Hawks get thrilling 61-56 OT win for sectional title
Tony Yoder's play down the stretch in Hiland's scintillating overtime win over Tuscarawas Central Catholic included a monstrous put-back that kept the Hawks alive with time dwindling down.
The Tuscarawas Central Catholic Saints came marching into the Perry Reese Jr. Community Center to square off with the Hiland Hawks in a Div. IV East 2 sectional crown tilt Friday, Feb. 25. The Hawks escaped with a 61-56 overtime win in a game that was fast-paced and chaotic, with referees allowing both teams to go at it.
While the Hawks (19-4) came in as the No. 2 seed and TCC (12-12) was the No. 8 seed, both teams knew that seeding meant little because of the tough schedule both teams faced during the year.
“We felt confident,” said TCC head coach Mickey Sabin. “I knew they were a good team, they just came up with a couple of big plays at the end.”
“They’re like us, they go out and play people,” said Hiland head coach Mark Schlabach. “They play a tough schedule. And you knew they weren’t going to be afraid of a game like this. It showed.”
This one went back and forth the who way, with the teams trading punches and putting together mini-runs that kept the lead bouncing back and forth.
Scores by Alex Yoder and Dylan Weaver gave Hiland an early 8-5 lead, but Zander Sabin’s 3-pointer tied it at 8-all. With the score knotted at 10, Weaver tossed in a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Hiland a 13-10 lead after one quarter.
“I think our kids were a little tight,” said Schlabach. “It’s tournament time, we’ve got six seniors. With that added pressure, it doesn’t matter if it’s a 3-footer or a 3-pointer, they’re all tough shots.”
Sabin erased that lead by throwing in a bomb to begin the second period, and after Hiland’s Chris Shetler hit a spinner in the lane, TCC rattled off six straight, getting four from Jordan Cherry. Shetler answered with two scores inside, and after James Brooks gave the Saints a 21-19 lead on a put-back, the Hawks grabbed a 25-21 edge on a pair of Weaver drives and a Caden Miller put-back.
However, a bucket from Adam Decaminada and Hunter Sabin’s corner trey buzzer-beater pushed the Saints back in front 26-25 at the break.
Cherry scored inside early in the third quarter, but a pair of consecutive 3-pointers gave the Hawks the lead at 33-30. Kayden Crosier’s triple tied it again, and late in the period Grant Miller hit another huge trey to give Hiland a 38-35 edge heading into what was supposed to be the final period.
Spoiler alert — it wasn’t, and it would be wild getting to overtime.
TCC came out on fire and Hiland struggled to get the ball in the hole. Zander Sabin’s crazy runner went in, and Hunter Sabin knocked down a jumper. Shetler finally got the Hawks on the board, giving Hiland a 40-39 lead, but the Saints took over, with Zander Sabin sandwiching a long 3-pointer and an and-one around a Decaminada drive. Suddenly TCC was ahead 47-40 with 3:42 to play, and looked strong.
As Shetler tip-in and Chery’s score inside kept the Saints’ lead at seven. Grant Miller’s drive and a Shetler free throw inched Hiland closer, but Zander Sabin’s two free throws gave the Saints a 51-45 lead with 2:02 left.
That was when Hiland’s seniors stepped in and delivered. Weaver made two free throws, and after Shetler came away with a steal, Tony Yoder made two free throws to draw the Hawks to within 51-49 with 1:23 to play. Brooks then missed two huge free throws at the 1:01 mark and Weaver made a sweet finger-roll down the lane to tie it at 51 with 0:54 showing.
Weaver then stepped into the lane and took a huge charge, giving Hiland a chance to take the final shot. However, the final shot came far too early when Shetler drove the lane and his pay-up rolled off the right side of the rim with 10 seconds to play. That allowed TCC to set up for one final crack at victory.
The Saints got the ball into the hands of Zander Sabin and got the shot they wanted, an open straight on look at a three from the top of the key. However, while Sabin’s shot was right on line, it came up about an inch shy, bouncing high off the front iron, sending the game to overtime
The Saints again came out strong, but it would be the Hawks who would finish that way.
After Zander Sabin hit a jumper, Shetler missed an open lay-up and Zander Sabin split two free throws for a 54-51 Saints lead.
Hiland came roaring back, getting a score inside from Shetler, who then made a steal on the other end and fed Sammy Detweiler, who stroked home a perfect 3-pointer for a 56-54 Hiland lead.
Detweiler, Hiland’s top scorer, had been held in check most of the game, but he quickly made another monster play, coming up with a steal with 58 seconds to play. With 35 ticks left, TCC was forced to foul and opted to foul Tony Yoder, who delivered two perfect free throws to extend Hiland’s lead to four. A wild 3-point attempt by Zander Sabin didn’t catch iron and the Hawks’ Weaver snared the miss. He split two free throws to give Hiland a 59-54 advantage. Zander Sabin’s drive trimmed it to 59-56 with 11 seconds to play, and Detweiler converted one of two free throws to make it 60-56. Any chance TCC had disappeared on a missed 3-pointer and the Hawks had survived the ultimate scare.
“In overtime, we just couldn’t get anything moving,” Coach Sabin said. “They started doubling and trapping up on Zander, putting two or three guys on him. We were setting ball screens and guys weren’t moving and we were standing and clogging things up. Hat’s off to them.”
Schlabach said his veteran team never panicked when trailing late.
“I told the kids at halftime, that if we want to get where we want to get to, we have to be willing to play in these kinds of games and want to play in these kinds of games,” Schlabach said.
Junior Zander Sabin ended with a game-high 26 points, while Chery added 13. Hiland was led by Weaver’s 20, with Grant Miller and Shetler each adding 11, Yoder scoring seven and Detweiler adding six.
On the verge of defeat, Hawks find a way to oust Saints
No. 2 seed versus No. 8 seed meant absolutely nothing when higher seeded Hiland hosted Tuscarawas Central Catholic in a sectional final tilt Feb. 25. The Hawks came away with a 61-56 victory in overtime, the game was filled with emotion on both sides.
Here are some keys taken away from the frantic battle.
One by one, the Saints players emerged from their locker room, tears streaming as they hugged their head coach. The raw emotion of the moment exemplified how much the Saints had invested in this season, in this game, and how much a victory would have meant to them.
“We just came up short,” said TCC head coach Mickey Sabin. “We gave it everything we had, but Hiland is a great team, and they know how to win. I’m so proud of (our kids), they were unbelievable. I wanted it so bad for them.”
Desperate senior basketball
Trailing by six points with 2:02 to play in regulation, Hiland faced an uphill battle. There was no panic, only senior leadership that helped the Hawks force overtime. Seniors Chris Shetler, Grant Miller, Tony Yoder and Dylan Weaver all made key contributions down the stretch.
“I always say that at this time of the year, you don’t want to play teams led by a bunch of seniors, because those teams are hardened, because they play desperate basketball,” said Hiland coach Mark Schlabach. “Those last three minutes and in overtime we played some desperate basketball. We did what we had to do to win and got one stop at the end that got us over the hump give TCC a lot of credit.
“Our kids don’t back down from a challenge like that. We panicked a few times in the first half, but when we were down late, our kids kept saying, ‘we’re fine, we’re fine,” and that’s just great leadership from our seniors.”
Scheduling for the tournament
Mickey Sabin didn’t hesitate when it came time to build the 2021-2022 basketball schedule. When he turned in his suggested schedule to athletic director Mike Sweet, Sweet was stunned. In addition to two games apiece with strong IVC North teams from Malvern and Strasburg, as well as IVC south Garaway, games like Cleveland Benedictine, Tiffin Calvert and West Branch littered a meat-grinder schedule that was one of the toughest small school schedules in the state.
“We felt all along that we could be the eighth seed in the tournament,” Sabin said. “I knew our record wasn’t going to be good, but we felt we would be one of the top two or three teams in the district. We could have come into that game with three or four losses like a lot of the other teams, but I didn’t want that for my kids. I’m not going to do it next year either. We’re already beefing (the schedule) up for next year.”
Hiland head coach Mark Schlabach gets it. He too creates a juggernaut of a schedule every year to challenge his players and isn’t afraid to knock heads with the big boys. Schlabach built one of the toughest schedules of any small-school team in the state this season, and he appreciated what Sabin and the Saints did this year.
Your wish is Grant-ed
“It wasn’t our best night at the offensive end, but a lot of that had to do with TCC,” Schlabach said. “They really did a good job. They took Sammy away.”
However, in his stead stepped Grant Miller, who hit some huge shots and played hard-nosed defense on high scoring Zander Sabin all night.
“I think Grant played probably the best game of his career,” He guarded the best kid we’ve played against all year. He hit big shot after big shot.”
Shooting woes
Both coaches lamented missing far too many point-blank shots in the paint and free throws, with neither team performing well. With a frantic pace and officials allowing the two teams to bang away on each other, making every shot in the paint highly contested. When the teams did reach the foul line, it was far from pretty. The Saints finished 9-of-17, while the Hawks went 8-of-16. Regardless of which team won, someone was walking away from this one lamenting lost opportunities.
“Both teams played very physical and that is how you hope a tournament game like this is,” Schlabach said. “Let the kids decide it.”