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FORT WASHINGTON – Khalil Owens kept shaking his head in disbelief.“I never did anything like that before,” the Upper Dublin sophomore said in reference to his dramatic tip-in at the buzzer that sent Wednesday night’s SOL showdown against Upper Moreland into a second overtime.
In the second OT, the Flying Cardinals took a 64-61 lead on a Jamil Brown trey and never looked back on their way to a hard-fought 68-63 double overtime win over their neighboring rival.
“I’m still feeling it,” Owens said with a smile. “I can’t believe it.”
One team’s joy is another team’s heartbreak, and while the Flying Cardinals were celebrating the electrifying win, the Golden Bears were left to pick up the pieces after another disheartening loss.
“It’s the same stuff all year,” Golden Bear senior Greg Beyerle said. “We can’t finish the game.
“This is the third overtime game we have lost. We get up, but we can’t finish.”
It looked as though the Golden Bears were on their way to a big win after Ronye Dennis scored on a floater over his defender with seven seconds remaining in the initial overtime to put the Golden Bears on top 59-57.
But the Flying Cardinals had other ideas.
As time was about to expire, James Newman drove to the hole, but his shot bounced off the rim to a leaping Owens, who came out of nowhere to tap it in at the buzzer, igniting the sparse crowd in attendance.
“James knew what to do because we had been in that situation before at the end of the game,” Owens said. “He went up, and I tried to follow his shot. I still can’t believe it.”
“We didn’t stop the ball on the fast break,” Beyerle said. “They got the shot up.
“We didn’t box him out, and he tipped it in.”
Brown, who had a game-high 21 points, had just one word to describe the play.
“Awesome,” he said.
As for his emotions as the final seconds ticked off the clock, Brown admits he all but willed the ball through the net.
“I’m just thinking, ‘Make the shot. Make the shot. Don’t stop until you hear the buzzer,’” he said.
Brown was one of four Flying Cardinals in double figures. Owens and Aaqil Bailey each added 11 points and Jason Ehrlich, 10 points.
It was good enough to give Morgan Funsten, Upper Dublin’s jayvee coach, the huge win as he filled in for coach Josh Adelman, who was serving a one-game suspension after getting ejected – thanks to a pair of technicals - in his team’s win over Springfield on Tuesday.
“A nice easy win,” Funsten said with a laugh and then acknowledged it was much-needed. “We have struggled winning games. We haven’t struggled competing in games, but we’ve struggled winning games.
“Last night getting a win over Springfield broke a six-game losing streak, and I think that was good for our confidence to come back out and play tonight and carry some momentum. The guys have been competing against every team we have played, but we have not been able to finish.”
Funsten lauded the composure of his young players in crunch time.
“I talked to the guys in the huddle and I talked to them after the game about always needing to be aware of the situation,” Funsten said. “There have been times this year when things go wrong, guys hang their heads.
“But when the kid made the shot with seven seconds to go, Jamil had the presence of mind to get the ball out of the basket and get it to James (Newman). He was under control, and he made a break to the basket. Khalil Owens didn’t stand and watch. He followed the play, and good things happen when you do things right. The guys did not quit, and you see what happens.”
For the Golden Bears, Dmitri Miller, a force in the paint all night, contributed a team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out with 2:17 remaining in regulation. Beyerle added 16 points and Carlos Lewis, 15 points, but it wasn’t quite enough.
“We played hard until the end, but sometimes still come up short,” Beyerle said. “We just need to get a win to get some confidence.”
The two teams were deadlocked 10-10 at the end of one quarter, and the Flying Cardinals took a 25-23 lead into halftime. Brown accounted for eight of those points while Owens had six. Beyerle and Lewis each had seven points to lead the Golden Bears.
Back-to-back buckets by Newman – the first a trey – put the Cardinals on top 30-25 early in the third quarter.
A three-point play by Ehrlich early in the fourth quarter gave the Cardinals a 43-37 lead, but the Bears came roaring back. Beyerle – despite being fouled – scored on a nifty drive and then buried the foul shot. A putback by Lewis was followed by Nick Giordano sinking one-of-two from the foul line to knot the score midway through the period.
“I don’t know,” Brown said. “Once we get the lead – we always rush.
“Coach called a timeout. We had to get our heads back in the game.”
Brown sank both ends of a one-and-one for the Cardinals, but a bucket on the low post by Miller knotted the score 45-45 at the 2:45 mark.
The Bears suffered a setback when Miller was whistled for his fifth foul moments later. The Cardinals opened up a 51-48 lead after a pair of Newman foul shots, but Giardano answered with a pair for the Bears.
After the Cardinals went up 52-50, Dennis scored on an impossible off-balance shot to knot the score with 15 seconds remaining, setting the stage for the high drama OT.
Neither team led by more than two, and Owens’ heroics gave the Cardinals a reprieve. They capitalized, outscoring the Bears 9-4 in the second OT for the big win.
“This is very important,” Brown said. “It’s a league game. We have been losing a lot of games.”
“We have to get a streak going before the end of the season,” Owens said.
The Cardinals won’t have a whole lot of time to enjoy the win. They face Wissahickon in a key SOL contest on Friday.
UPPER DUBLIN 68, UPPER MORELAND 63 (2 OT)
Upper Moreland (63) – Paul Morris 1 0-0 3, Greg Beyerle 5 5-5 16, Nick Giorano 0 2-2 2, Ronye Dennis 3 0-0 7, Dmitri Miller 8 1-5 17, Carlos Lewis 6 3-6 15, Ryan Burnick 1 0-0 3, Scott Smith 0 0-0 0, Matt Worley 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-18 63.
Upper Dublin (68) – Aaqil Bailey 3 4-5 11, James Newman 3 2-2 9, Jason Ehrlich 3 3-3 10, Ethan Gregg 1 0-0 2, Jamil Brown 5 8-10 21, Khalil Owens 5 1-2 11, Andrew Derr 2 0-0 4. Jason Ehrlish 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 18-22 68.
Upper Moreland 10 13 14 15 7 4-63
Upper Dublin 10 15 15 12 7 9-68
Three-point goals: Upper Moreland – Ryan Burnick, Phil Morris, Ronye Dennis, Greg Beyerle. Upper Dublin – Jamil Brown 3, Jason Ehrlich, Aaqil Bailey, James Newman.
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