SOMONAUK —For the second straight night at the 100th Little Ten Conference Boys Basketball Tournament, the seeds held true during the semifinal round here at Somonauk High School on Friday.
The top-seeded and four-time defending champion Newark Norsemen used solid defense, outstanding shooting and a key 7-0 spurt at the end of the first half to eventually advance to their record 28th LTC championship game with a 75-46 victory over the No. 4 seed and host Somonauk in the night's first semifinal.
In the nightcap, No. 2-seeded Indian Creek came back from a eight-point halftime deficit to clip No. 3 seed Serena 76-71.
The Norsemen (19-4) and Timberwolves (16-5) will now meet for the fourth consecutive year for the title with the ball going in the air approximately 7 p.m. tonight.
Newark, which never trailed, jumped out to a 20-10 lead after the opening period, but Somonauk cut the disadvantage to 30-24 with just under two minutes to go before the intermission. However, a 3-pointer by Brett Myre and five points by Corey Jacobson extended the lead to 37-24. The Norsemen then outscored the Bobcats 22-13 in the third frame to hold a commanding 59-37 margin heading to the fourth.
In the final frame, Alex Tollefson scored 14 of his team's 16 points, while his team held the Bobcats to nine.
"We haven't shoot the ball well for a whole game this season, but I thought we did that tonight," said Newark coach Rock Tollefson, his club hitting 53 percent of their shots, including 12 3-pointers.
"Brett is a very good shooter and did a great job of being a leader and kept us in offensive sets. Corey played well all-around, Alex shot it well in the second half and Jared Slivka was Jared Slivka. When you shoot the ball well, it can make the rest of the game easier. The bench for the second straight night came in and gave us good minutes as well."
Jacobson led all scorers with 21 points, to go along with six rebounds and eight assists, while Myre netted 19 points, including five shots from beyond the arc, and had seven rebounds and five helpers. Alex Tollefson came off the bench to pop in 18 points, which included four treys.
Somonauk (10-12) was paced by 14 points from Nolan Wegener, while Liam Roberts added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
"We just didn't handle Newark's pressure defense for most of the game," said Somonauk coach Ron Hunt, his club finishing with 21 turnovers and 44 percent shooting. "We didn't come to the ball as often as we should have and when we did we were getting good looks. Newark does a very good job of not letting you run your offense, so you have to be in scramble situations. If your smart and keep your composure, you can reverse the ball to the weak side and then attack the basket because they are running a couple guys at you. We just didn't do a good enough job of finding the open man.
"We've now played then three times this year and tonight was the best they shoot the ball against us."
Newark's Brett Myre (5) drives around Somonauk's Liam Roberts during the third place game of the Little Ten boys basketball tournament at Somonauk High School on February 1.
Newark's Nate Christian (left) and Somonauk's Cameron Davis scramble for a loose ball during the third place game of the Little Ten boys basketball tournament at Somonauk High School on February 1.
Newark's Beau Brown (25) drives under the basket against Somonauk defenders Justin Steortz (top) and Cameron Davis (24) during a semifinal game of the Little Ten boys basketball tournament at Somonauk High School on February 1.
Newark's Jacob Silvka (1) sweeps past Somonauk's Nolan Wegener (44) for a tough layup during the third place game of the Little Ten boys basketball tournament at Somonauk High School on February 1.