Point guard Tyjuan Hunter carves up St. Anthony, sends Hope Academy to 1A title game

CHAMPAIGN—Hope Academy junior Tyjuan Hunter’s 80-foot heave right before the halftime buzzer hit the rim and dropped through the net.

Hunter’s teammates leaped in joy and turned around to congratulate Hunter on the feat. But the 5-7 point guard was already running down the tunnel into the locker room. It wasn’t time to celebrate yet.

“We are trying to come back to Chicago with the state championship trophy,” Hunter said. “We have to keep fighting.”

Hunter carved up St. Anthony in the Class 1A state semifinals at State Farm Center. He finished with 17 points, 10 assists and three steals in the Eagles’ 56-50 victory.

“Last year I was rushing things,” Hunter said. “This year I slowed it down. I worked on pace all summer. I know I’m fast. So I wanted to slow it down and read the floor.”

Hope Academy (27-7) lost in the semifinals last season. Hunter took charge immediately on Thursday morning, scoring the first five points of the game.

St. Anthony didn’t score in the first quarter. The Bulldogs’ first field goal came with 1:55 left in the second quarter.

Hope Academy led 22-10 at halftime and by 21 points midway through the fourth quarter. St. Anthony (32-5) charged back late, but time ran out on the comeback.

“We dug ourselves a big hole and took too long to dig ourselves out,” Bulldogs senior Brock Fearday said.

Hunter led the Eagles offense and his quick hands were a factor on defense. But Hope’s mobile length was the key to shutting down St. Anthony in the first three quarters. Jaiden Simmons, a 6-5 junior, and Trentyn McGinnis, a 6-3 sophomore, shut down the paint.

“We couldn’t get anything inside to open up anything outside,” St. Anthony coach Cody Rincker said. “Hope did a great job of attacking us in the corners and we didn’t have a lot of passing lanes that we could see to get the ball to the middle.”

Senior Malik Meridy scored 14 points for Hope Academy. Simmons added eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks. McGinnis finished with four points and nine rebounds.

“In a game like this anticipation and nerves come into play,” Eagles coach Ronnie Fields said. “[The players] take their keys from me so I stayed calm in the moment and guided them.”

Fearday led St. Anthony with 26 points and 15 rebounds. Ryan Schmidt scored 12 points for the Bulldogs.

Hope Academy will face the Peoria Christian-Eastland winner in the state championship game on Saturday. The Eagles have never won a state title but finished third last season and in 2017.