PEORIA—Normal has lost just one game this season. That’s as much due to mindset as talent. On Tuesday, the Ironmen were calm, cool and composed enough to knock off a senior-laden, Division I loaded Simeon team.
Friday at Carver Arena Normal took Geneva’s best shot and survived, just barely, thanks to Alex Peacock’s heroics. The 6-7 senior tipped in Tyler Vance’s miss to give the Ironmen a 38-36 win over the Vikings in the Class 4A State Semifinals.
“I saw him driving, and the lane was wide open,” Peacock said. “Luckily he put it really high off the backboard. It means a lot. It was great.”
“That whole side was wide open so I just crashed it,” Vance said. “We had a play for me to come off the screen and look for a shooter, but I saw the lane was clear.”
Even after beating Simeon on Tuesday, most of the state still didn’t believe in Normal. When Geneva star Nate Navigato knocked down a runner to tie the game with 11 seconds to play it looked like the playoff run was over.
Peacock, a senior with no Division I offers, led Normal (33-1) with 16 points. He shot 7-for-9 from the field and grabbed six rebounds. Zach Thompson added six points, and David Boyd scored five for the Ironmen, who battled with the much-taller Vikings on the boards, losing just 23-20.
“Everyone got to see what a 1955 basketball game looked like,” Normal coach Dave Witzig said. “What stood out is how physical [the Ironmen] are. There just weren’t too many places to go on the offensive end. It wasn’t pretty, a lot of our games weren’t very pretty.”
Peacock scored 14 of his 17 in the first half.
“The first half they didn’t guard me closely, it was free shooting,” Peacock said. “The second half they put a guy right on me, like my siamese twin.”
Navigato, a Buffalo recruit, led Geneva (30-3) with 19 points. Loudon Love-Vollbrecht and Pace Temple each scored six.
“We played a heck of a game,” Navigato said. “Just fell short in the end. It was a tremendous season.”
