Boys Basketball Coordinator
GOSHEN â??? Missed shots and a scoreless
overtime cost Glenn its season Feb. 27 in a 53-46 OT loss at No. 14 Fairfield
in the Class 2A Sectional 34 opener.
In a game they led
17-10 early, Glenn coach Gordon Mossonâ??s sixth-ranked Falcons (16-5) struggled
to hit from the field, particularly in the second and overtime periods when
they were a combined 1 of 18. That included a dreadful 0-for-7 effort in OT.
â??That was a very good
team,â? said Fairfield
coach John Wysong. â??It was a good win for us.â?
Glenn got out of the
gates to an 8-2 lead before ending the first period ahead 15-10 after point
guard Dylan Morris banked home a 25-footer at the buzzer. Fairfield (15-7), meanwhile, had already
racked up seven turnovers.
But a second-quarter
implosion by the visitors â??? even in spite of two Fairfield technical fouls â??? allowed the hosts
to close within two at halftime, 21-19.
Glenn stretched its
lead to seven after the two techs, one at the 6:44 mark when Fairfield
senior Ben Werner objected to a foul call and the second when Fairfield had six players on the floor during
play.
â??Weâ??re going to work
on reporting in â??? itâ??s a thing to overcome,â? Wysong joked after the game. â??Itâ??s
still early in the season, so we should be able to rectify the situation.â?
But Glenn found
little else following the four free throws on technicals, netting just a Brian
Bogard bucket with 3:17 remaining in the quarter while Fairfield went on a 7-2 run prior to
halftime.
â??We were lucky not to
get drilled,â? Wysong said. â??We thought coming in down two after what we had
been through, we were extremely lucky. You know, if weâ??re coming in down 10 the
way they shoot it â?¦ I donâ??t know.â?
In retrospect, a poor
second quarter was a momentum ****** for Glenn, according to Mosson.
â??We had a chance to
extend that lead in the second quarter and just didnâ??t do it,â? said the 25-year
Glenn mentor.
The visiting Falcons
came out to score six points early in the third, but Glenn again found itself
digging a hole. In the final five minutes of the third, Glenn scored no points while
committing four turnovers â??? including senior Michael Eggerâ??s charging foul, his
fourth of the game.
By the time the
fourth quarter arrived, host Fairfield
was up 31-27. And with that four-point lead, Fairfield finished strong, hitting 7 of 8
from the field in the fourth quarter and overtime periods.
Behind 6â??6â? senior
Ben Wernerâ??s eight points in the first four minutes of the fourth, Fairfield got up to a
six-point lead and held a four-point advantage with 42 seconds left in
regulation.
â??In the second half,
he was really something,â? Wysong said. â??Taking the ball to the basket and
handling it in the middle, passing, good reads on the passes, and shooting.
â??Every shot was so
big.â?
Still, the host
Falcons left the door open for Glenn.
Dylan Morris nailed a
three, then Bogard hit a free throw with 3.9 seconds left to tie the game at
46. Fairfield
got a timeout with 3.0 seconds on the clock, needing to go the length of the
floor.
An attempted pass to
half court was stolen by Morris, who appeared to have a chance at a last-second
shot for Glenn. But he had his foot hit the sideline as he came down with the
interception, giving the ball back to Fairfield.
With 1.6 seconds
remaining, Fairfield
inbounded near the half-court line and looked for a lob to the basket on a back
screen. But the pass sailed over everyone and out of bounds untouched, giving
Glenn the ball back with the same 1.6 seconds left.
Morris caught the
inbounds pass and tried to hoist a three over two defenders, leaning in to draw
contact. But the shot was partially blocked and no foul was called, mercifully
sending the game into an extra session.
In overtime, Fairfield won the tip and
found junior guard Robby Gingerich open for a 3-pointer just 23 seconds in. It
was the only field goal of the extra period.
Glenn leaned on
Morris and senior forward Jared Thompson in overtime, but neither could buy a
bucket.
After seeing Egger
foul out in the final minute of regulation, Fairfield knew that Morris would get most of
the shots.
â??They worked hard,
things happened, and we were fortunate,â? Wysong said. â??Egger fouled out and
that was real big. Those are the two main guys (Egger and Morris) youâ??re going
to an awful lot, and oneâ??s gone.
â??Now you know theyâ??re
going to one almost all the time.â?
Fairfield hit only 4 of 9 from the free
throw line in overtime, but Glennâ??s 0-of-7 performance locked up the win.
â??We thought we had
some shots inside, especially in the first half, that we missed that we
hurried,â? said Mosson. â??We felt we should have had a double-digit lead in the
second quarter, and we missed shots and Fairfield
took advantage.
â??Itâ??s been a good
year, but we wanted it to be a great
year. Iâ??m happy with the effort these kids put in all season â??? they were a good
bunch to coach.â?
Wysong was in a
jovial mood after the game and continued to joke around when asked if the home
court â??? your basic run-of-the-mill, fairly bland, 2,500-seat gymnasium â??? had
provided an advantage for his team.
â??No,â? he said, trying
to hide a smile while reporters around him cracked up. â??Well, itâ??s such a
natural to host a sectional here â??? itâ??s such a huge gym. It has that big-time
atmosphere.
â??Itâ??s like playing in
the Palestra.â?
But as quickly as he
had become a comedian, Wysong was back to playing the role of practical
basketball coach, looking at arguably the deepest sectional in the state.
â??We just go back into
the frying pan Friday again,â? he said. â??Undoubtedly, Jimtown is the favorite in
this thing. By the power ratings, theyâ??re the top team in it.
â??Theyâ??ve been up at
the top all year and, had they not slipped at Glenn with their injuries, I donâ??t
know what theyâ??d be ranked. Probably number 1 or 2, I suppose.â?
Second-quarter
pounding the difference in Jimtownâ??s 56-21 win over LaVille
For awhile, 3-18
LaVille hung with 18-3 Jimtown in Game 2. A short while, that is.
In a rematch of their
regular-season finale, the Lancers and Jimmies stood tied at 10 late in the
first quarter, surprising the few hundred people still in attendance for the
back end of Tuesdayâ??s sectional doubleheader.
Then the expected
happened: a Jimtown domination.
Led by senior guard
Brian DeShone, the Jimmies held LaVille scoreless in the second quarter and
took off on a 28-0 run that lasted nearly two full quarters (13:35) in cruising
to a 56-21 win.
The duo of DeShone
and 6â??8â? Derek Johnson would have been enough to take the win by itself. The
pair scored Jimtownâ??s first 20 points and combined for 28 in less than three
quarters of play. DeShone â??? the son of coach Randy DeShone â??? dazzled, scoring
13 consecutive points for the Jimmies early in the game on his way to a
game-high 20.
Johnson, meanwhile,
finished with eight points before the Jimtown starters began surrendering their
spots to reserves with 3:56 left in the third quarter.
The ghastly second period
saw LaVille commit six turnovers as Jimtown turned up the defensive pressure to
put the game away. The Jimmies led 22-10 at the half and extended the advantage
to 45-17 at the end of three.
So
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