Zion-Benton Ends Warriors’ Season

A fourth quarter rally fell short as the Deerfield High School basketball team dropped its Regional semifinal game to Zion-Benton, 61-48, Wednesday in Deerfield ending its season.

A pair of three-point shots by freshman Jordan Baum got the Warriors within six points of the lead with just over three minutes left in the contest before the Zee-Bees pulled away for good.

Earlier: Warriors Rout McHenry in Regional Opener

“Baum hit two threes that really got us going in the fourth quarter,” Deerfield Coach Dan McKendrick said. “They made their free throws at the end. They are a very good team.”

Though three-point shooting is usually a mainstay of the Warriors’ game, they made only seven of 28 attempts against Zion-Benton. Baum had two of them and Michael Alfieri, who finished the game with 11 points, made three.

“He can shoot it,” McKendrick said of Alfieri, the center. “When he gets his feet planted he can hit (from three-point range). He passed off some good assists.” Aflieri and Alexander Glantz led Deerfield with 11 points each. Eric Porter added seven with Baum and Tony Shapiro netting six apiece.

Deerfield ended the season with an 11-17 record. Despite the return of Baum, Porter and Alfieri, McKendrick was thinking more about the six seniors—Shapiro, Glantz, Jacob Brody, Greg Dikoph, Jack DiMatteo and Jack Gurvey—afterwards who played their last game for the Warriors.

“They were phenomenal leaders. They were here every day and gave every bit of their ability,” McKendrick said. He finished his first year at the helm for Deerfield. “I was proud to be their coach,” he added referring to the entire team.

Get local news in a daily email from Patch. It's like getting a free newspaper. Learn more and "like" us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.