Wildcats win sectional title in double OT; headed to Convo
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LUCASVILLE — In what resembled a heavyweight championship boxing match the Whiteoak Wildcats and Green Bobcats went toe-to-toe, tooth-and-nail for 40 minutes, two overtimes, until a sectional champion was crowned, Tuesday at Valley High School, in Lucasville.
The Wildcats walked away, from their longest game of the year, as a Division IV SE District Sectional champion, defeating Green 65-58, earning a trip to the Convocation Center, in Athens, on the campus of Ohio University on Monday, March 7 at 8 p.m. They will play South Gallia, who defeated Symmes Valley, 39-37 on Tuesday.
At Valley on Tuesday, both teams played a grueling style of basketball, with players flying around the court, one player having to bandage his head and players taking charges and diving after loose basketballs the entire game.
Whiteoak led 41-35 at the start of the fourth, then Green tied it at the end of regulation (48-48), sending it into the first OT.
Green, the Southern Ohio Conference Division I champions, again tied the game late in the first overtime, making a free throw with 3.1 seconds left in the OT period. But it was Whiteoak who made their free throws when they needed them most (while causing problems when on defense), sealing the win and the sectional title.
"This was a long, long night," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "I thought they (Green) had a very rowdy crowd. I thought this was the rowdiest we've seen all season. We had some foul trouble at the end, but we had three sophomores come out and really play almost like they were seniors at times. I'm very proud of all eight kids who got into that game."
WHS had four players who finished with 13 or more points, two of whom fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Leading WHS was sophomore Gage Carraher with 16 points, followed by senior Joe Michael with 15 and senior Mike Carraher with 14 points. Doc Seip, a sophomore, finished with 13 points.
The Bobcats were led by two 20-plus point scorers in SOC co-Player of the Year TJ McCloud, a senior, and junior Cody Bruce. McCloud finished with a game-high 23 points, and Bruce tallied 21 points.
Wessner spoke about what he said to his team as they went through all the overtimes and lead changes.
"You try to focus, especially when the younger guys are in there, on the little things … rebounding, what defense we are in. You try to limit and do more simple things. That pressure is going to affect them, get into the mindset of what we are trying to do, hopefully we can get results like that."
For the Wildcats the fourth quarter, and two overtimes, were a testament to their overall team, as both Michael and Mike Carraher, their two leading scorers at the time, fouled out before the halfway point of the frame. WHS was outscored 13-7 in the final frame of regulation.
With their two senior captains on the bench, the Wildcats gradually allowed the Bobcats to claw their way back into the game, tying the score at 36 with 1:21 left in the fourth, as the jam-packed Green fan base let it be known they wanted their Bobcats to come out on the winning end.
Gage Carraher gave WHS the lead with 1:01 left in regulation, but Bruce tied the score at 48 with a spinning layup, which eventually sent the game into its first overtime.
In the first OT, WHS came out with a free-throw conversion from Seip, putting WHS up by one. Green came back with a layup from Tyler Hughes, but it was Seip who was there to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Seip again made his presence felt when he put WHS ahead, once again, with .55 seconds left in the OT, followed with a blocked shot on the other end of the court. But the game was sent into its second OT when McCloud made his first of two free throws with 3.1 seconds left in the OT, tying the game at 54.
The Wildcats broke the tie first in the second OT when Gage Carraher knocked down a free throw. In the second OT, WHS was 9-of-14 from the free-throw line, more than enough to take home the win. Seip scored the lone WHS basket with 1:22 left in the second OT with a jumper, breaking a tie and giving the Wildcats a 59-57 lead.
Gage Carraher followed with two free throws at the 51.5 mark, then Seip sank the final two WHS points from the free-throw line with 4.3 seconds left.
"We've been playing physical all year. There are times when we've been up-and-down, and we are hoping this is our up swing, that we can keep building on this," Wessner said.
The first three quarters were a completely different story for the Wildcats, as they jumped out to a 21-10 lead after the first eight minutes due to the play of Mike Carraher. The senior sank three 3-pointers, along with a two-point bucket for 11 points in the quarter, as he tallied the first eight WHS points of the game. Gage Carraher also made a 3-pointer in the first, and Michael seven points in the first, with three free throws.
In the second, WHS added 14 points to the lead, as Michael scored six points in the frame, and Gage Carraher also tallied six points, with four coming via the charity stripe.
The third frame wasn't the best of quarters for the Wildcats as they were outscored 12-6, as McCloud and Bruce combined for three points in the final two quarters of regulation.
"A win like this says we are very good at taking care of the basketball, and when push comes to shove, we can play with people," Wessner said. "That's what this win says about us. No matter what happens with us, we are still going to try to win and compete."
One obstacle the Wildcats fought all night was their fouling. WHS finished with 27 total fouls, 17 in the second half (including the overtime periods). For the game, WHS was charged with seven charges, five in the second half.
"We take from this game … some of the things we need to work on, which is fouling," he said. "We also need to work on some of the things we did right, getting the ball where we needed it, kids playing well, and those sorts of things. Hopefully we can fix all the problems and build on the things we did positive."
GAME NOTES: From the free-throw line, WHS was 18-of-29 and GHS was 15-of-27 for a combined 56 free-throw attempts … WHS scored more points in the two overtimes with 17 points (8 minutes) than they did in the final two quarters of regulation with 13 points (16 minutes) … Mike Carraher made four total 3-pointers … Green had a technical foul with 4:16 left in the second quarter (Gage Carraher made both free throws).[[In-content Ad]]
The Wildcats walked away, from their longest game of the year, as a Division IV SE District Sectional champion, defeating Green 65-58, earning a trip to the Convocation Center, in Athens, on the campus of Ohio University on Monday, March 7 at 8 p.m. They will play South Gallia, who defeated Symmes Valley, 39-37 on Tuesday.
At Valley on Tuesday, both teams played a grueling style of basketball, with players flying around the court, one player having to bandage his head and players taking charges and diving after loose basketballs the entire game.
Whiteoak led 41-35 at the start of the fourth, then Green tied it at the end of regulation (48-48), sending it into the first OT.
Green, the Southern Ohio Conference Division I champions, again tied the game late in the first overtime, making a free throw with 3.1 seconds left in the OT period. But it was Whiteoak who made their free throws when they needed them most (while causing problems when on defense), sealing the win and the sectional title.
"This was a long, long night," WHS head coach Tom Wessner said. "I thought they (Green) had a very rowdy crowd. I thought this was the rowdiest we've seen all season. We had some foul trouble at the end, but we had three sophomores come out and really play almost like they were seniors at times. I'm very proud of all eight kids who got into that game."
WHS had four players who finished with 13 or more points, two of whom fouled out in the fourth quarter.
Leading WHS was sophomore Gage Carraher with 16 points, followed by senior Joe Michael with 15 and senior Mike Carraher with 14 points. Doc Seip, a sophomore, finished with 13 points.
The Bobcats were led by two 20-plus point scorers in SOC co-Player of the Year TJ McCloud, a senior, and junior Cody Bruce. McCloud finished with a game-high 23 points, and Bruce tallied 21 points.
Wessner spoke about what he said to his team as they went through all the overtimes and lead changes.
"You try to focus, especially when the younger guys are in there, on the little things … rebounding, what defense we are in. You try to limit and do more simple things. That pressure is going to affect them, get into the mindset of what we are trying to do, hopefully we can get results like that."
For the Wildcats the fourth quarter, and two overtimes, were a testament to their overall team, as both Michael and Mike Carraher, their two leading scorers at the time, fouled out before the halfway point of the frame. WHS was outscored 13-7 in the final frame of regulation.
With their two senior captains on the bench, the Wildcats gradually allowed the Bobcats to claw their way back into the game, tying the score at 36 with 1:21 left in the fourth, as the jam-packed Green fan base let it be known they wanted their Bobcats to come out on the winning end.
Gage Carraher gave WHS the lead with 1:01 left in regulation, but Bruce tied the score at 48 with a spinning layup, which eventually sent the game into its first overtime.
In the first OT, WHS came out with a free-throw conversion from Seip, putting WHS up by one. Green came back with a layup from Tyler Hughes, but it was Seip who was there to keep the Wildcats in the game.
Seip again made his presence felt when he put WHS ahead, once again, with .55 seconds left in the OT, followed with a blocked shot on the other end of the court. But the game was sent into its second OT when McCloud made his first of two free throws with 3.1 seconds left in the OT, tying the game at 54.
The Wildcats broke the tie first in the second OT when Gage Carraher knocked down a free throw. In the second OT, WHS was 9-of-14 from the free-throw line, more than enough to take home the win. Seip scored the lone WHS basket with 1:22 left in the second OT with a jumper, breaking a tie and giving the Wildcats a 59-57 lead.
Gage Carraher followed with two free throws at the 51.5 mark, then Seip sank the final two WHS points from the free-throw line with 4.3 seconds left.
"We've been playing physical all year. There are times when we've been up-and-down, and we are hoping this is our up swing, that we can keep building on this," Wessner said.
The first three quarters were a completely different story for the Wildcats, as they jumped out to a 21-10 lead after the first eight minutes due to the play of Mike Carraher. The senior sank three 3-pointers, along with a two-point bucket for 11 points in the quarter, as he tallied the first eight WHS points of the game. Gage Carraher also made a 3-pointer in the first, and Michael seven points in the first, with three free throws.
In the second, WHS added 14 points to the lead, as Michael scored six points in the frame, and Gage Carraher also tallied six points, with four coming via the charity stripe.
The third frame wasn't the best of quarters for the Wildcats as they were outscored 12-6, as McCloud and Bruce combined for three points in the final two quarters of regulation.
"A win like this says we are very good at taking care of the basketball, and when push comes to shove, we can play with people," Wessner said. "That's what this win says about us. No matter what happens with us, we are still going to try to win and compete."
One obstacle the Wildcats fought all night was their fouling. WHS finished with 27 total fouls, 17 in the second half (including the overtime periods). For the game, WHS was charged with seven charges, five in the second half.
"We take from this game … some of the things we need to work on, which is fouling," he said. "We also need to work on some of the things we did right, getting the ball where we needed it, kids playing well, and those sorts of things. Hopefully we can fix all the problems and build on the things we did positive."
GAME NOTES: From the free-throw line, WHS was 18-of-29 and GHS was 15-of-27 for a combined 56 free-throw attempts … WHS scored more points in the two overtimes with 17 points (8 minutes) than they did in the final two quarters of regulation with 13 points (16 minutes) … Mike Carraher made four total 3-pointers … Green had a technical foul with 4:16 left in the second quarter (Gage Carraher made both free throws).[[In-content Ad]]