With two seconds remaining Kyle Splitt took a cross court inbound pass and swished a running one handed layup to catapult the Grant Bulldogs to a 52-51 victory over Carmel on Wednesday night. Splitt wasn’t even designated to receive the ball, “The play was designed to the guy going back but he was covered. I was the safety valve on the play.”
The host Bulldogs improved to 2-1 and claimed second place in their Thanksgiving tournament. The Corsairs, who fell to 1-2, settled for third place in the opening season tournament which was won by North Lawndale.
Carmel seemed to be in control of the game from the onset. Asher Jackson started hot for the Corsairs with a smooth touch and eight first quarter points. The Bulldogs seemed unable to stop him. Grant struggled with Carmel’s 1-2-2 zone, particularly with the pressure from AJ Ajaga atop. Carmel extended its lead to 33-21 with points off of turnovers when power swingman Ben Lamora came off the bench with 3:58 in the first half to lead Carmel’s full court press. The Corsairs had to release their press when they were abruptly put themselves in foul trouble. Jackson picked up four first half fouls and was removed from play until the fourth quarter. Concerned of losing more players to fouls, Coach Geary called off the press, “We did what we could to keep our guys out of foul trouble. We thought moving to straight man would allow us to keep our guys on the floor longer.”
Carmel’s fouls sent Grant to the free throw line 20 times in the first half, but Grant only connected on 8 of them. Unable to hit free throws, Grant turned to their defense as Ethan Yoder stopped Roan Del Carmen’s breakaway layup. Todd Akers connected with Joseph Taylor for a sharp cut the basket and an easy layup. Then Caleb Royer capped off their run with a smooth left handed jump hook before intermission to cut Carmel’s lead to 34-28.
In the third quarter, Carmel shifted back to a man to man defense to reduce their risk of fouling. Grant found open men. First Akers hit Bobby Gray Junior for a back door layup. Then Romario Bedward scored two layups before Splitt sealed the Grant comeback with 25 seconds remaining in the third quarter with a three point shot. The third quarter was all Grant and set up a fourth quarter that kept players, spectators, and contributors on edge.
Carmel entered the fourth quarter winning 42-41 with Jackson, their hottest player, on the bench in foul trouble. His re-entry into the game with 6:39 left lasted briefly before Grant’s Ethan Yoder cleverly slid into the lane to draw a charge, sending the star forward out of the game with 5:27 remaining.
Soon after, the Bulldogs captured the their first lead of the night, up 43-42 off a layup by Caleb Royer. Joseph Taylor soon followed with a bucket off an inbounds play to put the hosts up 45-42 with 3:39 left to play. Carmel fought back when Aidan Lucero (11 points) scored followed by two free throws by General Schofield for a 47-45 Carmel lead with 2:16 left. Grant responded by moving the ball down court with a patient half court attack until the officials stopped play with 2:16 still remaining on the clock. After Schofield’s free throws, the clock had not been restarted by the timekeeper, Carl Uphoff, an aspiring soccer coach.
Grant equalized at 1:25 when Bobby Gray Jr deftly handled an alley oop for his 13th point. Carmel responded with a a power layup by Luke Nalewajk (12 points) to reclaim the lead 49-47. Grant wasn’t done. Romario Bedward launched a gutsy, deep three point shot to give Grant a 50-49 lead with 57 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs quickly got the ball back after Todd Akers drew a charge. He missed the front end of the one and one free throw. The Bulldogs recovered the rebound and drew another foul only to miss that free throw as well. Had the Bulldogs made even half of their free throws in the game, the final 32 seconds would not be noteworthy.
Down by one point, Carmel found their best shooter, Schofield, open for a three point shot with 32 seconds left. He missed the shot but was fouled by a Grant player who protested loud enough for everyone in the gym to hear–everyone except the nearby officials. Had the officials issued a technical foul, Carmel would have sent Schofield to the line for five free throws before getting the ball out of bounds.
After the game, Coach Geary was asked about the incident, “I asked the ref about it, and he said that he didn’t hear it.” He then quipped, “And then I came up to him and I said, ‘Well it’s a good thing you can’t hear. If you would have heard the thing I said after you didn’t give that technical, I would have been tossed, too.'”
Instead, Schofield hit two of his free throws to give his team the lead. He later nearly sealed the win with a steal before Grant recovered the ball with 8 seconds left, setting up the inbounds pass that found Splitt for the game winner that heroically capped off a night of pandemonium in Fox Lake.
Splitt’s game winner lifts the Bulldogs to victory.
Photograph by Clark W Bowden
An exasperated Coach Geary pleads for a technical foul
