By Chris May
Contributing Writer
NEW CASTLE â??? Although his teammate was named the tournamentâ??s most valuable player, Andersonâ??s Tyson McKinney was certainly the most opportunistic Anderson Indian in the final 6.5 seconds of a controversial championship game of the boys Hall of Fame Classic Dec. 30 at New Castleâ??s Chrysler Fieldhouse.
His 4A fifth-ranked team leading most of the second half versus Class 4A No. 2 Bloomington South, the 6â??2â? sophomore and his teammates needed one last play to win the prestigious title. And though he was not the most obvious or preferred scoring choice, it was McKinney who came up with the needed play.
After Bloomingtonâ??s Cole Holmstrom hit one of two free throws to tie the game at 66 with 12.1 seconds left, Ron Hecklinski called a timeout for his Anderson squad with 6.5 seconds left. The teams broke their huddles, with everyone in attendance sure that Andersonâ??s DeJovaun Sawyer-Davis would be the man to get the gameâ??s final shot.
Sawyer-Davis at that point had 34 points in the contest and had taken control both in the paint and at the free throw line. After spying a look at the Indiansâ?? formation, South coach J.R. Holmes took a timeout to alter his teamâ??s defensive look.
Following the second timeout, Andersonâ??s Michael Early took his place at halfcourt opposite his teamâ??s bench to inbound the ball, with Sawyer-Davis standing at the elbow nearest the ball. As all eyes watched Sawyer-Davis as the inbounds pass went in the backcourt to McKinney, who quickly dribbled toward the opposite wing before taking it to the hoop at a very frantic pace.
As the clock dipped inside 1.5 seconds, McKinney left the floor, released (or lost control, depending on whom you ask) the ball, and drew some contact from Southâ??s Jordan Root — all in one fell swoop. As the ball hit the glass but not net, it appeared for a millisecond that the game was headed to overtime.
Until an official blew his whistle â?¦ as late as was seemingly possible.
With the scoreboard reading 0.7 seconds, and Panther fans as well as Holmes screaming at what they felt should have been a no-call, the official ruled a foul on Root and two free throw attempts to McKinney, who proceeded to sink the two biggest free throws of his young career.
South would get the inbounds near halfcourt to Holmstrom, who took one step before a heave that hit the edge of the backboard and fell to the floor as time expired.
Ballgame over. 68-66, Anderson.
A game that started with nice perimeter play early was dominated by Sawyer-Davisâ?? interior play in the middle quarters of the contest.
Following the first eight minutes of action, Southâ??s all-state candidate Holmstrom had a game-leading nine points, while the Indiansâ?? Antwaun Boyd had eight points, including two long-distance field goals and Anderson led, 19-18.
While it took two minutes for the Indians to get their first points of the next quarter, Sawyer-Davis became their focal point. Following six first-quarter points, the 6â??4â? post scored Andersonâ??s first three field goals and 10 of his teamâ??s 15 points in the second period and assisted on another Boyd 3, having a hand in all but one of the Indians scoring plays in the quarter. At halftime Anderson was up, 34-31.
Sawyer-Davisâ?? most destructive damage certainly came in the third quarter, but not from the field as much as at the line. As the Indians gave the ball to their main man even more, asking him to grind it out, #33 made his way to the line nine times in the quarter, sinking every single one of them. He added 13 to his point total in that quarter and entered the final period already with 29 on the night.
After failing to hit a trifecta in the middle quarters, Holmstrom decided if his team was going to make a run, he was going to be the sparkplug. The 5â??10â? future Indiana State Sycamore hit a jumper with just :01 left in the third, but that still left the Panthers down, 55-46.
After Holmstrom scored nine straight points (including the two at the end of the previous quarter), the Panthers offense re-emerged. In a span of 6:52, South outscored Hecklinskiâ??s group, 19-6, to take a 63-61 lead with just under 3:30 left in the game. The span was thanks to the scoring of just 3 Panther players: Holmstrom and two of Holmesâ?? â??Jordan trio,â? Jordan Forney and Jordan Brown.
While South was able to score from the field, hitting 4-of-7 two-point shots and both of its attempts beyond the arc, the Panthers skinned themselves at the line. Six of 12 shooting at the charity stripe in the final quarter doomed them.
With 1:37 left, Southâ??s Jordan Brown headed to the line in a 64-64 game. Brown hit the front end of a one-and-bonus, but missed the second and the rebound went to the Indians. Boyd missed a 3-pointer on the possession and Bloomington boarded, forcing the Indians to foul Jordan Root.
Root was unable to hit either of his two freebies, meaning South could not add to its 65-64 lead. Anderson would answer with a Sawyer-Davis bucket off of a curl in the lane with :36 left, reclaiming the lead at 66-65. Holmstromâ??s trip to the line with 12.1 seconds remaining produced a miss, followed by a make to tie at 66.
Relying on their defense to force overtime, the Panthers were let down when the questionable call came with seven-tenths of a second left in the game and gave McKinney his winning trip to the line.
The South squad was so upset by the call and outcome that they left the playing floor without accepting the runners-up trophy, which was claimed by someone associated with the school. Holmes would later return to the floor and speak calmly with his counterpart, Hecklinski.
â??We basically won the game without winning the game â??? no, Iâ??ll take that back; you still have to hit your free throws,â? Holmes said. â??You canâ??t win a big-time game like this was and miss 10 out of 20 free throws. You donâ??t deserve to win from that standpoint.
â??Now, we deserve to win because we came back on a team thatâ??s undefeated, No. 2 or 3 in the state, and on a neutral floor, so I was really pleased with that. Itâ??s just too bad it had to end like that â?¦ it should have been overtime.â?
Hecklinski, on the other hand, was uplifted by his teamâ??s win.
â??I thought our guys played with poise,â? he said. â??I consider Bloomington South a great team â??? not a good team, but a great team.â?
Asked about the final play, Hecklinski hinted the play did not go as easily as desired.
â??He (McKinney) was our second option, we were looking at some other things inside,â? Hecklinski said. â??But Bloomington South took that away, and so we told our guys just to get to the backcourt, get it and go, and thatâ??s what he did.â?
Sawyer-Davis finished with a game-high 34 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the floor and 12-of-15 accuracy from the line. Combined with his morning performance, he turned in 51 points and 14 rebounds in the two contests and was overwhelmingly voted the tournament MVP.
Boyd was named to the All-Tournament Team after scoring 16 in the title game, and McKinney finished with eight.
Bloomington Southâ??s Holmstrom and Jordan Forney joined the Anderson duo on the all-tourney team. Holmstrom paced the Panthers with 24 points in the nightcap, while Forney was 7 of 8 for 15 points and seven rebounds, four of them offensive. Jordan Brown also scored 15 for South, which shot 53 percent from the field as a team but just 52 percent on its free throws.
The two other All-Tournament Team selections were cousins Clint and Brandon Hopf of 2A No. 4 Forest Park. Clint scored 42 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in two games, while Brandon recorded 41 points and 17 boards on the day.
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