The result on Saturday night in Peoria was the most unbelievable feeling the Saxons
               could have imagined on the final night of the 2000-2001 high school boys basketball
               season.

               Unranked Schaumburg may not have had an answer for Thornwood giant Eddy
               Curry, but it had one for everything else in a classic clinic in the Class AA state
               championship game.

               And with 5.9 seconds left, it was all over but the hugs on the Schaumburg sideline
               and the delirious shouting and celebrating from its fans after a 66-54 shocker of
               top-ranked Thornwood before 11,216 in the Peoria Civic Center's Carver Arena.

               "It feels awesome,'' said 10th-year Schaumburg coach Bob Williams of the first
               boys basketball title by a Mid-Suburban League school in its 38-year history.

               "No one gave us a shot,'' exclaimed Schaumburg senior standout Mark Pancratz
               after scoring 21 points and getting 10 assists. "We believed in ourselves and we
               beat one of the best teams in the nation.

               "By 12 points we beat one of the best teams in the nation.''

               The 6-foot-11 Curry scored 32 points on 12-for-14 shooting from the field and had
               12 rebounds. But no one else hit double figures and Thornwood (32-2) committed
               21 turnovers as its first loss to an in-state team this season ended its 28-game
               winning streak.

               Senior Scott Zoellick had 19 points on 5-for-6 shooting from 3-point range, junior
               Tony Young added 14 and Schaumuburg (29-4) got its usual stable of contributions
               big and small from a variety of sources.

               "This is surreal,'' said 6-8 Ryan Walter, who combined with 6-5 junior Brandon
               Reichel to do battle with Curry, who projected as a potential NBA lottery pick. "We
               thought we could do it. Now that we did it, it's just incredible.''

               The Saxons accomplished a few mighty feats with their 21st consecutive victory.
               By missing the final Associated Press top 16 AA state poll by a spot, they became
               the first unranked team to win a state title since Springfield Lanphier in 1983.

               They became the first unranked team to knock off the top-ranked team for a title
               since Carver beat Centralia 53-52 in 1963.

               And they broke the school record for victories set two years ago by doing it their
               way - with tough man-to-man pressure defense, precision work on offense and not
               backing down from a challenge.

               "We knew if we came out and played Schaumburg basketball nobody could play
               with us,'' Zoellick said. "If we played for 32 minutes nobody could run with us.''

               Zoellick's 3-pointer from the top of the key put Schaumburg ahead to stay at 23-20
               with 2:44 left in the half. The lead would eventually balloon to 50-35 with 5:48 to
               play on Zoellick's short jumper.

               Thornwood got within 6 points twice in the final minute, the last at 60-54 on the
               second 3-pointer by Melvin Buckley, who was playing with a sore hip.

               "This is a heartbreaking loss,'' Curry said.

               "Schaumburg was the better team tonight,'' said Thornwood coach Kevin Hayhurst.
               "We came in here as the favorite but it was their defense that took us out of our
               offense and they deserve the championship.''

               Curry singlehandedly shot Thornwood out to a 13-3 lead with 3:57 left. But
               Schaumburg weathered the storm of three 3-point plays and two thunderous dunks.

               "He's the real deal,'' Williams said. "But so is Mark Pancratz.''

               So was the pressure exerted by Pancratz and runningmates Young, James Han,
               David Gibson and Garrett Bruni that made it tougher to get the ball to Curry.

               "That was exactly our game plan,'' Han said.

               "I was just trying to do my job and put pressure on the ball and not give them any
               easy passes,'' said Bruni, a 6-1 junior who went from barely playing at the start of
               the season to 17 valuable state-title game minutes.

               Schaumburg got back in it with an 8-point run as Reichel didn't back down despite
               giving up 100 pounds to the 290-pound Curry. He capped it with a 17-footer on the
               baseline over Curry.

               "When he went in and played hard I think the other kids said we could do that too,''
               Williams said.

               "He's the center of their team but if we stop him they've got no one else,'' Reichel
               said. "Defensively if we put good ball pressure there was no way for them to pass
               it to Curry.''

               And the Saxons' confidence grew as they hit 15 of 24 shots from the field in the
               second half and solved Thornwood's full-court pressure.

               Then time stood still with 5.9 seconds left as Pancratz pumped his fists and hugged
               Han on the floor. Then he sprinted to the bench for a giant hug from Williams, who
               slapped his hands and grinned.

               "My heart just jumped,'' Young said.

               "It was awesome,'' Zoellick said. "I still can't believe it. It's the best feeling in all the
               world.''