CHAMPAIGN — David Hasenstab and Champaign Central’s seven other seniors on the current Maroons’ boys’ basketball team were in seventh grade the last time the Central won a regional plaque.
Regional championship are all that Decatur MacArthur’s senior class had known, however, entering Friday nights’ Class 3A Centennial Regional final at Coleman Carrodine Gym.
But 19 points from David Riley and 14 points from Chris Bush helped the Maroons snap the Generals’ streak, with Central delivering a 60-54 upset win to earn the program’s postseason hardware since 2019.
“We have a lot of basketball history at Champaign Central,” Hasenstab said. “In the past three years, we’ve underachieved mightily. We’ve struggled. Being able to be the team that gets us back going on track means a lot.”
MacArthur won the opening tip-off, but Riley scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer that set the tone for the Maroons (17-12).
The Maroons closed the opening quarter on a high note, with Riley scoring 10 of his points in that period to lead them to a 17-10 edge.
“I wasn’t really thinking about scoring, but if it opened up,” Riley said. “I just attacked it.”
The Maroons’ second quarter included six field goals, most notably a breakaway layup from Hasenstab that gave the Maroons a 24-15 lead with 4:30 left before halftime.
That advantage became a 30-24 halftime lead. Central coach P.J. Keaton’s halftime message was simple, as were his pregame remarks.
“The message in the locker room was stay together through everything,” Keaton said. “Every time they made a mistake, turned it over or missed a shot, I just kept saying stay together, stay together, no matter what.”
And it resonated with the Maroons during the third quarter, with Bush hitting a stepback three-pointer and Cayden Love following an ankle-breaking maneuver with an and-one layup during the middle stages of the quarter.
It kept a loud crowd at Centennial engaged. The gym wasn’t full — one of its two upper levels was left retracted — but Central’s cheerleading squad was persistent in stomping on the wooden bleachers throughout the game.
“It was a lot of fun, actually,” Riley said. “I love games like that, down to the nail. They played a great game too, but we just came out on top.”
Sean Lee paced MacArthur with 20 points to keep the Generals (24-9) within striking distance. But Central clung to a 46-43 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Lee started the fourth quarter with a basket that cut the Generals’ deficit to one point with seven minutes to play. K.B. Brown splashed a three-pointer a minute later that gave MacArthur its first lead since the first quarter.
“We just had resiliency. We fought,” Hasenstaab said. “I think that’s credit to having a senior-led team. Everyone’s played in a lot of regionals. Being able to stay together, bounce back, it meant a lot.”
A back-and-forth stretch followed, with the Maroons taking the lead on Luke Swanson’s and-one putback with 4:10 to play before Bush gave them their final edge on a layup with just under 30 seconds left.
Bush was helped to the bench following that play — to a roar from the Maroons’ Bleacher Bums section — but wasn’t worried about the injury in the moments following the game.
“I think we can definitely accomplish a sectional championship and on to state, man,” Bush said. “That’s my goal.”
Hasenstab — who sank key free throws when the Generals were forced to foul in the game’s waning seconds — interrupted Keaton’s remarks to media members to voice unwavering support for the team’s second-year coach.
“Best coach in the state,” Hastenstaab said. “He’s a hard-nosed coach, but you always know he’s got your back. … I know forever, even 20 years down the line when he’s still coaching here, I’m going to have his back.”
The Maroons will now prep to face Chatham Glenwood (21-9) at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a sectional semifinal game at Decatur Eisenhower.
“It means so much, man,” Keaton said. “My goal for this season was just make sure you get a regional championship and take the next step so that we can keep building this thing.”
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