In one of the greatest basketball games The Hound has ever witnessed, Ronald Steward became a hero for his fans and every player who's ever hoped to score from half court with a last-millisecond shot to take the Zee-Bees into the state finals.
What does a team like this do for an encore?
Talk about your icemen. There's Steward and then there's Coach Don Kloth who noted calmly after the game winning three-pointer he and his team were, "Livin' for the moment." Undoubtedly. In a game that was even-up all the way, what a finish.
Steward's spectacular shot gave the Zee-Bees a 54-51 win over the Evanston Wildkits and cemented a first- or second-place finish on Saturday in the state 4A finals in Peoria. Do teams really practice that last-minute, Hail Mary, or did he go solo? Who knows, who cares.
The Hound thought the game was in doubt when Zachary Morton of Evanston drained a trey from the outfield. It certainly was over after the steal. But then it turned around in a flash and Ronald "Iceman" Steward hit that three-pointer on the sweet spot of the glass and The Valley was abuzz. On to the next round.
Yowza, it doesn't get any better than this hoops fans.
