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"path": "/high-school-basketball/2026/02/24/burlington-central-basketball-geneva-ihsa-playoffs",
"publishedAt": "2026-02-25T04:04:08.182Z",
"site": "https://chicago.suntimes.com",
"textContent": "<p>Burlington Central didn’t surge into the playoffs. The Rockets lost five of their final eight regular season games.</p><p>But coach Brett Porto has a young, energetic team with a short memory and the atmosphere on Tuesday at Rocket Hill for the Class 3A regional semifinal game against Geneva was tingling with postseason electricity.</p><p>Fans can make a difference, maybe more so in high school basketball than at any other level. Burlington Central’s players felt the energy from the student section.</p><p>“It was amazing,” junior guard Ryan Carpenter said. “Home game, playoffs and we got the win.”</p><p>The Rockets beat Geneva 62-58, holding on to win after giving away an 11-point lead in the second half.</p><p>“That is kind of us,” Porto said. “We give up leads. But I told them to just relax and get to the fourth quarter, and we would be right there. They did a really good job of staying poised with it.”</p><p>Carpenter is just 5-11, but he was the game’s leading rebounder with nine boards. He scored 14 points and had three crucial assists in the fourth quarter.</p><p>“When [Carpenter] is aggressive, we are a much better team,” Porto said. “When he gets downhill, good things happen on offense. He’s played with toughness like that on the defensive end his whole career.”</p><p>The Rockets (19-12) start four juniors and 6-6 freshman Declan Wilson. Guard Bennek Braden led with 19 points and four rebounds, and 6-6 forward Patrick Magan added 11 points. Guard Joseph Cumpata scored eight.</p><p>Wilson is an intriguing college prospect.</p><p>“He’s been really good for us this year, and he’s going to be a special player,” Porto said. “He’s skilled and not done growing. He’s had a lot of double-doubles for us. We’ve learned to trust him and play through him at different moments.”</p><p>Wilson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds and shot 5-for-7.</p><p>“I was passive and nervous at the start of the season,” Wilson said. “Now I’m more comfortable with my teammates and I’ve learned my role as a player.”</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"Enhancement-item\" data-crop=\"\"> <figure class=\"Figure\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"image-840000\" name=\"image-840000\"></a> <picture data-crop=\"medium\"> <source type=\"image/webp\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/602e731/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/b0c943c/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg 2x\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <source width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec02b70/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" srcset=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" /> <img class=\"Image\" alt=\"Burlington Central forward Declan Wilson (13) clears the ball past Geneva guard Dane Turner (0), Geneva point guard Gabe Jensen (2) and Geneva guard Nathan Palmer (3).\" srcset=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec02b70/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ac57b20/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg 2x\" width=\"490\" height=\"275\" data-src=\"https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ec02b70/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5746x3225+0+0/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F63%2F19%2F8abfac1f43c0aa7f7712de230834%2Fgeneva-burlington-central-boys-bbk-23.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\" > </picture> <div class=\"Figure-content\"><figcaption class=\"Figure-caption\"><p>Burlington Central forward Declan Wilson (13) clears the ball past Geneva guard Dane Turner (0), Geneva point guard Gabe Jensen (2) and Geneva guard Nathan Palmer (3).</p></figcaption><span class=\"line\"></span><div class=\"Figure-credit\"><p>Talia Sprague/For the Sun-Times</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>Burlington Central led 29-18 at halftime. Geneva (25-7) took a 40-38 lead on a three by Dane Turner with 1:31 left in the third quarter.</p><p>The Rockets opened the fourth quarter with a 10-0 run and never trailed again.</p><p>“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs throughout this season,” Porto said. “So that was really nice to see them play a complete basketball game, no matter which way it went. That was by far our best game of the year.”</p><p>Junior guard David Udoiwood led the Vikings with 24 points. He fouled out with 1:54 left and Geneva trailing 56-50. Senior guard Nathan Palmer added 18 points for the Vikings, who were outrebounded 29-23.</p><p>“In our seven losses we really struggled to rebound,” Geneva coach Scott Hennig said. “Part of it is a technique thing and part is a toughness thing. [Burlington Central] did a great job and we just got beat up on the backboards.”</p><p>Burlington Central will host undefeated Kaneland in the regional final on Friday. Marshawn Cocroft scored 22 for the Knights and Connor Kimme added 15 in their 76-50 win against Prairie Ridge earlier in the night.</p><p>“Kaneland is going to be a good challenge, but I think we can step up,” Carpenter said.</p><div class=\"Enhancement\" data-align-center> <div class=\"HtmlModule\"><a class=\"AnchorLink\" id=\"html-embed-module-8a0000\" name=\"html-embed-module-8a0000\"></a><iframe title=\"No Shot Clock, Ep. 203: Previewing the IHSA regionals\" allowtransparency=\"true\" height=\"150\" width=\"100%\" style=\"border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;\" scrolling=\"no\" data-name=\"pb-iframe-player\" src=\"https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=dkgi7-1a54d58-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=1&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=c73a3a\" loading=\"lazy\"></iframe> </div> </div><p></p>",
"title": "Burlington Central plays its best game of the year to knock off Geneva in the 3A regionals",
"updatedAt": "2026-02-25T04:09:13.080Z"
}