NORRIS CITY — So much has been different about this year’s high school basketball season in Illinois.

It didn’t start until February. The players played in masks in front of limited numbers of fans. Now the pandemic-shortened season will come to a close this weekend with no postseason. Poof–it’s over.

The Greater Egyptian Conference held its tournament this final week of the season–the only tournament to be played in the southern part of the state. It wasn’t completely normal either, as it is traditionally held at SIC. This year, the games were played on campus sites.

Top seeded NCOE hosted Crab Orchard, the sixth seed, in the championship game. The Fighting Cardinals capped a 12-1 season by hoisting the GEC Trophy with a 60-42 win.

Seniors Joe Melton, Ty Money, and CJ Richardson led the way for NCOE. Melton scored 25 points with Money and Richardson each adding 12 in their final games.

Melton and Money provided the highlight of the game in the fourth quarter as Money threw an alley oop pass off the backboard that Melton flushed with two hands.

Crab Orchard tried to complete its surprising tourney run by pulling off a shocker in the title game. The Trojans hung around early thanks to the hot shooting of Noah Herring. Herring had all 11 Trojans’ points as NCOE led by one after one. The senior scored 16 in the first half as Crab Orchard trailed 25-21 at the break.

Herring’s bucket early in the third cut the Fighting Cardinals’ lead to 27-23 before NCOE went on an 11-0 run to seize control. Herring finished with a game high 26 points.

Despite winning the championship at home, the Fighting Cardinals boarded a bus after the game and were treated to a victory parade around town, escorted by police and fire trucks.

That’s the treatment teams that win championships in their final games usually get.