GAME PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/2FfuHio
The West Geauga boys basketball team enjoyed one of its best seasons in several years capped by a Chagrin Valley Conference championship.
Unfortunately, for the Wolverines their season came to an end March 2 at West Geauga High School as they lost, 62-61, to Glenville in a Division II sectional final that will go down as one of the most entertaining games of the year.
Fans packed the Wolvarena as a standing room only crowd was treated to a back-and-forth game that went down to the final second.
Senior Jax Shenkel made an unbelievable reverse layup that drew a huge pop from the home crowd with 55 seconds left to play to give the Wolverines a 61-60 lead. Shenkel led West G (19-4) with 23 points.
“It was a special season,” Shenkel said. “We all came together. I’m so proud of these guys. If it had to come to and end, I’m glad it was this type of game.
“It was a great atmosphere, a great game. I’m proud of these guys.”
Next, the Tarblooders had trouble getting into their offense until it was nearly too late. Senior Aaron Loins eventually drove to the basket and was fouled with just 1.9 seconds left to play. Loins, who led Glenville (15-9) with 21 points and six rebounds, calmly stepped up to the foul line and nailed both free throws to give the Tarblooders a 62-61 advantage.
“I was confident, very confident,” Loins said. “We shoot so many free throws. I was very confident. I knew the season was in my hands.”
Glenville coach Michael Holt was comfortable with Loins on the line.
“Aaron exemplifies what seniors do,” Holt said. “I’m happy for him. He closed the game out. It was a tough game.”
The Wolverines’ last shot came as senior Caleb Ramey missed from about half court at the buzzer. Ramey scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.
Holt had nothing but good things to say about West G.
“That’s what we expected,” Holt said. “That’s a very good team. They’re very well coached. It was a great game.”
Early on, it didn’t look good for the Wolverines as the Tarblooders opened the game with a 10-3 run powered by some sharp outside shooting.
Still, the slower pace favored the Wolverines, who excel in half-court play for coach Jeff Javorek.
“I think the goal was to make them play our pace,” Javorek said. “We wanted to slow it down. We could live with them hitting those long jumpers.”
The Wolverines didn’t earn their first lead until freshman Josh Irwin nailed a 3-pointer on the first possession of the second half. That gave West G a 38-36 advantage. Irwin scored 14 points with 14 rebounds and three assists. He connected on four 3-pointers.
The game continued to seesaw back and forth until the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when Ramey keyed a 7-0 West G run with a 3-pointer that gave the Wolverines a 58-51 lead. At that point, it looked like the Wolverines were in charge.
“I thought we had them,” Shenkel said. “But I told my teammates during the timeout that we need to play like we were down seven and not up seven.
“We gave all we had.”
That’s when Holt called a timeout.
“That timeout wasn’t about strategy, but about getting a breather,” Holt said. “And we were a little out of synch.
“I like our shooters, but we’re athletic. We’ve been shooting well, but I wanted to quicken the pace and dribble.”
Loins said the Tarblooders had a sense of urgency at that moment.
“We had to keep our heads up and fight,” Loins said. “Our high school careers were on the line.”
Next, Bryon Ottrix knocked down a short jumper in the lane followed by a long 3-pointer to quickly pull the Tarblooders back within 58-56. That was the beginning of an 11-3 run to close out the game by the Tarblooders. Ottrix scored 12 points with four assists and three rebounds.
“We knew they were quick and would pressure,” Javorek said. “We had some turnovers and missed some free throws (in the fourth quarter).”
West G had only eight turnovers heading into the fourth quarter, but committed five in the final 8 minutes. Also, the Wolverines were just 3-for-7 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and only 9-for-18 for the game. The Tarblooders had only seven foul shots, but they made five.
“This group accomplished a lot,” Javorek said. “It’s a great group of seniors. They’ve been in the program since I took over. They bought into the philosophy and the culture. It paid off.
“I am proud of them. We played one of the top lower seeds. We were in the driver’s seat.”
West G had six seniors including Shenkel, Nico Morgano, Ramey, Carmen Calo, Mark Sexton and Matt Podojil. Sexton scored 11 points including three 3-pointers all in the first half.
Glenville’s Andre Bush scored 15 points with five rebounds before fouling out in the final minutes of the game.