Boys basketball: Miletic scores 37, leads Rolling Meadows over Stevenson in OT thriller
Ian Miletic didn’t stop shooting — even when his team held off Stevenson 54-53 in overtime Wednesday in the semifinals of the Class 4A sectionals at Schaumburg.
Miletic, who scored 37 points, including all five of the Mustangs’ points in overtime, was used to shooting and scoring. So much so that as his teammates celebrated with the Rolling Meadows fans, Miletic began picking up all the cups by his team’s bench and firing them into the garbage.
“It is something I have done since my freshman year,” said Miletic, who has been a four-year varsity starter. “Schaumburg is so nice to host us. I just want to leave a place better than I found it.”
It was the first sectional win for Rolling Meadows (29-4) since 2001. The Mustangs, who are seeded second, will play top-seeded Fremd in Friday’s sectional final at 7 p.m. It will be a rematch of the Mid-Suburban League championship game which Meadows won.
The Mustangs needed a superhuman performance from Miletic to get there as no other Mustang was in double figures. Miletic finished 14-of-21 from the field overall and 3-for-7 from outside the arc.
That clutch shooting included a three-pointer with 4.5 seconds to play from 25 feet over Stevenson’s 6-foot-8 Atticus Richmond to tie the game at 49-49. He then followed with the eventual game-winning points with another three with 54.4 seconds left in overtime.
“It was really all in a day’s work,” said Miletic, who played nearly the entire fourth quarter and overtime with four fouls.
“I knew I was going to do whatever my team needed me to do to win. Tonight they needed me to put that ball through the rim. So I had to make sure I did it. “
“Ian was absolutely amazing,” Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said. “That is why he is going to Marquette. He just made big shot after big shot.”
After Miletic sent the game into overtime, Stevenson took a two-point lead on a pair of free throws by Aidan Bardic. Miletic answered with a basket to tie the game at 51-51. Richmond then scored with 1:22 left to make it 53-51.
Miletic’s three-pointer put the Mustangs up for good. But they had to hold off Stevenson in the final 54 seconds.
The Patriots called timeout with 13.2 seconds left. Bardic tried to drive inside for Stevenson, but the Mustangs’ Jaeden Warrener forced him away from the basket just enough for the shot to miss. In the scramble for the ball, Stevenson finally recovered, but was called for traveling with one second left.
“I just knew he was going to try to win the game,” Warrener said. “But I know my defense. I ‘m just good at my role playing defense. We have a lot of guys who can score, but I just take pride in playing defense.”
With Meadows’ 6-foot-8 Patrick Coen saddled with two early fouls, Stevenson went hard to the boards, especially on the offensive end, to take a 27-21 halftime lead. The Patriots’ ability to extend possessions was a huge key early for them.
Atticus Richmond led the way as Stevenson led 11-8 after one quarter. Rolling Meadows was able to get the lead down to 11-10 on a basket by Miletic before Stevenson took over. Liam Curtin triggered a 10-4 run with a three-pointer and Bardic culminated it with another three-pointer as the Patriots opened up a 21-14 advantage.
The Patriots built a 27-21 halftime lead and extended it quickly to begin the second half. Baskets by Rocco Pagliocca and Curtin put Stevenson up 31-21.
Meadows then switched defenses, going from man to a zone. The Mustangs also pressured the ball on top. The strategy worked as Meadows outscored Stevenson 19-9 to tie the game at 40-40.
Meadows pulled ahead 46-44 with 4:59 to play. Stevenson then scored five unanswered points thanks to a pair of driving layups by Bardic to lead 49-46 with 1:30 to play.
That set the stage for Miletic’s final heroics.
“Jaeden’s defense was huge for us,” said Katovich, who got 8 points from Lazar Lazarevic. “He takes real pride in that.”
Stevenson, which was 9-7 as a team right after Christmas and went on to share the North Suburban Conference title, was led by Richmond, who had 18 points. Bardic finished with 13 points, Curtin 10 and Pagliocca 8.
“It was a great game,” Stevenson coach Will Benson said. “We had our chances to win the game but ebbs and flows. Miletic obviously put his team on his back. But I am proud of our guys. They battled hard all year and I am proud of what they accomplished.”