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Southland College Prep Wins Regional Basketball Championship
Boys basketball team makes history winning school's first regional championship
Coal City, Illinois--March 4, 2025--Southland College Prep Charter High School won the basketball program's first-ever regional title, beating Manteno 73-66 at last Friday's IHSA Class 2A Coal City Regional championship.
David Shaw led the team with 36 points and defense that forced 10 Manteno turnovers. Gabryel Patterson added 17 points and Jordan Cameron scored 9 points and defended Manteno's career scoring leader, Ray Lee.
With the win, Southland improved to 20-7 on the season, the best record in program history. The Southland Eagles will play Bismarck-Henning Rossville Alvin Cooperative High School on Wednesday, March 5, in a Peotone Sectional semifinal at Peotone High School.
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Shaw, who has been a starter on the school’s varsity team since his sophomore year, has been the team’s MVP every year of his career and broke the school's all-time scoring record this season, scoring more than 1,000 career points.
In addition to his talent on the court, Southland coach Justin Johnson said that Shaw was “an extremely hard worker and a very humble kid.”
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"David is a generational talent that doesn’t come along often," said Johnson, who came to the school three years ago. "When I started, I told him if he sticks with me, he works hard and we stick together, that this will be the outcome."
Johnson said he believes that Shaw is one of the top players in the state.
"You know what he did tonight? He's been proven," Johnson said after the historic win on Friday. "And we're going to continue to show the state why he is one of the best."
