BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports Report
WYALUSING — The fans in Wyalusing on Tuesday night got their money’s worth and then some. Wyalusing and Sullivan County combined for 15 3-pointers, three buzzer beating shots, a pair of 20-point individual performances, and just when it looked like one team had it one, the other rallied. Unfortunately, somebody had to lose, and that was the Rams, who fell on a Colin King lay-up at the buzzer in OT, 66-64, in non-league boys’ hoops.
It was a tough way for Wyalusing’s season to end, but coach Brent Keyes was glad to see his team go out playing the best basketball they’ve played all season.
“This group has been through a lot,” he said. “It was one of the only nights all year we actually played with all 14 guys at both levels, and from the start of the JV game, the energy, the effort, it was as mentally and physically tough as we looked all year. The JV team absolutely got after them, hopefully a glimpse into what we can be, and then in that varsity game so many times we were down, the game could have been over. We executed off the white board tonight out of timeouts better than we have all year - the mental focus, mental toughness, and then just proud that we stayed in it.”
On the other side the Griffins got a game extending bucket from Cayden Smithkors at the end of regulation, and then the game winner from King as the clock ticked to zeroes in overtime.
“To be able to win close games late in the year, it was their senior night, I know they haven’t had the best season in the world, but they’ve had a couple seniors play well, but for us, moving forward, just to have confidence in close games,” said Sullivan coach Glenn Vaughan. “And in a game I didn’t fee like we played our best, and hopefully, it’s a momentum builder for us.”
The 3-ball to send them in OT was part of a 25 point, five rebound, four assist night for Smithkors.
“I’m so happy for Cayden,” Vaughan said. “He really stepped up tonight in the second half. We were having trouble putting the ball in the basket early in the half, and he got some points in side, and that shot to force overtime, it’s just incredible.”
King’s lay-up came as he found a seam in the Wyalusing defense all the way to the hoop.
“I’m a lefty, and I think they were expecting me to go left, so I went like I was going to use that screen, came back right, and it ended up working out, getting right to the rim,” explained King.
He finished with 10 points, seven boards, and six assists, while Lucas King added 10 points.
Dominic Marotti notched nine points, as Justin Hemighaus had four points, and 12 rebounds. Ryan Murray also had four points, with Madden Fries scoring three points.
Hunter House had 25 points to lead the Rams, including six 3-balls, and three free throws with 13 seconds left in overtime to tie it up again.
“Hunter has been our leader all year,” Keyes said. “I just told him after, this kid, he is so conscious of how people feel around him, it’s such a great personality trait. He is destined to do great things. He kept us together. It was a tough year win-loss wise, but he kept us together the whole time. He’s an excellent communicator with the coaches, excellent communicator with his teammates. Obviously, I’m happy for him that he had a great night on his last night, and I’m just really proud of who he is.”
Shay Gartland had a big night, too, with six points, and seven assists.
“We kind of got away from our offense as they couldn’t keep him in front, so we just kind of let him make some plays, and distribute,” remarked Keyes. “For a while that really kept us in the game. I’m really proud of him, too, obviously with everything he’s been going through. I just told him he’s incredibly tough. I’ve been coaching him hard all year, and for him to play the way he did, he’s got to be really proud of what he’s doing.”
Myles Kershner had 13 points, as Zibiah Walton netted 10 to go with eight boards. Will McBride scored eight with five rebounds, and Jared VandeMark came away with two.
The Rams started hot as House nailed a 3-ball followed by a bucket from McBride for a 5-0 lead. Lucas King came back with a 3-pointer of his own, but a House lay-up at the other end put the Rams up 7-3.
A Colin King steal and lay-up made it a 2-point game, but a Walton 3-pointer put the Rams back up five. A Smithkors bucket cut it to 10-7 halfway through the first frame.
That started a 9-0 Sullivan run, punctuated with a Fries 3-ball, as they took a 14-10 lead.
House hit his second 3-pointer of the frame, but Marotti had the final say with a 3-ball for a 17-13 Sullivan lead at the first horn.
House was fouled on a 3-pointer, setting up a possible 4-point play to start the second. He missed the free throw, but cut it to 17-16.
Marotti came back with a 3-pointer of his own, followed by back to back buckets from Colin King, push the Griffin lead to 24-16.
Sullivan only got two Colin King free throws after that as the Rams hit back to back threes from Kershner, and Walton to cut it to 26-22 at the half.
The Rams came out of the second half strong as they went on a 7-0 run to take a 29-26. Sullivan followed with a 5-0 spurt to go up 31-29 halfway through the quarter.
A House lay-up off a Walton assist tied the game up at 31, followed by the Rams taking a 4-point lead as they got buckets from Kershner, and McBride.
A Hemighaus jumper cut it to 35-33, but a free throw out of McBride, and a buzzer beater from Kershner off a feed from Gartland put the Rams up 38-33 with one quarter left.
Sullivan used a Lucas King lay-up, followed by a Smithkors free throw to cut it to 38-36.
A VandeMark lay-up pushed the lead back to four points, but two straight buckets from Smithkors tied the game up at 40 with 6:03 left in regulation.
The two teams traded buckets, followed by a McBride old fashion 3-point play to make it 45-42 with 5:07 left.
Sullivan answered with a 7-0 run as Murray had two buckets sandwiched around a Marotti 3-ball, to go up 49-45 with 3:53 left.
House rallied Wyalusing with a 3-pointer of his own to make it a one point game. Kershner then hit a pair of freebies to put the Rams up 50-49 with 2:56 to play.
The two teams traded baskets, with Lucas King hitting a jumper to put the Griffins up one with under two minutes left.
A Walton basket off a Kershner assist made it 54-53 Wyalusing with 1:36 to go, but at the other end Smithkors got to the free throw line, and made both for a 55-54 Sullivan lead with 1:21 on the clock.
The two teams traded empty possessions, with House hitting a 3-pointer with 50 seconds to go to put Wyalusing up 57-55.
At the other end Wyalusing got a stop, Sullivan got the offensive board, then Gartland stripped the ball away, and was fouled, going to the line with 13.3 seconds to go. He went 1-of-2 for the 3-point lead.
That’s when Smithkors hit the second buzzer beater of the game, a 3-pointer from the top of the 3-point line, to send the game into overtime, 58-58.
Kershner put the Rams up right out of the gates, scoring a lay-up six seconds in for the 60-58 lead.
It stayed that way until a Hemighaus put back knotted things up at 60-all.
A Gartland free throw put the Rams up one with two minutes to go, but at the other end Smithkors hit on a 3-point play - lay-up plus the foul - for a 63-61 Sullivan lead with 1:45 to go.
Wyalusing couldn’t score on their next two possessions with the Griffins going to the line. However, Colin King missed both with 29.9 seconds left.
He rebounded his own miss, though, and Lucas King eventually went to the line. He went 1-for-2 with 25.3 seconds to play to make it a 3-point game.
At the other end Wyalusing set up a play for House’s sweet spot. He missed, but was fouled, and sent to the line with 13.4 seconds left.
With ice in his veins he knocked all three down to knot the score up at 64-all.
That set up the game winner by Colin King at the other end.
“That was stuff we work on everyday,” Vaughan said about Colin’s game winner. “The night before every game we work on end of clock execution, all that kind of stuff. And Colin had a really good first half, and he was ready to make that play.”
For King it was a once in a lifetime moment.
“He put the ball in my hands, and I had a chance to win it,” he said. “I took advantage of it.”
Vaughan knows, though, that they need to be better at the free throw line going forward, with just a 10-for-24 performance from the charity stripe on Tuesday.
“We’ve had some games where we left some point son the board, for sure,” he said. “We’ve got to know those down because there’s going to be a close game when they really matter.”
Wyalusing won the JV game 46-12 behind 15 points from Noah Kilmer.
Going forward Sullivan will be looking at either Galeton or Lourdes in the opening round of districts in a Class A field that is anybody’s for the taking.
“Either one of them is going to be a tough match-up for us,” Vaughan said. “We’ll be ready.”
As for Keyes, it wasn’t quite the high note he would have liked to see his team’s season end on, but it was a good experience for them. The gym was packed with a playoff like atmosphere, and his team played like they were in the playoffs.
“To have the game, and to have it almost won, and a kid makes a tough shot,” Keyes said. “Credit to that kid. He’s got a lot going on in his own life, and he played the game of his life, as well. It was a log of great individual performances, and just a great high school basketball game.”
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PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING
