March 07--Zion-Benton lost its Class 4A regional semifinal Wednesday against Niles North, but the Zee-Bees will get a rare second chance after the Vikings were disqualified from the state playoffs.
Niles North beat Zion-Benton 73-68 on the court, but the Zion-Benton athletic department's Twitter account announced Thursday that the Illinois High School Association had disqualified Niles North due to a "rules violation."
The IHSA announced that Niles North had self-reported a residency violation, meaning one of its players did not meet the residency requirements to play for the school. The IHSA website now lists Tuesday's result as a win for Zion-Benton after Niles North's forfeiture.
"We commend Niles North for its response to this situation," IHSA associate executive director Kurt Gibson said in a statement. "The IHSA relies on self-governance by our membership, a model that can only work when a school has the integrity to uphold the rules. Niles North made the difficult, but correct decision to forfeit the Regional semifinal after discovering this violation."
The Zee-Bees will visit No. 2 Stevenson on Friday in a Class 4A regional final. The Patriots will be a heavy favorite after beating Zion-Benton twice during the regular season.
Gibson also said that the violation could result in Niles North's forfeiture of more games from this season.
Citing a request from school officials, Niles North coach Glenn Olson declined comment Thursday night.
Karl Costello, the Niles North athletic director, also declined to comment.
Mike Helfgot and Matt Harness contributed to this report.
