STRASBURG — Central boys basketball coach Jeff Whittle said the Falcons have been in a few situations this season where they were down and had to dig themselves out of a tough spot. Never was the situation as dire as it was on Friday night.
Down by two against Petersburg with 20 seconds left in the Class 2 state quarterfinals, Central star forward Dominic Strother had just fouled out and the Crimson Wave was heading to the free-throw line with the chance to put the Falcons’ state-title hopes in jeopardy.
But Petersburg missed the front end of a one-and-one, leaving the door open for Central. Falcons senior Kelan Hoover cashed in on the chance.
Hoover connected on a game-tying jumper through contact in the lane with 15.3 seconds left, sinking the bucket as Petersburg’s Antwone Blackwell hit the deck while attempting to draw a charge. The foul instead went to Blackwell, giving Hoover a shot to put Central back on top at the line, which he did when he calmly sank the free throw after a Petersburg timeout.
Without the 6-foot-8 Strother on the floor to protect the rim, Petersburg had three shots around the basket to connect on the would-be game-winner, but the Crimson Wave misfired each time in a frantic final sequence. Hoover finally pulled down the game-clinching rebound at the buzzer, preserving Central’s 46-45 win and sending the capacity crowd at Strasburg High School into a frenzy and the Falcons into Tuesday’s state semifinal game against Cave Spring.
“When that crowd went crazy, it was like an NBA thing,” said Hoover, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s win. “You don’t see it that much. It was crazy and I loved it.”
It was quite a feat that Central (23-3) was in a position to win the game late.
The Falcons made just 11 field goals in the contest and attempted just 29 total shots — less than half the attempts Petersburg had — and got little production offensively outside of Strother (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Hoover. Central turned the ball over 20 times — including three turnovers on four possessions late in the fourth quarter — and was outrebounded 33-27.
But the Falcons also were stellar from the free-throw line and continued their recent trend of stout defense, holding Petersburg to 30 percent from the field.
“We didn’t do the best job of boxing out, rebounding, but we held in there and we’re just fortunate,” Whittle said. “I’m just proud of these guys. They hung in there and when our offense wasn’t stellar — and credit to (Petersburg) defensively — but we held in there and had a shot to win late in the game.”
Friday’s game was close throughout, with Central’s 8-point lead early in the third quarter being the largest margin for either side. Petersburg erased that deficit with an 11-3 run through the middle part of the period and tied the game at 27 when Milton Coles got a friendly roll on a floater in traffic on the low block with 3:15 left in the frame.
Neither team led by more than four after that, and there were six ties and eight lead changes over the last 11:15 of the game.
“It’s fortunate we were playing here local. Everyone — our student section and administration, the fans — all had our backs,” Whittle said. “That was huge for us to keep us in the game and know that hey, they’re here for us. Even though we had some mistakes down the stretch, we were still in the game.”
Central, which attempted just five shots in the fourth period, led 41-37 with four minutes left after Strother — who was 12-for-14 from the free-throw line — sank a pair of freebies. Petersburg tied it at 41 on Joseph Briscoe’s deep jumper and two free throws from Tyheim Love with 2:15 to play, but Central again took a two-point lead on two Strother free throws 25 seconds later.
The Crimson Wave (10-17) countered again when Antwone Blackwell connected on a putback and Cole swiped a steal at midcourt that turned into a Quishawn Prosise layup that put Petersburg up 45-43 with 1:08 to play.
The Crimson Wave looked to have Central on the ropes when Hoover was whistled for traveling while scrambling for a loose ball, and a patient Petersburg possession drained 34 seconds off the clock before Strother was forced to foul his way out of the game with 20 seconds remaining.
Petersburg’s missed free throw and Hoover’s heroics followed.
“When I fouled out, I was so disappointed because I knew that I could’ve played better defense than that, but I knew that my team would always come through in the clutch,” Strother said. “When I saw that Kelan got that and-one, I just believed in him, the free throw. I knew that he was gonna make it because he was hitting free throws all night.”
Tuesday’s state semifinal appearance will be the second for Central in three seasons, as the Falcons also reached that same point in the Class 2 tournament in 2018, where they fell to Robert E. Lee.
“They deserve it,” Whittle said. “We’ve been practicing since November and they’ve practiced a ton of Saturdays and been very committed since Day 1. Man, they deserve this. They’re a fun group to coach. They’re deserving of this, and I’m excited to keep this thing going.”
– Contact Brad Fauber at bfauber@nvdaily.com
Down by two against Petersburg with 20 seconds left in the Class 2 state quarterfinals, Central star forward Dominic Strother had just fouled out and the Crimson Wave was heading to the free-throw line with the chance to put the Falcons’ state-title hopes in jeopardy.
But Petersburg missed the front end of a one-and-one, leaving the door open for Central. Falcons senior Kelan Hoover cashed in on the chance.
Hoover connected on a game-tying jumper through contact in the lane with 15.3 seconds left, sinking the bucket as Petersburg’s Antwone Blackwell hit the deck while attempting to draw a charge. The foul instead went to Blackwell, giving Hoover a shot to put Central back on top at the line, which he did when he calmly sank the free throw after a Petersburg timeout.
Without the 6-foot-8 Strother on the floor to protect the rim, Petersburg had three shots around the basket to connect on the would-be game-winner, but the Crimson Wave misfired each time in a frantic final sequence. Hoover finally pulled down the game-clinching rebound at the buzzer, preserving Central’s 46-45 win and sending the capacity crowd at Strasburg High School into a frenzy and the Falcons into Tuesday’s state semifinal game against Cave Spring.
“When that crowd went crazy, it was like an NBA thing,” said Hoover, who finished with 13 points and eight rebounds in Friday’s win. “You don’t see it that much. It was crazy and I loved it.”
It was quite a feat that Central (23-3) was in a position to win the game late.
The Falcons made just 11 field goals in the contest and attempted just 29 total shots — less than half the attempts Petersburg had — and got little production offensively outside of Strother (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Hoover. Central turned the ball over 20 times — including three turnovers on four possessions late in the fourth quarter — and was outrebounded 33-27.
But the Falcons also were stellar from the free-throw line and continued their recent trend of stout defense, holding Petersburg to 30 percent from the field.
“We didn’t do the best job of boxing out, rebounding, but we held in there and we’re just fortunate,” Whittle said. “I’m just proud of these guys. They hung in there and when our offense wasn’t stellar — and credit to (Petersburg) defensively — but we held in there and had a shot to win late in the game.”
Friday’s game was close throughout, with Central’s 8-point lead early in the third quarter being the largest margin for either side. Petersburg erased that deficit with an 11-3 run through the middle part of the period and tied the game at 27 when Milton Coles got a friendly roll on a floater in traffic on the low block with 3:15 left in the frame.
Neither team led by more than four after that, and there were six ties and eight lead changes over the last 11:15 of the game.
“It’s fortunate we were playing here local. Everyone — our student section and administration, the fans — all had our backs,” Whittle said. “That was huge for us to keep us in the game and know that hey, they’re here for us. Even though we had some mistakes down the stretch, we were still in the game.”
Central, which attempted just five shots in the fourth period, led 41-37 with four minutes left after Strother — who was 12-for-14 from the free-throw line — sank a pair of freebies. Petersburg tied it at 41 on Joseph Briscoe’s deep jumper and two free throws from Tyheim Love with 2:15 to play, but Central again took a two-point lead on two Strother free throws 25 seconds later.
The Crimson Wave (10-17) countered again when Antwone Blackwell connected on a putback and Cole swiped a steal at midcourt that turned into a Quishawn Prosise layup that put Petersburg up 45-43 with 1:08 to play.
The Crimson Wave looked to have Central on the ropes when Hoover was whistled for traveling while scrambling for a loose ball, and a patient Petersburg possession drained 34 seconds off the clock before Strother was forced to foul his way out of the game with 20 seconds remaining.
Petersburg’s missed free throw and Hoover’s heroics followed.
“When I fouled out, I was so disappointed because I knew that I could’ve played better defense than that, but I knew that my team would always come through in the clutch,” Strother said. “When I saw that Kelan got that and-one, I just believed in him, the free throw. I knew that he was gonna make it because he was hitting free throws all night.”
Tuesday’s state semifinal appearance will be the second for Central in three seasons, as the Falcons also reached that same point in the Class 2 tournament in 2018, where they fell to Robert E. Lee.
“They deserve it,” Whittle said. “We’ve been practicing since November and they’ve practiced a ton of Saturdays and been very committed since Day 1. Man, they deserve this. They’re a fun group to coach. They’re deserving of this, and I’m excited to keep this thing going.”
– Contact Brad Fauber at bfauber@nvdaily.com
