To view game action photos, visit the photo gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
HOLLAND – It was a race against the clock when Russ Chichkin got his hands on the basketball after a William Tennent miss as time was about to expire in the third quarter of Tuesday night’s SOL contest.“I knew there was only a few second left, but I had no clue how many,” Council Rock South’s senior forward said. “I tried to get a shot off as quick as I could.”
Chichkin – despite being fouled – laid the ball in the net as the buzzer sounded. The basket gave the Golden Hawks a 56-49 lead and, more importantly, may have cut the heart out of a pesky Panther squad that refused to go away.
“That was huge,” Rock South teammate Tom Boyd said. “It was almost the turning point in the game.
“To start the fourth quarter, you want that momentum on your home court, and I think that kind of turned the whole game around – not that it was in their favor or our favor but maybe gave that little momentum for the fourth quarter boost.”
The Golden Hawks, who carried the burden of a seven-game losing streak into Tuesday’s Senior Night game, went on to down the Panthers 66-58, and according to Chichkin, losing on this night was not an option.
“This was our Senior Night,” he said. “We needed something to happen here. It was so hard for us. We just didn’t know what to do. After four, five, six (losses) – it was out of control.
“We needed to get back on track. We knew we had to come out with a victory, and we played our hearts out tonight.”
Chichkin – who apparently had the corner of the market on buzzer beaters - also converted a three-point play with three seconds left in the opening half. He finished the night with 15 points. Boyd led the Golden Hawks with 21 points as the duo proved to be too much to handle in the paint.“They play with a lot of heart,” Rock South coach John Easterly said. “I can’t say enough about Russ stepping up on Senior Night.
“Tom has had some rough times the past week and a half. He’s been sick, and he’s just now getting healthy. He needed a game like that, and he stepped up too. All the seniors did. It’s a big win for us, not only to stop the slide we’re in, but for the seniors to have a nice game like this is something special.”
While the Panthers came up short on the scoreboard, it was the only place they came up short. They certainly didn’t look the part of a 1-19 team any more than Rock South looked like a team on a seven-game losing streak.
When Jeff Pio buried his first shot of the night, it was an omen of things to come. By the time the night was over, the gifted guard had 26 points in a glittering performance that included a pair of three-pointers.
“You can’t say enough about the kid,” Easterly said of Pio. “I have watched him play for four years, coming up through the jayvee and varsity level. He’s a (heck) of a player, and he showed that tonight.”
If it seems as though Pio and his teammates would be ready to call it a season, guess again.
“We all love to play basketball,” he said. “We try not to think about our record, we try not to think about wins and losses. We just want to come out and give our all every single game.“Obviously, we would love to win, but sometimes you just get unlucky, but you can’t let that ruin your season. I’m a senior. I’ve been on the team four years. I’m not going to let not winning ruin my basketball career.
“I’m still going to go out and give it my all every single game and play like it’s my last and still have fun while I’m doing it no matter what the outcome.”
The Panthers, who connected on eight three-pointers, hung tough until the final whistle – which is exactly what they did in the initial meeting, a 57-53 Rock South win in double overtime.
“That’s a testament to Rob,” Easterly said of Tennent coach Rob Mulville. “He does a phenomenal job with those kids.
“Last year, we were playing great. We went into their house, and they hadn’t won a game the entire season, and they just took it to us. Every time we play them – they’re ready to play, no matter what their record is.”
The Panthers served early notice that they were ready to play on Tuesday. They led 9-4 after a Billy Smith trey, but the Panthers went on top 16-13 after a John Thomas three-pointer. Later, Cody Nowlin (10 points) buried a trey to put the Golden Hawks on top 21-15, and that lead grew to 24-15 after a conventional three-point play by Terrence McGovern.
A bucket by Tennent’s Shakat Kofa made it a 24-17 game at the end of one quarter. Boyd accounted for nine of Rock South’s points.
The Golden Hawks led 37-26 after another Nowlin trey, but the Panthers trimmed that lead to seven after Sawyer Waugh found Pio cutting to the hole for an easy deuce. Chichkin upped Rock South’s advantage to 42-32 when he converted a three-point play at the buzzer.
“Things actually started clicking a little bit,” Boyd said. “In our losing streak, this shot wouldn’t go here, or the other team would get a long rebound. It just seemed tonight we outworked them for that long rebound.
“John Thomas and Terrence McGovern both got long rebounds, and maybe during the losing streak, we weren’t getting those rebounds that turned into two points the other way instead of four points for us.”
It was a 54-49 game after Pio scored on a drive late in the third quarter, and it could have been closer, but the Panthers took a shot that came up short with 10 seconds remaining, giving Chichken just enough time to turn the rebound into a big bucket.
“We have had some bad bounces this year, plays we know we shouldn’t have made when we did,” Mulville said. “The kids try and do what we ask them to do. They’re trying to be a better team, and I really believe they are.”
The Panthers pulled to within four (58-54) after a Matt Hartman three-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and they still trailed by just four, 62-58, after Pio sank a pair from the foul line at the 2:30 mark. They would get no closer.
“When he’s on, we’re pretty good,” Mulville said of Pio. “We just haven’t come up with the wins this year, and it’s frustrating for the kids, and it’s frustrating for us.
“But they come out hard every night. They want to be basketball players, and they’re trying. That’s all we can ask for. I’m going to miss them. You never want the season to end. I don’t care if you’re 0-22 – you still don’t want it to end. They’re a great group of kids.”
“I have been playing with these kids for three years,” Pio said. “We have great team chemistry. We have a lot of fun, not only in basketball.
“We have been in a lot of tight games, but we just can’t finish it out. Even though it doesn’t show on the scoreboard, we have gotten better over the season. Every game we have progressed, gotten better in some aspect.”
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 66, WILLIAM TENNENT 58
William Tennent (58) – Eugene Bell 1 0-0 3, Billy Smith 2 0-0 6, Sawyer Waugh 2 0-0 4, Jeff Pio 10 4-4 26, Matt Hartman 3 0-0 8, Doug Weinierich 0 0-0 0, Shakat Kofa 3 0-0 7, Pat Traczykiewicz 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 4-4 58.
Council Rock South (66) – Russ Chichkin 5 5-6 15, John Thomas 3 0-0 7, Tom Boyd 9 2-2 21, Pat Fitzsimmons 3 0-1 6, Jim Merron 0 0-0 0, Cody Nowlin 4 0-0 10, Justin Thomas 1 0-0 2, Terrence McGovern 2 1-1 5. Totals 27 8-10 66.
William Tennent 17 15 17 9-58
Council Rock South 24 18 14 10-66
Three-point goals: Tennent – Jeff Pio, 2, Matt Hartman 2, Billy Smith2, Shakat Kofa, Eugene Bell. Rock South – Cody Nowlin 2, Tom Boyd, John Thomas.
- Log in to post comments
0
