Inspiration has a way of lifting the spirit to new heights, as New Trier demonstrated Tuesday night at the United Center.
The Trevians seniors dedicated their Class AA supersectional game to a New Trier junior named Carrie Badger, a loyal fan who died last fall from cancer.
And with perhaps its best performance of the season, No. 7 New Trier upset No. 3 Proviso East 60-51 before a crowd of 13,544. New Trier advances to the state quarterfinals Friday to face Highland Park after snapping Proviso East’s 18-game winning streak.
New Trier coach Rick Malnati asked his players to select someone to whom to dedicate Tuesday’s game and the rest of the season–and to contact that person. The players informed Badger’s mother of their decision.
“What they did kind of brings tears to your eyes,” Rick Malnati said.
How they played brought tears to the eyes of Proviso fans as they watched the Trevians bury 60 percent of their three-point shots (9-of-15), outrebound the Pirates 26-25 and commit 11 turnovers to Proviso East’s 12.
“I teach my players to play help defense,” Proviso East coach Troy Jackson said. “When New Trier’s players were kicking it back out and hitting their threes, what can you do? They had the perfect offense against our help defense.”
Ted Rosinski hit 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and scored 17 points while Nick Nikitas also hit 3-of-4 and scored 11. James Romey was 3-of-6 from three-point land and finished with 11 points.
“Ted didn’t play any summer basketball, so he never gets any recognition,” Romey said. “What a lot of people don’t know is he is one of the best players in the state. It’s about time Teddy got his due.”
The same could be said for New Trier’s entire overachieving team, which has built a 24-6 record with a nine-player rotation devoid of big-time athletes or stars.
The Trevians’ motion offense ran the Proviso defenders in circles, setting up open looks with timely screens. New Trier went on a 14-0 run from the end of the first quarter to the middle of the second in seizing a 38-24 lead.
“We’ve been down before, so it wasn’t like we lost our poise,” said Proviso East’s Dee Brown, who scored 15 points but made only 4-of-16 shots. “They’ve got a great coach, and their defense was able to hold Shannon Brown (18 points) and myself down.”
When New Trier went ahead 42-27 in the middle of the third quarter, a Proviso East assistant coach began berating the team mascot for failing to fire up the Pirates fans.
“This was not a fluke,” Malnati said. “Our kids took that dedication to heart.”
