For the benefit of our other readers across the state, I will give you the headline news first and then get into the details because I have a big question for you rules experts about this one. So the big news is that Riverheads won its own tournament tonight 63-61 on a Jackson Brammer lay-up in the third overtime. I have not had the chance to check my records yet, but I believe this may have been the Gladiators' first-ever win over the Panthers, although the total number of times they have played is less than 10 since they are not that close to one another.
Now for the part that had many of us shaking our heads in disbelief. Most of us moldy oldies thought that high school overtimes were 4 minutes or the equivalent of half a quarter, and that you played as many as necessary until you had a winner. But that is not what we saw tonight. This one went one four-minute overtime, followed by a one-minute overtime, and then by a third extra session in which it was announced that it would be sudden death.
Riverheads managed to wrangle the tip away from Rapp Co in that third overtime and it only took a few seconds for Brammer to work his way free and hit the game-winner. In all the excitement and confusion, I honestly don't remember if he scored off a designed play or if he rebounded a missed shot. But the bottom line is that he had about half a dozen such close up shots tonight that were every bit as important as the 10 three-pointers that his teammates fired in. More on those later.
So guys did we witness a new official VHSL overtime rule? No one that I talked to after the game had ever heard of this process before. Of course I can only recall RHS ever being involved in two triple overtime games and each of those was at least 40 years ago, so what do I know!
As you can figure out, this game had some downright wild twists and turns. First of all, if you had seen only the first quarter, you would wonder why Riverheads had to struggle so mightily to win it, as the Big Red came roaring out of the gate with an early 8-0 lead that they stretched to 20-6 by the end of the first quarter. Will Gardner, who will factor prominently in our recap came out smoking and knocked down three triples to get the home team off and running.
But to Rapp Co's credit, they never panicked and slowly but surely worked their way back into the game. They were only able to trim the lead to 31-20 by halftime but you could tell they had a run coming and they wasted no time making it happen. Their super soph Jason Deel came to life, including some impressive three-pointers, and they also got some key baskets from seniors Tucker Atkins and Jeremiah Phillips. Sorry if I am leaving out anyone else deserving of recognition.
Early in that third quarter, the Gladiators were hit with a bad break that looked like it might eventually cost them the game. Gardner, who had scored 14 points by that time, went down with a nasty ankle injury. With him out of the picture and Rapp Co warming up, it looked like sure disaster for the Big Red. RappCo took full advantage of the situation and grabbed its first lead of the game at 38-37. The quarter ended with the Panthers in front 41-39.
Surprisingly, Gardner was back on the floor to start the fourth quarter but he was limping noticeably and it looked as if his presence might hurt the Big Red more than help them. That possibility seemed even more likely when RappCo took its biggest lead of the night at 44-39.
But someway somehow the Gladiators were able to fight their way back. Gardner loosened up and hit a crucial triple, his fifth of the game, that helped the Gladiators salvage a tie at 50-50. However, truth be told, Riverheads could have won the game in regulation if not for some downright awful foul shooting. I would guess they missed at least a dozen in the second half and overtimes. To the best of my recollection, two guys were fouled on three-point attempts but between the two of them, they only hit one of the six free throws.
The first overtime had at least five or six lead changes. In the closing seconds, Gardner finally found the range at the charity stripe and hit a pair to put RHS in front 61-58. But RappCo buried a game-tying triple at the buzzer. That was when we saw the surprising news on the scoreboard about the one-minute second overtime. As you can tell from the final score, neither team scored in that session, and when the PA announcer told us to expect sudden death, nearly everyone was shocked, just because it was such an unfamiliar concept.
Henley Dunlap jumped center against Deal, even though he was giving up several inches. The Gladiators somehow gained possession, and Brammer's game-winner came along even before the fans had a chance to adjust to the situation.
Gardner finished with a team-high 21, followed by 18 from Dunlap who hustled his behind off all night long, and Brammer added 14. In addition to all the other obstacles they had to overcome, all three of them were in major foul trouble by the end of the game. Dunlap hit three triples and J P Crawford and Chase Donathan hit one each. Knowing what we know now, even freshman Jaxon Duff's pair of calm free throws back in the first half were needed to secure the win.
I will go ahead and post this and then answer myself to give you the results of the other games.
