By Mike Clark
Once Phillips gets going, it’s hard to stop.
Led by junior guards EJ Horton and Amari Edwards, the Wildcats push the pace at every opportunity and few teams can keep up.
The latest example came in Friday’s Class 2A Corliss Sectional final, when Phillips rolled past Hansberry 90-71 to earn a berth in Monday’s Joliet Central Supersectional.
Edwards had 32 points, nine rebounds and six steals for the Wildcats (22-9), while Horton passed 1,000 career points and finished with 26 points, seven rebounds and six steals. Phoenix Childs, yet another junior guard, had 10 points and four rebounds, while 6-6 junior forward Claude Mpouma contributed eight points and six rebounds.
It’s the first sectional title and third Elite Eight berth in program history. The Wildcats won the Public League title in 1975 and ’77 under legendary coach Herb Brown and captured the Class AA state championship in 1977.
This year’s team, which starts just one senior, is racing toward making its own history.
“Everybody on the team is athletic or quick,” Horton said. “And that’s a big advantage (against) big teams and players that are not as fast in transition. We’re a transition team and it’s hard to stop us when we get a rhythm.”
Edwards agreed.
“We’ve been doing that all year long,” he said. “Playing together, playing fast. I feel like our game is fast tempo.”
Trying to contain both Horton and Edwards is a tough nut to crack for opponents.
“That’s what makes it easier for both of us and then the whole team,” Edwards said.
That’s the plan, according to Phillips coach Paris Martin.
“I like to let my boys get up and down the floor,” he said. “This … is what we train for, what we practice for.”
The offense is often jump-started by the defense. The Wildcats had 14 steals against Hansberry, including three by Horton in quick succession during one stretch.
“I take defense seriously,” Horton said. “Defense is going to (help) me score my baskets. If I don’t play defense, I can’t score.”
Horton and the Wildcats had a tough defensive assignment on Friday in trying to counter Hansberry’s dynamic brother combo of AJ and Ikee Brooks. AJ had an impressive double-double of 34 points and 12 rebounds with six steals on 15-for-25 shooting, while Ikee had 16 points on 8-for-13 shooting,
But the Wildcats pressured the Bengals (20-12) into 22 turnovers and limited the rest of the team to 21 points.
Hansberry’s only lead was 2-0 and the last tie was at 11. Phillips took control with an 11-0 run spanning the first and second quarters. It was 41-28 at halftime and Hansberry didn’t get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
All that wouldn’t have been possible without the efforts of Horton and Edwards.
“The best thing about the situation is having the best backcourt in the state,” Martin said. “Secondly, they’re very unselfish. It’s been a learning curve for us as a group to play together, play with each other. It’s next man up, make the extra pass, the extra kick. We don’t want a good shot, we want a great shot.”
