only senior in the starting lineup, added 10 points and four rebounds.
Beecher, which has never won a regional, went 26-8 last season. The Bobcats graduated some solid players, but the current junior-laden group grew up together and arrived on varsity excited to join McGinley, who has been a regular since he was a freshman.
“These are my guys,” McGinley said. “They are my best friends. We have every class together and we don’t let a day go by without working hard and playing for each other.”
Beecher’s gym flooded on Christmas. A pipe burst and the gym, cafeteria and much of the school is currently out of commission. The Bobcats are practicing and playing games at the local junior high which seats just 100 fans. Friday’s big matchup against Momence was played at Grant Park’s gym to accommodate the large crowd.
Beecher’s only loss was to IC Catholic back in the first week of the season. Rydberg was out with an injury. As was the case last year, the team’s focus is on winning that elusive regional title.
“We will be in the conversation,” Beecher coach Tyler Shireman said. “But the sectional is just tough as last season. But we’ll have a shot. If we keep playing like we did tonight, we’ll be right there at the end.”
