In the start of the 2021-2022 Bison Boys basketball team they got off to a nice start.  Despite the chaotic 2020 season the bison were still able to prevail throughout it. During the challenging Covid-19 season the bison had to fight and strive through the changes they were faced with. 

“The masks were very challenging and it was very strange driving separately to away games instead of on buses although, the challenges made us come together as a team and as a whole to still finish off with a decent record of 11-5”, senior Jacob Heinrich said. 

In the season the Bison started with a record of 8-10 while they looked to continue to keep the ball rolling despite having to fill some big shoes as their previous star player Kam Craft left. 

“His absence was very unspoken of and nobody was aware of it”, senior Adidas Davis said. “Although he left nothing has changed we still have the same gritty mindset to get the job done on the court”. 

One of the most notable games where the bison displayed great execution on the courts was on Sept 30, 2021. Davis came from a terrific double-double game vs Grant Community High with 19 points 11 rebounds and seven assists helping the team in every aspect of the game to get the job done.

 “We’re off to a pretty decent start mainly because we are more experienced and everyone does their job and is good at their role given to them,” Davis said. “It’s going to be a very fun season, although we’re underrated and no longer talked about, we’re still going to make noise this year regardless. Last year through the covid season we finished off 6-5 in conference and 11-5 overall which wasn’t too bad but yet we still had tons of room for improvement.” 

Heinrich also displayed a fantastic game against Elk Grove High putting up 20 points, eight rebounds, and three steals. 

Another exciting game the bison displayed was against Vernon Hills coming away with a devastating loss of 67-60. Both teams traded baskets back-and-forth throughout the entire game with a very offensive scoring game plan on both ends. 

Sophomore Connor Woodlin came away with 12 points followed by senior Aidan Romanski with 11 points, Davis with 10 points and senior Alex Beihoffer with 10 points. Vernon Hills led the score 15-14 after one quarter and after 28-27 at halftime.

“Everything just started flowing, our offense came out very slow in the first quarter after that we just fixed our mistakes and followed through with our normal fast paced game style of play”, Woodin said. “We just figured out our game plan to execute and to put the ball in the hands of our key playmakers while holding up on defense as well.”

In the start of the third quarter with the score 28-27 cougars lead, Davis struck again with a coast to coast 3 pointer to give the bison a 2-point lead of 30-28. Later in the 3rd with 5 minutes 10 seconds on the clock Davis dribbled to the top of the key for Beihoffer to set a screen for an easy pick and roll basket. 

Just before heading into the fourth quarter with a tied score of 47-47 a late driving basket by Beihoffer gave the bison their lead of 49-47. 

In the start of the fourth quarter the bison gets the ball first inbounded by Romanski to Heinrich to get a difficult driving layup to put the bison up 51-47. 

Driving down the court later in the fourth Davis sets up the bison’s offense for a drive and kicks out to Romanski for a wing 3 pointer to put the bison up 54-52 with 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. 

With 11 seconds left on the clock in the fourth quarter the Cougars were able to make a very clutch basket from the free throw line giving them the lead of 66-60 resulting in a tough loss for the bison. 

“I think although we lost we showed how great we can play as a team and going through our progressions”,Beihoffer said. “We need to work on playing 100% throughout the entire game.” 

The Bison finished off with a total of 32 rebounds, 25 assists, 7 steals, and 2 blocks. Shooting 42 percent from the Field Goal, 39 percent from the three point line, and 33 percent from the free throw line. 

Meanwhile the Cougars finished overall with 34 rebounds, 12 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks. Shooting slightly lower from the field goal with 30 percent, 33 percent from the 3 point line and 89 percent from the free throw. 

On Jan 20 the visiting bison came away victorious with a score of 60-57 triumph over the Hersey Huskies. Last time these two teams encountered each other the huskies came away with the win but this game the bison stepped up and came away with the victory. 

The bison have a 10-12 record while being 3-3 in conference and the huskies have a 6-18 record while placing 4th in their conference. 

In the first half of the game the bison started off on a phenomenal run with the bison setting up their offense first senior guard Aidan Romanski to start the game off with a 3-pointer. 

This well executed point would only be the first of many as the bison continues to get their defensive and offensive plan going. In the middle of the first quarter the bison kept their offense going as senior shooting guard Adidas Davis dribbled the ball upcourt as he kicked it out to Aiden Romanski to drive and find Josh grote for an open corner 3-pointer. 

In the second quarter the huskies and bison were starting to keep the score a very close game. Both teams battling trading baskets back and forth and capitalizing on their opponents mistakes to turn it to their advantage. Both teams were starting to heat up. 

“We just really played our game to the best of our ability, we knew our offensive and defensive game plan before going into the game and we just really executed how our coach wanted us to,” Adidas Davis said. 

“As a sophomore I just really had to step up and play my role, I think we collectively played to the best of our ability to execute throughout the game although we were having a bit of a rough start in the first half,” Woodlin said. 

“Collectively I think we played a very aggressive and hard fought game every quarter. We’ve had an offensive and defensive gameplan going into this game and we just really transferred it to the game”, Coach Peterson said. 

The Bison ultimately made it to the regional championship for the first time in 12 years, however, they fell to Barrington for a final score of 58-34 and a season record of 14-18.

However, what is most noteworthy about this season is that it was Coach Peterson’s final. After 20 seasons, 9 as head coach, Peterson is hanging up his clipboard for new adventures off the court. We wish you the best!