Hey, it’s a start.
Neil Sitapara, a 6-foot senior guard for Illinois Math and Science Academy, understands that “been there, done that” for the school’s boys basketball program has been be lacking in the past.
This just wasn’t the ending to the Little Ten Conference Tournament championship game that Sitapara had envisioned.
“First, I’m grateful to be here,” Sitapara said. “Most of our seniors have been playing three years together and we never made it this far. It’s unfortunate and it hurts.
“It’s bittersweet, but we’re all grateful we got to play on this court and in this atmosphere. At the same time, we’re disappointed.”
Sitapara scored a team-high seven points Friday night for the Titans in a 40-29 loss to Indian Creek at Somonauk in the 107th edition of the oldest annually run tournament in the state.
Senior guard Mofe Suleiman and junior forward Lota Onwuameze added six points apiece for IMSA (13-7), which was making its first appearance in the conference championship game.
The Titans joined Little Ten for the 2021-22 school year.
Sitapara, who hails from St. Charles and wants to be a doctor, struggled shooting 1 of 8 from the 3-point line and the Titans made just 22% (10 of 45) overall to 38% (16 of 42) for Indian Creek.
“It was rough for Neil, but it was rough for everyone,” IMSA coach Brad Snead said. “When Neil’s on, we play very well. When he’s off, we don’t play as well because they collapse on our bigs.
“His shooting frees up our bigs a lot.”
Payton Hueber, a 6-6 senior forward, scored nine points to lead Indian Creek (18-5). Senior guard Cooper Rissman added seven points, while three players each had six for the Timberwolves.
Senior guard Logan Schrader, who had six points and a game-high 12 rebounds, felt it was a similar script for Indian Creek.
“It’s like a lot of our games have gone,” Schrader said. “We don’t have anyone averaging 20 points. We all come together and we all score. We have guys who can get a bucket when they need to.”
All five starters for Indian Creek average between nine and 11 points.
That made it tougher for IMSA, but 6-5 senior forward Omar Njikam complemented his two points with eight steals at the top of a 2-3 zone.
“Playing a guard position in that press, he’s a disruptor for us,” Snead said of Nijkam. “A lot of teams aren’t used to seeing an athletic 6-5 kid in that guard position.”
Indian Creek’s defense also stepped up, fueling a 13-3 run to open the third quarter for a comfortable 13-point lead.
“Both teams missed a lot of bunnies,” Snead said. “You’re kicking yourself in the butt saying shoulda, woulda, coulda.”
The fifth-seeded Titans reached the final by defeating top-seeded Newark 46-37 in Thursday’s first semifinal. Third-seeded Indian Creek then beat second-seeded Hinckley-Big Rock 55-49.
That avenged the Timberwolves’ 47-44 loss to the Royals in last season’s tourney final.
“We blew out Serena by 20 in our first game and then beat the top seed,” Sitapara said. “We played really well those last two games. (Friday night) we had a deer-in-the-headlights look.
“We lost it a little bit and let it slip away.”
It’s a challenge to seed the tournament since several regular-season conference games remain. IMSA, in fact, was scheduled to play Indian Creek again on Monday and Newark on Tuesday.
“It’s a grind from here on out,” Snead said. “But that’s basketball this time of year. That’s what you want. This was our first time reaching the Final Four here. We might have won a play-in game but that’s about it.
“It was a great experience for our kids with the big crowd and how Somonauk does a great job of running the tournament. I love it. This was our regional game.”
