A little bit of history was made Saturday afternoon at Carver Arena, and Cliff Fleming was ready to take his place in the annals of Illinois high school basketball.
“I can’t wait to go home and celebrate with all my family, friends and everyone in our community,” Fleming said after his 28 points and six steals led St. Anne to a 67-61 victory over Nokomis for the first state title in the IHSA’s new four-class system.
St. Anne is 15 miles southeast of Kankakee.
“I think the four-class system is competitive for everyone,” Fleming continued after the Cardinals claimed the 1A title “I think we would have been competitive in 2A.”
St. Anne (25-8) went ahead 54-38 early in the fourth quarter and didn’t allow Nokomis (30-6) closer than the final margin. Varron Burdunice chipped in 19 points and eight rebounds, while Cortez Peden added nine points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals. Austin Bertolino paced Nokomis with 17 points.
On Friday, Christian Thompson of Walther Lutheran won the three-point-shooting contest in 2A. Vernon Young of Holy Trinity prevailed in the 1A dunk contest.
