Tre Dowdell delivers big second half as Evergreen Park wins first regional title in 50 years. ‘It’s all love.’

Tre Dowdell has not lived in Evergreen Park long, but he made himself into a town legend Friday.

Dowdell, a senior guard who transferred from Brother Rice at the start of the school year, poured in 30 points to lead the Mustangs to a monumental moment — their first regional title in 50 years.

“It feels great,” Dowdell said, beaming afterward. “Throughout school the past couple weeks, people have been talking about it, saying, ‘Man, the last time we won a regional was in 1974.’

“All the ones at Rice were cool. I love those guys, too. But to come here and win this one when we haven’t won one for so long, it definitely means a lot more.”

Dowdell scored 21 of his points in the second half as the host Mustangs took control and pulled away for a 74-60 win over Hillcrest in the Class 3A Evergreen Park Regional championship game.

Dowdell also pulled down seven rebounds for fourth-seeded Evergreen Park (22-10). Ulises Cardenas added 13 points, while Lonnie Mosley finished with 10 and Keshaun Vaval had nine.

Nolan Sexton contributed seven points and seven rebounds and Billy Buchanan added 10 rebounds for the Mustangs, who will play at 7 p.m. Tuesday in a Thornton Sectional semifinal against the top-seeded host Wildcats (27-4), a 60-35 winner over Crete-Monee.

Brothers Jovohn and JayQuan Ratliff led fifth-seeded Hillcrest (17-14) with 18 and 16 points, respectively. Maximilian Carmicle added six points.

In the midst of the postgame celebration — which began with the students storming the floor and concluded after many photos were taken with the plaque — Evergreen Park cut down the nets.

Dowdell’s teammates called for him to climb up the ladder for the first cut, a meaningful gesture for the new kid in town.

“It means the world to me,” Dowdell said. “I love these guys. These are my guys. I came here. I made connections with these guys really fast, and it feels good. It’s all love.”

Evergreen Park coach Jim Sexton said Dowdell quickly developed close relationships with his teammates.

“We had to have him go first because he’s the only one who knows how to cut down the net,” Sexton said, with a laugh. “But no, it really speaks to his character and how much he’s made friends with these guys.

“Every day after practice, he’ll go in every locker and give guys a handshake and a hug. Everybody loves him, and he played unbelievable (Friday night).”

The regional championship is the third in program history, following back-to-back titles in 1972-73 and 1973-74. By contrast, Hillcrest has won 25 regional titles since 1990.

That had the Mustangs feeling like they knew what their role was, regardless of seeding or the fact that they beat the Hawks 58-57 on Dec. 2.

“Evergreen Park has always been the underdog,” Cardenas said. “Even though on Twitter, people were predicting us to win, I still felt like we were the underdog.

“Hillcrest won the (South Suburban Blue) and they were trying to avenge their loss to us earlier in the season. But we came in as the underdog and remembering that goal of 50 years.”

Cardenas hit a trio of 3-pointers in the third quarter, including two during a 9-0 run that extended the lead to 50-33.

After that, the party was pretty much on.

“It’s awesome,” Nolan Sexton said. “It’s something that for four straight years here, I’ve been looking forward to this. I’m trying to soak it up and realize how awesome this is.

“I think in the moment you don’t realize it, but later on, you look back and realize, ‘That was pretty cool.’”

Dowdell, meanwhile, made a statement to anyone overlooking him in an area filled with talent.

“Put some respect on my name,” he said.