Brandon Shoemaker knew it was time to shake things up.
With No. 1 Joliet’s offense bogging down, Shoemaker provided a big lift in the Steelmen’s 59-45 victory over No. 11 Shepard to claim the Class AA sectional title Friday night at Oak Lawn.
Joliet (29-1) advances to the supersectional Tuesday at the United Center and will face No. 8 Thornwood (26-4). Joliet was tops in the SICA West, while Thornwood won the SICA East.
“Playing in the United Center has been my dream all season long,” said Shoemaker, who scored 13 of his team-high 19 points in the second half after Shepard (23-6) had come within 27-26 at halftime.
“Maybe I’ll pick up a little NBA experience while I’m there.”
Joliet will be playing on the Bulls’ home court thanks to some tenacious rebounding, a physical defense and Shoemaker’s offensive burst.
The Steelmen’s 6-foot-7-inch Kellen Easley had 16 points and 13 rebounds while 6-5 JaBari Saunders contributed 14 rebounds.
“I was more concerned with how we handled their pressure, but then Joliet went in and really hit the glass real hard,” said Shepard coach Tony Chiuccariello, who benched 6-9 Reggie George the first quarter for disciplinary reasons. “Reggie was being disciplined. I’m not going to sell my soul for a victory.”
The Astros hardly missed George in the first half thanks to Mike Smith, who scored 19 points in a row on a variety of acrobatic moves to the basket along with three swishes from beyond the three-point arc. He led all scorers with 26 points.
“At first we focused on stopping Mike Hall [nine points, 17 rebounds],” Shoemaker said.
“Then Smith had a great first half. But once we got him under control in the second half, everything was OK.”
Shoemaker and point guard Branden Dillard ignited a 12-4 Joliet run that provided a 39-30 lead later in the third quarter. The Astros couldn’t come within seven in the fourth quarter.
“Coach [Bob Koskosky] told me to start taking it to the hole in the second half,” Shoemaker said. “Against a man-to-man defense, I can get to the basket against anybody.
“Once I broke down the defense, I could dish it off to Easley and our other big guys.”
Easley credited defensive stopper Jeremy Cartwright for slowing down Hall.
“Besides that, Saunders did a good job against Reggie George,” Easley said. “JaBari always plays his best games against guys bigger than him.”
