Mokena Junior High Basketball Team Wins Sectional Title

MOKENA, IL - The Mokena Junior High School eighth grade boys basketball team won an IESA sectional basketball championship on Wednesday with a 48-46 overtime win over the Homer Mustangs at Collin Powell Middle School in Matteson, the same gym where the team won a sectional as seventh graders last year.

The Meteors battled from 11 points down at halftime to come within five at the end of the third quarter and tie the game at 40-40 with 54 seconds to go. In overtime, the team jumped out to a quick lead and hit several key free throws down the stretch to hang on and win.

For Mokena, the win avenged the team's only loss of the season and it was the second victory out of three tries against Homer this year.

When clock hit zero and the team clinched, the stands "erupted to cheers of an excited crowd," according to a press release from Mokena Junior High. The win puts this group of players at 68-4 over the last three years of competitive basketball.

With the win, the Meteors advance to the IESA Elie 8. They will continue their quest for a state championship with a game against Springfield Grant at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 11 at Urbana Middle School.

Photo courtesy Mokena Junior High