Miracle at Meadowbrook, Ropp provides Hawks with improbable win with buzzer beater
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
The Hiland versus Tuscarawas Central Catholic game March 4 had a little bit of everything, but the final, frenzied final seconds proved to be a roller coaster of emotions.
Trailing by one at 42-41 with seven seconds left, TCC's Michael Teater drove around the lane to the left side, soared through the air, slicing between two defenders, and somehow dropped in a beautiful runner with 2.2 seconds to play, giving the Saints what appeared to be a great chance to pull off an upset extraordinaire agains the top seeded Hawks in an intense District semifinal at Meadowbrook High School.
But not to be outdone, Hiland senior standout Todd Ropp grabbed a 50-foot pass from Brennan Coil, amidst a trio of Saints defenders, did a 180-degree pirouette and sent a dagger through the Saints with a jaw-dropping shot from the 3-point arc at the buzzer, setting off a wild celebration for the Hiland faithful, and leaving the saints stunned and bewildered as to what had just gone down.
It was truly one of the most emotional finished a game could have, especially since TCC had poured its heart and soul into a fourth quarter comeback in which they left everything they had on the court.
"There's not a whole lot to say, because no matter what I tell them, most of what I tell them after a game like that they aren't going to remember 20 minutes later anyway. It hurts for our guys to lose, not only because of the way we lost, but because we played so hard in the fourth quarter. When you compete and battle back and play really well, and something sways it and goes the other way, it is really tough to take. There is no doubt that this is the toughest game to take."
On the other side of the coin, were Ropp and the Hawks, experiencing the elation and basking in the aftermath of what well may be one of the most improbably shots in school history.
"Everything has to go right and you have to get really lucky, and we got really lucky" said Hiland coach Mark Schlabach. "The key to that play was that todd went and got that ball. He made a great pay, and we kind of come away from it feeling very fortunate, because they outplayed us that second half. They executed exceptionally well down the stretch. I thought we played D on a lot of those possessions, they just executed really well, and we didn't have an answer at the offensive end."
Having been around the game so long, Schlabach has experienced just about every emotion possible. And with Coach Miller, a former assistant coach, sitting down the sideline in anguish, even Schlabach seemed to realize the magnitude of emotions surrounding those final frenetic moments.
"Right away, my heart goes out to their kids, especially," said Schlabach. "There is some controversy there, and I hate that, and I feel terrible for them. If you coach long enough you experience a few of those."
The controversy arose when, with 2.2 seconds to play, TCC center alex Milleman batted away Jordan Yoder's long downcourt pass attempt. The ball bounced out of bounds, but no time had gone off the clock from the moment Milleman had deflected it.
After arguing the clock situation, the referees got together and decided to put 1.2 seconds on the clock.
In stepped the taller Coil, who launched a pass that sent Ropp into the legendary status with Hiland hoops.
While the last moments were off the wall intense, the first 31.58 minutes weren't so bad either.
Hiland came out scorching hot in the opening period, scoring on six straight possessions while TCC turned the ball over eight times.
That little 15-0 run put the Hawks up 17-4, before Tearer hit a three to end the period with Hiland up 17-7.
After Yoder canned a triple, his third of the game already, Hiland had upped its lead to 20-7.
That is when TCC cam storming back, thanks to Teater, who scored six points, and got the final score of the half on a put-back as time expired to trim Hiland's lead to 25-20 at the half.
"We had really good offensive flow that first half, then we gave up seven points on plays where the ball literally went right past our head. We were a little disappointed at the half because we felt we left seven points out there for them. Other than that it was a really good defensive half."
TCC got all the way back quickly in the second half, as Mitch Herron scored inside, Teater hit a pull-up jumper and Herron scored again to give the Saints a brief 26-25 lead.
But Coil, playing extended minutes because of the loss of big man Dennis Chupp to a foot injury, scored twice inside and Lucas Mast hit a 3-pointer to put Hiland back up 32-26. By the time Yoder nailed his fourth trey of the evening, Hiland had built a 37-28 lead after three quarters, which grew to 39-28 after Ropp scored on a muscular drive to the rim.
Disaster averted for the Hawks?
Think again, as the Saints showed incredible fortitude in again crawling back into it.
A true team effort paved the way for the comeback, with Milleman hitting a free throw, Jay O'Donnell and Teater both scoring, Teater canning two free throws and Milleman inside, and all of a sudden it was 40-39 with 1:55 left to play.
Hiland was reeling, the Saints were roaring and the hawks looked timid with the ball.
Ropp scored with 1:30 to play to left the lead back to three, but Herron dropped in two charity tosses to carve the deficit to 42-41 with 53 seconds left.
An errant pas by Mast allowed the saints to set up camp for some final heroics, and Hiland forced a pass out of bounds, with the Saints retaining possession, now with seven seconds left.
The stage was now set for a fantastic finish, and it would all take place right down the middle of Emotional Avenue.
For a team which hasn't had many close contests this season, these knee-knockers are tough to evaluate when it comes to performing in crunch time.
"We haven't been in that situation much, and we looked like it," said Schlabach of the Hawks fourth quarter struggles. "We got tentative and I called too many sets instead of just letting them play."
For a team which hasn't been to Meadowbrook for Districts in quite some time, TCC played like it was the favorite down the stretch, taking it right at the Hawks.
"We knew they weren't going to shoot the ball in the second half as well as they did in the first," said Miller of Hiland's big start. "We talked about making sure every shot was contested and that we got every rebound in the second half. We were able to force them into some bad shots, and they kind of helped us out with a couple of long threes we contested and converted on the other end."
Yet despite the torrid pace and the intense effort, it all came down to Ropp's heroics at the buzzer.
"We can't go back and look at it and change anything," said Miller. "Hiland made one more play. The bottom line is they're moving on and we're going home. It's really disappointing because we really felt we earned it."