02/21/05
Half-court heave ends OHS run in sectionals
ESPN airs last shot of 58-57 loss to EFA
HIGH SCHOOL BOYS BASKETBALL — SECTION FOUR CLASS A SEMIFINAL
By Rob Centorani
Contributing Writer
OWEGO — There aren’t enough words to describe the winning basket in Saturday’s Section Four Class A semifinal at Owego Free Academy.
Improbable, exhilarating, last-second, high-arching, heart-wrenching, chin-dropping and memory-making will certainly do some justice to the half-court heave by Elmira Free Academy’s Nick Weiermiller that ended Oneonta High’s season.
But Weiermiller’s shot, which gave the Blue Devils a 58-57 victory, was so much more than that. The shot beat the buzzer by[an error occurred while processing this directive] a fraction of a second and barely eluded the outstretched arm of Oneonta’s Tony Basile just on EFA’s side of half-court. When the ball reached its apex, it was only a few feet from the ceiling and it nicked the left side the rim before passing through net.
"I couldn’t believe it went in," said Weiermiller, who was mobbed by teammates, coaches and fans immediately after the shot. "I thought maybe time expired before I got it off. I just couldn’t believe it went in."
Apparently, neither could the people who put the highlights together for ESPN’s SportsCenter, where Weiermiller’s shot made the Top Plays segment of the broadcast.
"Jokingly, on the way home I said, ’Who knows, maybe we’ll make it on SportsCenter,’" OHS coach Jerry Mackey said Sunday. "It’s an amazing situation for Oneonta to be named on arguably the most watched cable show on television."
What the SportsCenter highlight also showed was OHS senior Chris Garcia walking off the court with his hands on his head and a look of disbelief covering his face. That look was shared by Garcia’s teammates and coaches, who had seen the Jackets squander a four-point lead in the final five seconds.
What seemed like certain victory, one that would have brought a fourth consecutive trip to a sectional final and an eighth straight sectional triumph, turned into instant misery for OHS.
"In the locker room after the game you try to look at the bigger picture," Mackey said. "You feel more like a teacher and a friend. There’s disappointment because we felt we had done enough things right to continue the season. It was hard because there’s a lot of pride in that room."
Things turned interesting in this one in a frantic final two minutes.
Garcia, a standout point guard, finished his 21-point night by making a three-pointer off the dribble right in front of EFA’s James Irvin. That gave the Jackets a 55-53 lead with 1:55 left.
"Garcia is such a tremendous player," said EFA coach John Miller, whose 15-6 team will try to defend its Section Four Class A title at 7:45 p.m. Thursday against Corning East (13-7) at the Broome County Arena. "That was a huge three. My guy was right in his face and he still buried it."
Oneonta forced a miss on EFA’s next possession, but was called for a shot-clock violation with 49 seconds left. On the Blue Devils’ next possession, Basile made a steal from the top of OHS’ 3-2 zone and was fouled.
But it was only EFA’s fourth team foul, which meant it had to foul three more times to put OHS at the free-throw line. The clock ran down to 27 seconds when Basile stepped to the line for a one-and-one. Senior Basile made both free throws, giving the Jackets a 57-53 lead.
It appeared to be over for the Blue Devils when David Brown shot an air ball from the baseline that was rebounded by OHS’ Greg Mattice with 16 seconds left. Mattice was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one.
EFA brought the ball back upcourt, setting up Weiermiller’s point-a-second finish.
The Blue Devils’ guard received a pass from Mookie Smith and drove the lane for a layup with five seconds to play.
After a timeout, OHS inbounded to freshman Dan O’Brien, who was fouled with three seconds remaining.
O’Brien’s free throw was off line and EFA’s Corry Brannen (17 points) rebounded. He quickly passed ahead to Weiermiller, who took three dribbles up the left-center of the court before shooting the winner.
"I just wanted to get it off before time ran out," said Weiermiller, who scored a game-high 23 points. "I tried to get a lot of loft under it and luckily it went in."
Through one quarter, it looked as if the Jackets would be overmatched. EFA appeared too quick and too athletic in building an 18-9 lead against Oneonta’s man-to-man defense. Weiermiller hit two three-pointers and a pull-up jumper in the quarter.
But then Mackey switched a 3-2 zone in the second quarter, and that seemed to turn the tide.
Garcia scored 10 points in the second quarter, including two three-pointers. His runner in the lane 37 seconds before halftime put OHS ahead, 26-25. Mackey said from the start of the second quarter until the last few seconds that OHS "played as well as any team I’ve coached."
That’s high praise for a team that won the Southern Tier Athletic Conference title in 2002 and Section Four Class B crowns in 2003 and 2004.
"I take a lot of pride in how resilient we were. It might have turned into another Red Hook in a possession or two," Mackey said in reference to last year’s blowout loss against Red Hook in a state playoff game. "The kids made adjustments and we put ourselves in position to win."
The score see-sawed in the third period, with OHS taking its first lead of the second half on a hustling play by Garcia. He tracked down a loose ball on Oneonta’s side of the court and, from his rear end, flipped the ball over his head to Basile, who went in for a layup to make it 39-38.
Basile, who scored 13 points and had at several steals, gave the Jackets a six-point lead early in the final period. He turned a steal into a layup and then converted a putback with 5:36 left to make it 50-44.
"I was impressed at how well they came back at us," Weiermiller said of OHS. "Their offense played well, because we were playing tough (man-to-man) defense."
EFA scored the next six points to tie the score at 50, setting up the wild finish.
ELMIRA FA 58, ONEONTA 57
1-ELMIRA FREE ACADEMY (14-6): David Brown 2 0-0 6, James Irvin 1 2-2 4, Nick Weiermiller 7 5-6 23, Mookie Smith 2 4-4 8, Corry Brannen 6 5-8 17. TOTALS: 18 16-20 58.
Three-point field goals: OHS (Garcia 5, Basile, VanDeusen, Ellis); EFA (Weiermiller 4, Brown 2).
