PEORIA - Robert Kreps' nickname is "Robo." Nonetheless, Kreps is no robot. He is an 18-year-old who underwent an appendectomy last Sunday. Five days later, Kreps remarkably took the floor with his Maroa-Forsyth High School basketball teammates Friday in the Class A State Tournament at Carver Arena.

"Two days ago, I gave up hope. I told the guys I wasn't going to be able to play," said Kreps, who started, played 22 minutes and scored 11 points in the Trojans' 64-36 quarterfinal victory over Savanna West Carroll.

"To be out here today is amazing. I still can't believe it."

An All-State senior guard who is headed for Illinois-Chicago, Kreps tested his recovering body Friday morning at a recreation center in Peoria.

"It was amazing what he was doing with a basketball," Maroa-Forsyth coach Chad Cluver said. "We worried about him running. He knew I would not put him in there if he was a liability. It hurt him a little to shoot a pull-up jumper. Then when he made a pull-up jumper, he told me, 'Coach, it's not that bad.' "

According to Kreps, the pain was at its worst when he fell to the floor.

"That really hurt," he said. "Before the game, I thought I was about 85 percent. Once I got out there, I would say about 70. My legs are pretty tired. My stomach muscles are so tight I was not able to do what I usually can do."

The Trojans (31-1) led 33-23 at halftime thanks to a Ben Cochran 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer.

"Ben bailed us out a little there," said Cluver, whose team outscored West Carroll 22-5 in the third quarter. "They had the momentum, but we went in with a lot."

Cochran paced Maroa-Forsyth with 21 points. C.J. McClellan added nine and Matt Guymon contributed eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

"A lot of attention has been on Robo and his surgery," Cluver said. "But we've got a pretty good team."

The Trojans, who finished third at state last season, meet No. 5 Teutopolis today in an 11 a.m. semifinal. Chris Anderson led unranked West Carroll (26-6) with 19 points.

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IHSA postseason links

Class A quarterfinals roundup

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