After dealing with all sorts of adversity growing up that included leaving his home and moving in with a legal guardian as a 6th grader, Ronald Steward got a chance to be a hero Friday night.
The 43-foot shot Steward hit just before the buzzer left the junior guard running away from the pummeling of ecstatic teammates in Zion-Benton’s 54-51 victory over Evanston in the Class 4A semifinals.
Zion-Benton (32-3) was to play Richards (29-4) in Saturday’s championship game.
Evanston’s Zach Morton had calmly nailed a three-pointer with 22 seconds left to make it 51-51.
Holding for the last shot, Zion-Benton watched an entry pass to sophomore Lenzelle Smith (19 points, nine rebounds) get tipped. Evanston’s Sean Croegaert-Key made a steal with five seconds to go and tried an outlet pass.
“I saw the pass being lobbed (to Morton), and I thought I was fast enough to grab it,” said Steward, who scored nine points. “Once I got it, I actually looked up at the clock. It read two seconds. I lined it up, set my feet and followed through.
“When it went in, I couldn’t believe it. Then I started running away from my teammates, who were mobbing me. One of the guys was actually choking me.”
Smith, whose father, Lenzelle Smith Sr., is Steward’s legal guardian, had a great view of the shot.
Said Smith: “That shot is going down in history.””
