SOUTH BELOIT—South Beloit head coach Matt Stucky said it took a few possessions out of the gate for his boys basketball team to feel fully comfortable offensively.
But no one on the court looked more at ease with the ball in their hands than senior TreyMon Payton-Ruff.
Payton-Ruff sank four 3-pointers and scored 13 points to help build a 30-14 lead by halftime as the third-seeded SoBos crushed 13th-seeded Stockton 58-28 in Monday’s IHSA 1A Regional quarterfinal showdown.
“TreyMon did a nice job letting the game come to him,” said Stucky, who expects to be leading South Beloit through its playoff run after taking time away in the regular season as his wife Melissa battles cancer. “He didn’t really force any shots, and the ball was coming off of his hand really well. He was feeling it, so we fed him for a while.”
Stucky also complimented Payton-Ruff’s stout work on defense, which may have been even more important in helping the SoBos run away early.
After Carter Blair hit a three to start the game, South Beloit contested shots and forced turnovers to keep the Blackhawks (8-20) off of the board for the rest of the first quarter.
“I’ll be honest, I’d rather plan defense than play offense,” said Payton-Ruff, who finished with six treys and a game-high 19 points. “I like getting steals and being the most defensive player on the team.”
As the SoBos (23-7) worked to find its flow, Payton-Ruff scored a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw to help build a 13-3 lead. He added a pair of treys in the second half while junior Ross Robertson scored eight points to spur South Beloit to a 16-point lead at halftime.
“Once we (felt comfortable), we shot well,” Stucky said. “And that obviously helps us feel more comfortable. We passed it really well too, and that always helps.”
The SoBos put the dagger in quickly out of halftime as it scored the first 21 points of the third quarter to up their lead to 51-14.
Robertson, South Beloit’s leading scorer, scored seven of those points, Payton-Ruff added two treys and senior Desmond Hampton contributed six.
“When we get the ball to Ross in the middle, he makes a good play,” Payton-Ruff said. “And when you throw the ball to him, the whole team goes to him which opens up shots for our other guards.”
Robertson finished with 17 points and his usual bevy of rebounds while Hampton contributed a few steals and deflections in addition to his nine points.
“Syncere (Fane) was really good tonight too,” Stucky added. “He didn’t score, but he had ten assists. A couple of the seniors that typically aren’t in the stats because they don’t score a lot were awesome tonight. They got us in position to score and played really well.”
Jon Randecker scored seven points as the leading scorer for Stockton, which struggled to get to the basket through the brick wall that was South Beloit’s zone defense.
The SoBos’ will next face fifth-seeded East Dubuque, which defeated Warren 61-44 and is hosting the regional semifinals and championship, on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
“We talked tonight about how the most important possession is always the next one,” Stucky said. “So, it's the same thing. The most important game tonight was this one. This is great. But next one is Wednesday. Wednesday will be the most important game. We’ll be ready to go.”
• BOXSCORE:
SOUTH BELOIT 58, STOCKTON 28
Stockton 3 11 9 5 — 28
S. Beloit 13 17 26 2 — 58
STOCKTON (fg ft-fta pts) — Graves 2 0-0 6, Tucker 1 0-0 3, Blair 1 0-0 3, Larson 0 2-2 2, Harbach 1 0-0 3, Westaby 2 0-0 4, Gardner 1 0-0 3, Randecker 3 1-2 7. Totals: 10 3-4 28.
S. BELOIT (fg ft-fta pts) — Robertson 6 5-7 17, Porter 3 0-2 7, Hampton 4 1-2 9, Beauers 1 0-0 2, Payton-Ruff 6 1-2 19, Carlson 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 8-13 58.
3-pt. Goals: Stockton 5 (Graves 2, Tucker, Blair, Harbach), SB 8 (Payton-Ruff 6, Porter 2). Fouled out: Harbach. Total fouls: Stockton 12, SB 8.
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