Seger Fever: Bonifant buzzer-beater lifts Hawks to 41-40 Regional final win over Richmond Heights
"Wow," said Chaise Gerber.That's just about all that can be said of Hiland's heart-pounding 41-40 victory over Richmond Heights in the Canton Regional final on Saturday, March 16.
If you weren't at the Canton Fieldhouse to see Hiland senior Seger Bonifant toss in a 3-pointer from the corner with 0.4 seconds left to play, you may want to start brushing up on your story, because years from now you will be one of about 14,000 people who will swear that they were there on the night that Bonifant drove a stake through the hearts of the Richmond Heights team which had battled them gallantly tooth and nail the entire night.
This was one of those games that will have people talking for years; a true classic in every sense, and that was even before Bonifant proved once again that pressure means absolutely nothing to him, other than it is a place to put his stamp on his still growing legendary career.
"We run that same exact play almost every practice before a game, that same exact play," said Bonifant. "Jason pitched it out, and I was standing there wide open, thank the Lord. With three seconds to go, they were in turmoil trying to stop the shot. We would have been too. Jason made a heck of a pass and I hit it. I just thank the Lord. He's the man."
Perhaps so, but on this night, Bonifant was a pretty tremendous wingman.
What set up that final play was an evening of two teams, which locked horns and slugged it out for four periods, 32 minutes of intense basketball in the sweatbox that is the Fieldhouse.
The game never got outside of a five-point advantage for either team. At the first stop, Hiland held a one-point advantage. At the half they were up by four. The lead was two going into the fourth, and then Richmond Heights soared ahead by two with under three minutes to play.
After Hiland missed, Richmond Heights tried to take a ton of time off the clock, but Dylan Kaufman came up with a huge steal, raced down the floor and hammered home a thunderous dunk, setting off an even larger roar from the Hiland faithful, which years form now will be around 23,000 people who are adamant that they were there.
The Spartans then spent the next two minutes looking for a game-winner of their own, and looked like they had struck gold when Kareem Rock drove down the lane and nailed a floater with 8.4 seconds to play.
However, this experienced Hiland team had a few amazing finishes left in the tank, and pulled this one straight out of their practice schedule.
Needing to go the length of the floor, Dylan Kaufman inbounded the ball, and hit Neil Gingerich on the foul line extended. Kaufman took off sprinting down the floor, and Gingerich hit him in stride. Kaufman roared down the middle of the floor, past the top of the key and into the lane, where he was cut off and collided with a Spartans defender. Before crashing to the floor, he kicked the ball out to Chaise Gerber with three ticks left on the clock. Gerber had to shoot.
At least that's what the Spartans believed. Two defenders flew out at Gerber, who quickly skipped a pass over to Jason Miller at the top of the key. Miller then found Bonifant standing wide open in the corner with time running out.
Bonifant then calmly stared pressure right in the face, called it out, spit in its face and drained the triple, setting off a jubilant Hiland celebration. The final 0.4 seconds was a mere formality.
The Hawks had settled the score between these two juggernauts, and had thrown the final punch, which came in knockout fashion in the form of a heartless dagger of a three.
"It was a real struggle," said Hiland coach Mark Schlabach of the game. "We couldn't afford to take a possession off defensively, and I don't know if we had a bad possession the entire second half."
A second half in which Schlabach made exactly zero substitutions, letting his starting five determine whether the Hawks would go on or go home.
"Our kids have done it before," said Schlabach of the five starters playing an entire second half. "We did it at St. V and we did it at Malvern. You've just got to make plays. Dylan makes a huge steal at midcourt, and on that last play, every single one of them made a great play. Neil made a great play by hitting Dylan in stride. Dylan made a great play by avoiding the charge. Chaise made a great play; Jason made a great pass."
Of course, Bonifant's tiny addition to the entire procession was not too bad either.
"I knew as soon as I saw Seger out there all alone that he was going to make it," said Miller. "There was no doubt in my mind that he was getting that ball and making that shot. I had 100 percent faith that Seger would hit that shot, all we had to do was get him the ball."
In order to get to that shot, Hiland had to persevere some of the most intense defensive pressure they have seen. Richmond Heights swarmed all over the ball, using their athleticism and quickness to force the Hawks into rushed shots.
"It was crazy out there tonight," said Miller of the pace of the game. "They were so quick; it was relentless."
However, the converse could also be said. Hiland employed some seriously stiff defensive pressure of their own, and two teams who are well known for racking up huge offensive numbers were limited to 41 and 40.
Fortunately for the Hawks, the 41 belonged to them, and because of Seger Fever, Hiland lives to play again, as they pursue the defense of their Div. IV title.
"To lose this game would have been devastating," said Gingerich. "We came in expecting to win, but we knew that they were really tough. But you have to enter a game expecting to win. Had we not, it would have been extremely hard to take knowing that we were that close."
The Hawks fight on, and are now one of only four teams left standing in the division. Whether they defend that State title or not, this one will go down with the greatest games in the school's great round ball history.