Illinois high school boys basketball 2025 state finals roundup

Benet, DePaul Prep, Dyett and Hope academy all took home a 2025 Illinois high school boys basketball state championship

Benet's Jayden Wright (left) and Blake Fagbemi celebrate the Redwings' 55-54 win over Warren in the IHSA Class 4A state championship game on March 15 in Champaign. / Jack Lydon

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The last game of the Illinois boys basketball season came down to the very last play.

Actually, two "last" plays.

Warren, which trailed Benet by 11 late in the third quarter and by seven with 1:34 left in the IHSA Class 4A final at State Farm Center, cut its deficit to a single point in the closing seconds.

Warren had possession out of a timeout with 4.6 seconds left. The Blue Devils inbounded the ball to Javerion Banks, who passed to sophomore star Jaxson Davis. Davis slipped driving to the basket, and Warren was granted a timeout with one-tenth of a second showing on the clock.

After consulting with the scorer's table, the officials put two-tenths of a second back on the clock. 

Benet used its last timeout and coach Gene Heidkamp put 6-foot-7 Edvardas Stasys into a lineup that also included 7-0 Colin Stack and 6-9 Daniel Pauliukonis.

When play finally resumed, Warren inbounded the ball, Stasys swatted it away and Benet finally was able to celebrate a 55-54 win and the first state title in program history.

"We wanted to put our biggest lineup in," Heidkamp said. "Wanted to get somebody on the ball so they couldn't do a lob pass and our kid (Stasys) made a great play, got his hand on the ball."

The final 33 seconds of game action included five timeouts.

"It was pretty nerve-wracking," Pauliukonis said. "But most important was to stay poised and stay calm under pressure."

Pauliukonis led Benet (33-5) with 17 points and six rebounds. Jayden Wright scored 15 and grabbed seven rebounds, while Blake Fagbemi finished with 14 points, seven assists and four rebounds. Stack contributed nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks.

Heidkamp has built the Redwings into one of the state's elite programs, winning 420 games across 17 seasons (one of them shortened by COVID). Benet had reached three previous state title games, losing in 2014, 2016 and 2023.

Winning that first title "feels great for these kids," Heidkamp said. "I'm really proud of them. A state championship is obviously the ultimate, but (it was) never a driving force.

"This is always about the ride with the kids, the kids and the coach. It feels good to get the monkey off my back — off our back, I should say. But I would have been equally proud if we wouldn't have pulled it out. I'm so proud of these kids. They gave me everything they had."

Banks led Warren (27-11), which also was seeking its first state title, with 22 points and five rebounds. Davis had his usual stellar all-around game, finishing with 17 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and four steals.

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Class 3A

DePaul Prep 55, Brother Rice 52 (2 OT)

The Rams (33-4) became the fourth team in IHSA history to win at least three consecutive titles, repeating in 3A after winning 2A in 2023.

They rallied from nine down with 5:42 left in the fourth quarter, using a stifling pressure defense to erase the deficit.

Makai Kvamme had 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists for DePaul Prep, which lost 53-52 to Rice during the regular season. Rashaun Porter contributed a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds with five steals.

After the game, Rams coach Tom Kleinschmidt reflected on his journey, which included a standout playing career at his alma mater (then known as Gordon Tech) and DePaul University.

"My dad's a Hall of Fame official," Kleinschmidt said. "He took me down here. I fell in love with (former stars) Benji Wilson, Tim Bankston, LaPhonso Ellis, Eddie Horton. Those were my favorites before (Larry) Bird, Magic (Johnson) and (Michael) Jordan, and I've been coming down here since. ... I got an opportunity to play on the '90 state team. But nothing compares to coaching these guys."

The game was a grind-it-out affair, with Rice leading 15-14 at halftime. It was tied at 40 after regulation and at 43 after the first overtime.

"That was a fist fight," Kleinschmidt said. "It was a heavyweight battle."

Citadel recruit Marcos Gonzales had a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds to lead Rice (31-7), which was playing in the first state final in program history. K.J. Morris scored 11 and Jack Weigus finished with 10.

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Class 2A

Dyett 57, Althoff Catholic 41

The Eagles (27-7) fell behind by 11 midway through the second quarter before storming back to win the program's first state title.

Jaden McKinnon led Dyett with 17 points and Ricky Coleman had 10 points and seven rebounds. 

The Eagles held Althoff (31-6) to 12-for-46 shooting (26%), including 6-for-29 (21%) from 3-point range.

It's been a process for Dyett, which is in its second season of being one of the smaller schools playing in the top level of Chicago Public League basketball.

"Last year was a big step for us," coach Jamaal Gill said. "Very unfamiliar territory, playing in gyms we hadn't played in. But we did have some solid games. We played Lindblom tough, we played Simeon tough. I think all of that prepared us for this year.

"They came into this year very confident. It's very rare that you come in with 10 seniors. ... We're a family. ... And you can see, we stuck together and we won a state championship."

Zack Winkeler scored 14 for Althoff, Oregon football recruit Dierre Hill Jr. had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Bryden Grzymala added 10 points.

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Class 1A

Hope Academy 71, Eastland 38

The Eagles (28-7) turned in the most dominant performance of the day in the opener en route to winning the program's first state title. They never trailed, and after Eastland pulled within 27-21 at halftime, outscored the Cougars 44-17 the rest of the way.

Malik Meridy, who didn't play in Hope's 48-38 loss to Eastland in December, had 11 points and six rebounds in the rematch.

Tyjuan Hunter led Hope with a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds to go along with five rebounds. Jaiden Simmons added 12 points and seven rebounds.

Hunter hit two 3-pointers early in the third quarter to get the lead back to double digits.

"The game was too close," Hunter said. "(Coach Ronnie Fields) told us this morning we need to take a lead. So I feel like we needed a bigger lead ... than six to win this game. That's why I had to change my mode."

Parker Krogman led Eastland (34-5) with 17 points and Adam Awender added 15.

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