50 After 50: No. 23 Raiders come oh-so-close to claiming first Class A state championship

The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year. The 2020-21 season would have been the 50th year of the boys basketball small-school tournament. Muddy River Sports is celebrating 50 years of small-school boys basketball by ranking the 50 best teams in Adams, Brown, Pike and Hancock counties since 1972.

No. 23 — 1971-72 Quincy Catholic Boys

QUINCY — Dan Pieper didn’t know what to expect.

The Illinois High School Association created a second class for boys basketball for the 1971-72 school year, which meant the road to the state tournament for Quincy Catholic Boys no longer had to run through Quincy High School.

However, Pieper kind of enjoyed playing against the Blue Devils. The Raiders had beaten their crosstown rival in 1970 and 1971.

“I missed getting to play against Larry Moore,” he said. “We knew each other. We used to play against each other out at the YMCA and get together like that.”

Moore and Pieper made numerous All-State teams as seniors and came very close to leading their teams to state championships in 1972. Moore averaged 27.6 points per game in leading the Blue Devils to a second-place finish in the Class AA state tournament, while Pieper averaged 26.2 points and 15.8 rebounds for the Raiders as they qualified for the first Class A state tournament.

“It would have been a challenge had we played that year,” Pieper said. “I think it would have been a good game, but if I was a betting man, I’d have bet Quincy High School would have beat us. They just had more soldiers.”

The Raiders posted a 26-3 record in 1970, then went 25-4 in 1971 and lost to Kewanee in the super-sectional. However, Pieper was the only starter to return for the 1971-72 season, and the Raiders didn’t start the season well, losing three of four games at the Hannibal Thanksgiving Tournament. Three losses in four games at the Pontiac Tournament during the Christmas break, followed by two losses to start January, put the Raiders at 6-8. 

A schedule loaded with Class AA teams kept Catholic Boys around the .500 mark all season. The Raiders defeated Normal Community in the season finale to enter regional play with a 13-12 record. Pieper did not know how they would fare against Class A competition.

“it was just taking one game at a time. Let’s go after it,” he said. “We’re starting to come together and gel. I knew where people were going to be before I even saw them. I’m saying if I got the ball, and I made a move. I knew where I probably could have thrown the ball without looking because we played together so good. 

“Jim Bockenfeld and I did well on the boards. Rick O’Donnell and Greg Gagnon were our little speedsters out there, and Steve Siebers was a hell of a player. We got it together — we could run the break, hit the outlet pass. We actually did well against a lot of those Class AA schools.”

The Raiders demolished Payson Seymour 101-50 in the regional opener, with Pieper scoring 36 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. CB then defeated Barry 72-47 in the semifinals as four players scored in double figures. Pieper led the way with 17 points and 17 rebounds. 

Central put up a fight in the regional title game, but Pieper’s 25 points and school-record 24 rebounds carried Catholic Boys to a 59-51 victory.

The Raiders resumed their offensive onslaught in the section on their home floor. They beat Industry 81-60, with Pieper totaling 34 points and 21 rebounds, in the semifinals. CB trailed Southeastern 50-48 midway in the third quarter, then scored 18 straight points and went on to win 97-77 in the sectional title game. Pieper had 35 points and 25 rebounds in the game.

Siebers had high-scoring honors with 21 points in a 78-66 victory over Piasa Southwestern in the super-sectional at Macomb. Pieper had 18 points.

“We could put it up,” Pieper said. “(Catholic Boys coach Bob Bender) would let us run, which is something people didn’t do back then. We had an organized fast break, and then we would go right into our offense. I made a living in the painted area. That was my bread and butter. I just put my back to the basket, and we had other guys who could score.”

The state tournament run died in the quarterfinals at Assembly Hall in Champaign.

The Raiders trailed 57-56 but had the ball with 15 seconds remaining after Lawrenceville’s Walt Simmons missed a free throw. Bob Bender called to a play for Siebers to set a screen for Pieper and receive a pass from freshman guard Bobby Bender. 

“I still remember it,” Pieper said. “We had a timeout, and I had a great relationship with Gagnon. I told him, ‘I’m gonna roll the man up on the block down there.’ I’ve already scored 27 points on him. And then he says, ‘I’m coming to you with the ball.’ And there was one move I won’t ever understand. I’ll say it now. I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, but I didn’t understand the move that Coach Bob Bender made when he put his freshman son in there and instead of Greg Gagnon during that time out,

“Now I’m worried, right? So I told (Bobby Bender), ‘Look, I’m gonna roll that man up on the block. Give me the ball.’ I wanted the ball.”

However, Pieper got double-teamed, and Simmons poked the ball away from the younger Bender. With time running out, Bender hurriedly threw the ball at the rim, and the shot missed.

“So I roll my guy up. I’ve got him on my butt,” Pieper said. “I’m hollering for the ball, and (Bender) fumbled the ball. When he got control, he just threw a brick up there that didn’t draw iron, and the buzzer goes off. I remember looking at (Coach) Bob Bender, and he looked at me, and that was it. It’s over.”

Lawrenceville won two more games the next day and claimed the first Class A state title. Fifty years later, Pieper still bemoans a missed opportunity.

“I watched the final game between Lawrenceville (and Mounds Meridian), and I know we would have beat that team,” Pieper said. “I promise you we would have beat them.

“It’s still a sour taste. I mean, I’ve got a lot to live for and to be thankful for and just keep moving forward, but yeah, that one has stuck with me. I know we could have won the ballgame. We should have won the state championship. Gee whiz.”

Pieper went on to play at Southeastern Louisiana University. Today he lives in Ponchatoula, La., where he is retired from a 33-year career with Marathon Oil.