PEORIA — First things first.
The high school with two state championships in girls' tennis and one in boys' golf added another sport to its Honor Roll of Excellence on Saturday.
Centennial's Chargers are Class 3A boys' basketball state titlists following a dramatic 61-59 victory over Oswego in the title game at Carver Arena.
Coach Tim Lavin's top-ranked team finishes the season at 32-1 and with a 19-game winning streak.
Rayvonte Rice scored 21 points and James Kinney had 18 for the Chargers.
A team without any player who wears uniform No. 1 has a collective group of No. 1s.
The verdict was sealed when Rice stole the ball from the Panthers in the waning seconds as Oswego hoped to get off a last-ditch game-tying or game-winning shot. It was his second steal in the final 10 seconds.
Four-for-four free throwing in the last 16.3 seconds - 2 of 2 each by Kinney and Rice - made the difference.
Rice's charity tosses came with 6.5 seconds to go, after he stole the ball at midcourt, and broke a 59-59 tie.
Kinney, who made six of his first seven shots, missed nine in succession in the second half as Oswego rallied and gained its first lead, 54-51, on a three-pointer by Andrew Ziemnet with 4:46 left in the game.
Jeff Johnson helped put Centennial back in front, 57-54, hitting a three-pointer and scoring on a breakaway, but Oswego had another rally, starting with a three-pointer by Jordan Mitchell and conclucing with two free throws by Andrew Galow - who had not previously scored in the game.
His points, with 36.3 seconds left, gave the Panthers a 59-57 lead.
Centennial had taken command at the outset of the third quarter, Rice scoring six points in the opening 92 seconds as an eight-point halftime bulge was expanded to 11, 42-31.
Rice scored nine of his points in the quarter, including two on a vicious slam-dunk rebound following a miss by Kinney.
Oswego, however, kept chipping away and drew within a point, 47-46, when Ziemnik hit two free throws at 2:04 before the third quarter buzzer sounded.
The third quarter ended in a 47-47 deadlock, Oswego creating its second tie of the game (and first since a 3-3 draw) on a free throw by Colin Seibert with 47.2 seconds left in the period.
The Chargers, never trailing, held a 36-28 halftime lead over the unheralded Panthers.
Kinney and Rice led the way, but after teaming up for 18 first-period points, neither added to his total until the last minute of the second quarter.
The top-ranked Chargers received 13 first-half points from Kinney and 10 from Rice. Included in Kinney's totals were three more three-pointers to add to his school record in that department.
Oswego trailed by as much as 11 points, but pulled within a point, 27-26, at 2:07 before the half and had a chance to tie when Ziemnik went to the line to try and convert a three-point play.
It was the only free throw attempted by Oswego until the third quarter.
His free throw was off target and Centennial responded with a rebound basket by Jeff Johnson and, 15 seconds later, a steal and conversion by Jordan Johnson as the Chargers' lead increased once again.
Centennial built a double-figure first-quarter lead, but Oswego cut into it in the second period, reeling off nine successive points in the first 2:05.
Centennial ended the string when Jeff Johnson found Josh Piper underneath for a layup at 5:38, extending the Chargers' lead to 25-21.
Prior to that shot, the team's first in the second quarter, Centennial had committed four turnovers in the period.
Unlike Friday, Centennial was wearing its home white uniforms for the finals.
Rice's opening tip went to Kinney and 15 seconds later, Kinney nailed a three-pointer to lift Centennial into a lead it never relinquished.
Kinney scored 10 points and Rice added eight in the first eight minutes as the Chargers built a 23-12 lead over an opponent which was never ranked (or received votes) at any time during the regular season .
Kinney, Rice and Jeff Johnson all drilled first-period three-pointers as the Chargers' offense came out strong. The team was 4 for 6 on three-point tries in the first period.
The Chargers saw a familiar face on the court when the title game began. Referee Gary Buhr, from Rantoul, was assigned to officiate the game.
It was the first time he'd worked a Centennial game in the postseason, though he estimated he'd seen them "four or five times," during the more than 60 games he worked during the regular season.
Buhr made it to state for the second consecutive year and was doing his first championship game. In 2008, he was asked to work the 3A third-place game, which feature another Unit 4 school, Champaign Central.
On Friday, Buhr and his partners, Mark Powell, Springfield, and Thelbert Rayford, Peoria, worked Waukegan's Class 4A semifinal triumph. In that game, Buhr was the referee in charge and was designated to do the toss for the game-opening jump ball.
Centennal took the court Saturday knowing that the team it beat to reach the finals, Chicago North Lawndale, had rebounded from its one-point semifinal setback to capture third place, 91-77, against Chicago Leo.
Among the spectators watching two UI recruits place first and second in the King of the Hill slam-dunk contest was Illini coach Bruce Weber.
Sterling's Joseph Bertrand won the title between the winners of the four classes with a score of 48 (out of 50) while Robinson's Meyers Leonard placed second with a score of 44. Previously, Bertrand won the 3A championship and Robinson triumphed in Class 2A.
Before Saturday's 3A boys' basketball title game between Centennial and Oswego (12:45 p.m., WDWS 1400-AM, WCFN), two Chargers made news.
Senior James Kinney was one of 15 athletes selected by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association to its combined 3A/4A All-State first team.
Those present were introduced to the Carver Arena crowd at halftime of the third-place game. Kinney was one of four to be recognized.
UI recruits Bertrand, from Sterling, Brandon Paul, from Warren, and Jerome Richmond, from Waukegan's 4A finalists, were among the other picks.
Charger junior Rayvonte Rice was one of 20 athletes chosen for the IBCA third team.
Two area athletes were among the 53 named to the IBCA honorable mention list: Mahomet-Seymour teammates Luke Radliff and Nick Washburn.
Another UI recruit, Chicago Crane's Crandall Head, was listed on the 20-player IBCA fourth team.
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