State Finals: 1A and 2A Championship Notebook

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first two games of the day on Saturday in Champaign were for the 1A and 2A state championships.&nbsp; We saw contests between Hope and Eastland followed by Althoff vs Dyett.&nbsp; We look into both games in our <strong>State Finals: 1A and 2A Championship Notebook</strong>!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hunter's Massive 3rd Quarter Leads Hope Academy to State Championship vs Eastland</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first game of the day saw Hope Academy out of Chicago against Eastland.&nbsp; Hope led the majority of the game, but really took it to a different level in the third period behind their star [player_tooltip player_id='2338332' first='TyJuan' last='Hunter'] who had 17 points in that quarter alone.&nbsp; Hope would roll from there to a 71-38 victory.&nbsp; Hunter is a smaller lead guard that can really score and pass at a high level.&nbsp; His scoring barrage was epic as he got whatever he wanted using his speed to weave through the defense for acrobatic finishes, mid-range jumpers, and threes.&nbsp; Crazy thing is his passing might have been even better!&nbsp; He is an outstanding lob thrower along with finding shooters for open looks.&nbsp; Was a show by Hunter in a 26 point (10-15 FG) (3-4 3PT), 11 assist, and 5 rebound performance.&nbsp; Bouncy 6'5” junior power forward [player_tooltip player_id='2372438' first='Jaiden' last='Simmons'] is their lob threat and he threw them down in bunches in this game.&nbsp; So quick off the floor to the glass, blocking shots, and getting dunks.&nbsp; He had 12 points and 7 rebounds.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2411912' first='Malik' last='Meridy'] is a senior shooting guard that impressed in Champaign at 6'2” with his floor spacing and a shot maker from beyond the arc pouring in three of them for 11 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Eastland's inside/outside punch did most of their damage again.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2815649' first='Adam' last='Awender'] is a plus perimeter shooter who poured in four from beyond the arc.&nbsp; He tallied 15 points in the loss.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='1874861' first='Parker' last='Krogman'] put his name on the map as a 2026 undersized four this weekend.&nbsp; Crafty with the ball in his hands scoring on physical takes, drives from mid-post, gets on the glass, and can hit a jumper finishing with 21 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>McKinnon Comes Up Clutch in 2A Title Game Victory for Dyett</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dyett knocked off the top 2A team in the state all season long in Belleville Althoff to capture the crown 52-41.&nbsp; Their shut down defense for long stretches in this game along with the play of small forward [player_tooltip player_id='2438037' first='Jayden' last='McKinnon'] were the difference.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2438037' first='Jayden' last='McKinnon'] proved he should be a NAIA, D3, JUCO priority with his play during his time in Champaign.&nbsp; In the championship game he went for 17 points (5-7 FG) (4-5 3 PT) as the 6'4” small forward banged in threes at a high level in the victory.&nbsp; Good defender that can finish out of the dunker spot.&nbsp; They got a spark from [player_tooltip player_id='2815712' first='Ricky' last='Coleman'] as well.&nbsp; The senior speedy guard gets to the cup for scores and knocked in a baseline jumper.&nbsp; Finished with 10 points (4-7 FG) and 7 rebounds4.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Althoff's star [player_tooltip player_id='2105165' first='Dierre' last='Hill'] Jr scored 8 of his 12 points in the first quarter.&nbsp; He came out on fire as the lefty popped a couple threes, crashed the glass, and was physical with the ball.&nbsp; He defended well too in the first half.&nbsp; Got in foul trouble in the second half which really hurt Althoff as his final line read 12 points (3-9 FG) and 8 rebounds.&nbsp; [player_tooltip player_id='2464538' first='Zach' last='Winkeler'] provided a bit of a spark for Althoff when they needed some scoring as he hit a pair of threes and showed off some athleticism netting 14 points (5-13 FG).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->