Homewood-Flossmoor beats Normal Community to win Illinois Class 4A boys basketball championship

Bryce Heard has 21 points, 10 rebounds in win

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS – In a long and storied boys basketball history, Homewood-Flossmoor was known for winning numerous regionals and sectionals, bringing home a pair of state trophies, producing NBA talent and wearing distinctive candy-striped shorts and warmups.

But until Saturday night, the Vikings hadn't hoisted the IHSA's biggest trophy.

The drought is over, thanks to a big night from Bryce Heard, complementary offense from Jayden Tyler and Carson Brownfield and sticky defense against likely the state's tallest team.

Heard scored a game-high 21 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had three assists as H-F beat Normal Community 60-48 before a big and energetic crowd in the Class 4A final at State Farm Center.

"These kids are legends, forever marked in history, being able to do something that two NBA players didn't accomplish," H-F coach Jamere Dismukes said. "That's huge."

Braylon Roman led the Ironmen (32-6) with 18 points and Noah Cleveland had a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds.

Illinois (IHSA) boys basketball state championships live updates: Day 3 updates, results, stories (3/9/2024)

"This is the first time in the last five, six months that I've been able to exhale and feel it," Dismukes said. "All the success we had throughout the year, I wasn't able to soak it all in and feel it because I was preparing for the next game and next game and next game.

"There's no more next games. That's it. So now I can feel it. I'm so excited, I'm so happy."

There was no doubting the Vikings' talent. They finished 33-4 and had just two in-state losses, to Bradley-Bourbonnais and Bolingbrook. They beat Thornton twice, beat Bloom and also beat Bolingbrook once.

The question was, could all the talented players who'd spent time elsewhere in their high-school careers come together as a cohesive unit?

The answer was, yes.

Heard, a four-star junior, had stops at Kenwood and prep-school power Montverde Academy (Fla.). Gianni Cobb came over from Bloom, Mac Hagemaster arrived from Lincoln-Way East and Brownfield started and finished at H-F sandwiched around a stint at St. Rita.

"Coach JD made sure we (came) together," Heard said. "(Others) were down on us at the beginning of the season, (saying) we couldn't play together. But we came together at the end of the season and got the job done."

They did it against a Normal team that played one of the state's toughest schedules and started perhaps its biggest lineup: 6-10, 6-8, 6-6, 6-4 and 6-4.

But the Vikings neutralized 6-10 Wright State recruit Jaheem Webber, who had two points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

"We just packed the paint," Heard said. "They didn't really have too many shooters. We just keyed in on (Roman) and Jaheem and got the job done."

The Iromen shot 35% overall (19-for-54) and were 25% from beyond the arc (6-for-24).

"I stayed up all night watching film," Dismukes said. "I didn't go to bed till about 3 o'clock just watching every game I could find. ...

"We wanted them to shoot a lot of perimeter shots. We wanted to limit them from getting the ball around the basket. ... I thought we did a great job of doubling and rotating out of that."

The game was tied at 16 late in the first quarter before H-F went ahead for good with a 9-0 run that featured five points by Heard.

Two 3-pointers by Tyler bookended an 8-0 surge to start the second half that gave the Vikings their biggest lead, 39-23 with 4:52 left in the third quarter. Normal got no closer than seven the rest of the way as Heard and his teammates made history.

"It's a great feeling," Heard said. "We came out and did it for the community. ... This is why I came back, to win a championship for this community."

Homewood-Flossmoor celebrates its Illinois Class 4A boys basketball championship / Photo by Tim Vizer

Photo by Tim Vizer

Download the SBLive Sports app

To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App

- Mike Clark | latsch@scorebooklive.com | @SBLiveIL