DISTRICT 4 BOYS BASKETBALL: SAYRE RALLIES FOR WILD, 62-54, DOUBLE-OVERTIME WIN OVER CANTON — ADVANCES TO STATE PLAYOFFS FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2011 (24 PHOTOS) (2020-02-26)
BY TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportTROY - One often-used sports adage tell us it's tough to beat a good team three times in one season. Another says you can't let a good team hang around.
Both proved true here Wednesday night in Sayre's wild come-from-behind, 62-54, double-overtime victory over Canton in the consolation game of the District 4, Class AA boys basketball playoffs at the Troy Commons Building.
With the win, the Redskins, now 13-12, advance to the PIAA, Class AA playoffs for the first time since 2011.
"It's been nine years since," said first-year Sayre coach Devin Shaw. "No one even really thought we'd even get to the District playoffs.
"We talked about it as a team this summer, and I told the guys we had a chance to get to the district playoffs, and that we could compete once we got there," he noted. "We fell short of the district championship, but we had another game to play. Trying to keep that positive energy was key.
"We may not have won a district championship, but we knew we could keep our season going and get to the state playoffs," added Shaw. "We had to get this win. It's a good win for our program."
The Redskins played from behind for the majority of the game.
"It's tough to do, you just have to stay positive," said Shaw. "During timeouts, I kept telling the guys to fight, and play physical - "˜fight, scratch, claw, whatever you need to do to get back into the game, and give yourself an opportunity to win the game;' and that's what they did."
Sayre's biggest deficit was eight points, at 46-38 with 1:46 remaining in regulation, but junior Zach Moore, who had just three points to that point, needed just 45 seconds to tie the game with a pair of 3-pointers, and a 15-foot jumper.
"Shooters shoot, you just have to keep shooting," said Shaw. "If you don't shoot, there's no chance it's going in. (Zach) hit some big shots when we needed them most."
After Moore's first 3-pointer, the Redskins forced a turnover, and junior Matt Lane found Moore open in the corner. After a pump fake, Moore stepped past a Canton defender and knocked down a jumper.
Another turnover, resulted in another 3-pointer by Moore to tie the game at 46-46 with 46 seconds remaining.
The Redskins came up with a defensive stop, but missed on an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer.
"(Canton) is a very good basketball team. The first two times we played them, both games were very close," said Shaw.
"It's hard to beat a team three times, but we hung around close enough to be able to fight back into the game.
"We created a couple turnovers at the end of regulation to get us into overtime, and I think that was the big difference in the game," added Shaw. "The pressure we put on the ball, and not putting our heads down was key."
The Warriors took a 51-48 lead with 1:15 remaining in the first overtime on a putback on the offensive glass by Ben Knapp, but senior Corbin Brown's drive to the bucket resulted in an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the game at 51-51 with 59.6 seconds remaining.
Neither team was able to score on its final possession of the extra session, and the game moved into another overtime period.
Sophomore Dom Fabbri canned a long 3-pointer from the wing on Sayre's first possession of the second overtime period.
After a defensive stop, the Redskins took more than a minute off the clock before junior Connor Young was fouled. He made both free throws to push the lead to 56-51 with 1:35 remaining.
Canton's next possession ended with a turnover, and sophomore Brayden Horton found Lane open on the break for a lay-up to make it 58-51 with 1:12 remaining.
After a defensive stop, Fabbri was fouled and made both free throws to extend the lead to 60-51.
Canton had one final gasp as Zach Rentzel buried a 3-pointer, and the Warrior D forced a five-second call against the Redskins on the ensuing in-bounds. However, Canton's attempts to cut the deficit in half with another 3-pointer rimmed out, and Fabbri made a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Moore opened the game with a 3-pointer to give the Redskins a 3-0 lead, but a bucket by Caiden Williams with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter gave the Warriors an 8-7 lead it would carry into the second quarter.
Canton took a six-point lead early in the second quarter on buckets by Reese Allen and Cooper Kitchen, and stretched advantage to 22-15 at the half.
The 15 points was Sayre's lowest first-half output of the season.
"They scouted us pretty well ... that 1-3-1 really frustrated us," said Shaw. "We weren't getting the looks we normally get against them.
"We hadn't seen that 1-3-1 from them at all, so we hadn't prepared for it," noted Shaw.
"I think the big difference in the second half was rebounding. (Canton) has a lot of size. Ben Knapp is really strong and gets a lot of rebounds ... Caden Williams and Isaiah Niemczyk can soar, and get up and get rebounds.
"We got a lot of rebounds in the second half, and dug deep and got to a lot of loose balls," added Shaw. "I think that was a key."
The Warriors led 31-27 midway through the third quarter, but freshman Lucas Horton tied the game with back-to-back buckets, and Lane gave the Redskins their first lead, at 34-31, since 7-6 with three free throws with 2:19 left in the quarter.
Sayre's momentum was short-lived, however, as Canton scored 10 straight points in a run that bridged the final two quarters, to take a 41-34 lead with 6:42 remaining in regulation.
Canton took its biggest lead of the game, at 46-38, on a free throw by Isaiah Niemczyk with 1:46 left in regulation.
The Redskins had five players score at least nine points in the win, led by Lane and Brown, who had 15 and 14 points, respectively. Moore scored 11 points, while Fabbri and Young added nine points apiece, and Lucas Horton chipped in with four.
"Team basketball," said Shaw. "At the beginning of the year, we had two or three guys leading the way. I think we've been able to move the ball a little better, share the ball better, and create more balance in our scoring."
Niemczyk led Canton with 18 points, and Rentzel added 12.
"”"”"”"”"”"”
IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Zach Moore. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
