Menu
Sheldon drops heartbreaker in Hume Invitational title game
Nevada Daily Mail
The Sheldon Panthers junior high boys basketball season concluded in agonizing fashion, as they fell 29-28 on a last second shot to the Rich Hill Tigers, in the championship game of the Hume Invitational, Saturday night.
The loss was the first of the season for Sheldon, as they finished 13-1. Rich Hill is just beginning their season, moving to 3-0 after sweeping through the week-long tournament.
With 9.4 seconds remaining in the game and the score tied 27-27, Sheldon point guard Clayton Loyd stepped to the charity stripe for two free throws. Loyd sank the first, which was followed by a timeout called by Sheldon head coach Tyler Judd.
After the timeout, Loyd missed the second free throw. Sheldon elected not to apply full court pressure on the final possession, instead putting four players beyond half court line.
Rich Hill forward Dillon Tourtillott found the ball in his hands on the left wing with the clock winding down. Tourtillott took two dribbles towards the basket, stopped, pulled up, and kissed an 8-foot jumper off the glass from near the left baseline.
"We wanted a little bit of ball pressure in the half court, just to make them make a decision," Judd said. "And they got a great look. They got it to a kid there in the short court, and he made the shot.
"So, you tip your hat to a kid who makes the shot."
After Tourtillott's basket, only 0.5 seconds showed on the clock. However, the referees huddled and reset the clock to 1.3 seconds.
Judd spent the ensuing timeout designing a play, in which Sheldon needed to go the length of the court. The play however, didn't work, as the pass was intercepted near half court, ending Sheldon's dream season.
The Panthers best offensive weapon, center Brett O'Connor, was held scoreless in the first half. O'Connor however, did play well in other areas, collecting rebounds, assists and blocks.
"They did a good job of taking him away," Judd said. "They had a couple of guys around him, and made it tough for him to get it inside."
Trailing 13-9, the Panthers ended the first half on a 4-0 run, which started with a no-look pass from O'Connor to Jason Leveall for an easy bucket, and ended with an outlet pass from O'Connor to Loyd, who dropped in a layup just before the second quarter horn sounded.
Only two players scored for Sheldon in the first half, Matt Bogart, who had 9 points, and Lloyd who totaled 4.
O'Connor finally got into the scoring column, opening up the second half with a short jumper, handing the Panthers a 15-13 lead. O'Connor continued to heat up, hitting a turnaround jumper with 2:43 remaining in the third quarter, putting Sheldon back on top 17-16. O'Connor was also fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.
From that point, Rich Hill was lights out, ending the quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 24-17 lead.
"We got into a little bit of foul trouble, and that hurt us," Judd said.
Sheldon stormed out of the gates to open the fourth quarter, as guard Bryce Lamb stepped into the passing lane, coming up with a steal and drawing contact on a layup. After missing the first, Lamb hit the second free throw, cutting the Tigers lead to 24-18.
Later in the quarter, an O'Connor layup shaved Rich Hill's lead to 25-20. With a chance to further slice into the lead, O'Connor was off target on a pair of free throws.
With 3:45 remaining in regulation, Leveall scored off an out of bounds pass, whittling the Tigers lead to 25-22.
On the Panthers next possession, Loyd went to the line for a pair, missing the first and making the second. However, the second free throw was wiped out due to a lane violation, which would turn out to be a critical call.
With 2:45 on the clock, O'Connor continued to dazzle with his passing skills, again finding Leveall under the basket, for an easy lay-in, as the Panthers closed to within one point, at 25-24.
With two minutes left in the fourth, Loyd circled the perimeter, dribbled in a few steps, and stuck a pull-up jumper from 15-feet, as the Panthers reclaimed the lead, 26-25.
With 90 seconds remaining, O'Connor went to the line, where he hit 1-of-2 free throws to give Sheldon a 27-25 lead.
On the following possession, Sheldon came up with a crucial defensive stop, but saw a golden opportunity to milk the clock slip away, when Rich Hill point guard Brady Querry came up with a back court steal and quick layup, to knot the score at 27-27, with 58 seconds left to play.
Before Loyd's missed free throw and Tourtillott's game-winner, with the game still tied, Sheldon had another opportunity to retake the lead, which they failed to capitalize on, when Leveall's late trip to the line resulted in two missed free throws.
Sheldon played well enough to win, despite Rich Hill's full-court press giving them fits throughout the game.
"We didn't handle it very well," Judd said. "We turned it over a lot. It was a culmination of giving them easy baskets and being in foul trouble, where our best team wasn't out on the floor."
In addition to the high volume of turnovers, the ball just didn't bounce the Panthers way, as O'Connor and Leveall missed a number of point blank shots they would normally convert.
"Our kids got into a little bit of a hurry," Judd said. "Rich Hill has some athleticism that we're not used to. We were one stop away from winning. As poorly as we shot the ball, and as much foul trouble as we were in, we were 9 seconds away from winning the game."
Judd said he was impressed with the energetic play of Lamb.
"He was one of the big reasons why we came back," he said. "He gave us a lot of steals and a lot of energy. He didn't have his best shooting night, but he got us back in the game because he disrupted them on offense."
Despite the loss, Judd was pleased with his team's near-perfect play this season.
"I am very proud of this group," Judd said. "The records great, but they're great kids. And this experience is going to help them in the future."
Bogart finished with 13 points, while O'Connor compiled 7 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks.
Girls championship game
The Rich Hill junior high girls fell to the Butler Bears 42-23, in the title game. Tiger point guard Kassi Austin scored 13 points.