Peoria Central senior Aldonis Foote made a number of gestures Saturday during the Class 3A championship game.
An arms-folded pose after a slashing basket.
Holding up three fingers following a 3-pointer.
Foote dominated on both ends of the court during key stretches for 17 points in a 72-64 victory over North Chicago for the 3A title at Carver Arena.
Foote said a special game called for a memorable performance — and a show.
“I never do stuff like that, but this is my last game so I wanted to go out with a bang,” Foote said. “That’s what I did tonight. Coach (Dan Ruffin) doesn’t like all that showboating stuff. All season long we got big buckets and we never showboated.”
Foote awoke the Lions’ stagnant offense in a two-minute stretch in the first quarter. He slammed home two straight alley-oops and blocked a ball out of bounds and another off the backboard.
The Lions (28-3) solved North Chicago’s pressure and half-court zones by moving the ball and spreading the court. Peoria’s transition offense keyed a 10-0 run and a 39-31 halftime lead.
Foote ignited another run early in the third quarter by slashing to the basket for a three-point play and adding a 3-pointer to pad the Lions’ lead to 54-39.
Peoria’s defensive pressure — and length — frustrated the Warhawks into 6-for-22 shooting from beyond the arc and limited them to five field goals in the final 12-plus minutes. Illinois State recruit Aaron Simpson shot 10-for-26 from the field, including 3-for-13 on 3s, for 26 points.
“It (their height) was a big impact,” Simpson said. “They made us change our shooting a lot, and we couldn’t get in there and finish.”
In their second trip to state, the Warhawks (25-7) bettered their fourth-place finish from 2011.
“It wasn’t the North Chicago team (today) that got us here,” North Chicago coach Gerald Coleman said. “Second place, a whole lotta teams (would) love to be in that position.”
Player of the game:
Aldonis Foote, Peoria Central, 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks.
Key performers:
North Chicago — Aaron Simpson, 26 points, 3 3-pointers; JaVairius Amos-Mays, 17 points, 2 3-pointers, 8 rebounds. Peoria Central — Trey Kellum, 14 points, 15 rebounds; Jerrell White, 13 points, 9 assists.
