That has a great ring to it, doesn't it? The Cards earned their spot in the Central District Title game with a hard fought 58 - 57 overtime win over Hilliard Davidson last Saturday.
An exciting game that saw the Cards get out to a double digit lead in the second half before Hilliard started chipping away. Davidson's Corey Harvey hit a three pointer from the top of the key as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Fortunately, the Cards didn't dwell too long on the loss of momentum as senior Justin Hallowell drilled a three to open the overtime period that gave the team life. Taylor Hobbs had a bucket in the extra frame and Eric Easley hit the game winner with 16 seconds left off a drive to the hoop. Easley was being closely guarded by his man until he rubbed him off a big Chris Nocar screen at the elbow. That guy went down like a sack of hammers, but Nocar's man was there to provide some defense against Easley who gave up about 8 inches in height to the guy. No worries, as Easley banked in the shot over him.
The Cards learned their lesson because when Harvey ended up with the ball and a chance for a game winning shot again in OT, he had three hands in his face and fell short on the shot. Hallowell also had a huge block in the sequence just prior to Harvey's shot.
I give the Cards a ton of credit for the win because there were many times throughout the game where the momentum turned against them. Harvey had a huge tip dunk in the first half, there were some pretty odd foul calls down the stretch in regulation, and the buzzer beater by Harvey to send the game to OT all could've been excuses to pack it in and give up. They found a way to win.
The Cards will take on Westerville South who upset the #2 team in the state in Northland on Saturday. Northland was without 6'8" sophomore Jared Sullinger, who was being sat for academic reasons, and South took advantage.
The District Final will be held Saturday at 3:00 pm at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. Best of luck to Coach Miller and the squad.
Article and Boxscore from the Dispatch:
Thomas Worthington 58, Hilliard Davidson 57, OT
Eric Easley made a driving shot with 16 seconds left in overtime as Thomas Worthington (19-4) edged Hilliard Davidson (17-5).
Davidson's Corey Harvey, who made a three-point shot as time expired in regulation, missed a last-second three-point try in overtime.
Justin Hallowell had 18 points and seven rebounds and Easley scored 17 points to pace the Cardinals, who had a 13-point lead with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter.
"We had a hard time finding a specific thing that worked because of their defense, but we somehow found a way to win," Cardinals coach Bob Miller said.
Thomas Worthington 58, Hilliard Davidson 57, OT
TW: Girardi 1-0-2, Easley 4-6-17, Hobbs 4-2-11, Hallowell 5-6-18, K.Cowgill 2-0-4, Nocar 3-0-6. 3-point goals: Easley 3, Hallowell 2, Hobbs. Totals: 19-14-58.
HD: Broadstone 2-4-8, Dietz 2-0-4, Blackwell 1-0-2, Goodwin 5-3-16, Harvey 7-0-15, Backstrom 3-6-12. 3-point goals: Goodwin 3, Harvey. Totals: 20-13-57.
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