Bowen’s Jeremiah Carter pumped his fist and screamed as the buzzer went off in the Blue Division city championship game. That was pure joy and adrenaline. Moments later, after the medals were handed out and the photos were taken, the senior held back tears.
“I’ve been at Bowen for four years, and it’s been hard sometimes,” Carter said. “We’ve had good moments and bad. But nothing has felt like this. It’s the one Bowen has never done. We aren’t done yet. We are going to soak this in and then work on getting downstate.”
The Boilermakers beat host Little Village 70-65 to win the school’s first basketball city title. And they did it on the road, in a hostile environment.
Carter is the emotional, hard-working heart of Bowen (17-11). He finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds and made two free throws with seven seconds left to seal it.
Little Village’s enrollment is 1,278. Bowen has 197 students. But the Boilermakers have a special talent in Rae’Qwon Rogers.
The senior guard started high school at Simeon and has been at Bowen for three years. He’s athletic and skilled and could play for any team in the Super 25. Rogers led the Boilermakers with 27 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
“We’ve battled adversity all season,” Rogers said. “So having to play a city title game on the road wasn’t a big deal. We were ready to come here and take care of business.”
Little Village (23-6) led at halftime and throughout the third quarter. The Phoenix took a 57-53 lead with 5:57 left on a basket by senior Tyshawn Miller.
Bowen’s comeback began with Rashad Jackson’s post bucket with four minutes left to cut the lead to 60-59. Then Carter stepped up, scoring on a daring drive to the basket to put the Boilermakers ahead by one. Then he ripped off a steal and scored on a fast-break layup to give Bowen a 63-60 lead it never relinquished.
“[Bowen coach Aaron Wilson] always tells us to stick together and play poised and disciplined,” Carter said. “That’s what I was thinking at the end. Stay together and pick the moments.”
Senior Ahmad Marega had 11 points for the Boilermakers, and Moses Coles added nine points and seven rebounds.
“This means everything,” Wilson said. “This is the first one in Bowen history. I understand it is the Blue Division but you have to start somewhere. This is big for us and it is big for the school.”
Pablo Rodriguez, a 6-8 junior, led Little Village with 14 points and eight rebounds. He made two key three-pointers in the fourth quarter. Junior Emmanuel Resendez added 14 points.
“We got rattled at the end,” Little Village coach Christopher Presswood said. “We lost focus and didn’t execute down the stretch. But there’s nothing to hang our head about. We have the most wins in school history and we aren’t done. There are just three seniors on the team so everyone else is coming back.”
The Blue Division is the third and lowest level of Public League basketball. Traditionally, both schools would be promoted to the White Division. Both coaches said they believe that will happen. But with the uncertainty surrounding Public League leadership in sports and overall, nothing is certain about next year’s basketball format.