Burlington Central plays its best game of the year to knock off Geneva in the 3A regionals

Burlington Central didn’t surge into the playoffs. The Rockets lost five of their final eight regular season games.

But coach Brett Porto has a young, energetic team with a short memory and the atmosphere on Tuesday at Rocket Hill for the Class 3A regional semifinal game against Geneva was tingling with postseason electricity.

Fans can make a difference, maybe more so in high school basketball than at any other level. Burlington Central’s players felt the energy from the student section.

“It was amazing,” junior guard Ryan Carpenter said. “Home game, playoffs and we got the win.”

The Rockets beat Geneva 62-58, holding on to win after giving away an 11-point lead in the second half.

“That is kind of us,” Porto said. “We give up leads. But I told them to just relax and get to the fourth quarter, and we would be right there. They did a really good job of staying poised with it.”

Carpenter is just 5-11, but he was the game’s leading rebounder with nine boards. He scored 14 points and had three crucial assists in the fourth quarter.

“When [Carpenter] is aggressive, we are a much better team,” Porto said. “When he gets downhill, good things happen on offense. He’s played with toughness like that on the defensive end his whole career.”

The Rockets (19-12) start four juniors and 6-6 freshman Declan Wilson. Guard Bennek Braden led with 19 points and four rebounds, and 6-6 forward Patrick Magan added 11 points. Guard Joseph Cumpata scored eight.

Wilson is an intriguing college prospect.

“He’s been really good for us this year, and he’s going to be a special player,” Porto said. “He’s skilled and not done growing. He’s had a lot of double-doubles for us. We’ve learned to trust him and play through him at different moments.”

Wilson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds and shot 5-for-7.

“I was passive and nervous at the start of the season,” Wilson said. “Now I’m more comfortable with my teammates and I’ve learned my role as a player.”

Burlington Central led 29-18 at halftime. Geneva (25-7) took a 40-38 lead on a three by Dane Turner with 1:31 left in the third quarter.

The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run and never trailed again.

“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout this season,” Porto said. “So that was really nice to see them play a complete basketball game, no matter which way it went. That was by far our best game of the year.”

Junior guard David Udoiwood led the Vikings with 24 points. He fouled out with 1:54 left and Geneva trailing 56-50. Senior guard Nathan Palmer added 18 points for the Vikings, who were outrebounded 29-23.

“In our seven losses we really struggled to rebound,” Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. “Part of it is a technique thing and part is a toughness thing. [Burlington Central] did a great job and we just got beat up on the backboards.”

Burlington Central will host undefeated Kaneland in the regional final on Friday. Marshawn Cocroft scored 22 for the Knights and Connor Kimme added 15 in their 76-50 win against Prairie Ridge earlier in the night.

“Kaneland is going to be a good challenge, but I think we can step up,” Carpenter said.