As mentioned earlier, this is that time where conferences get to play for something special, something beyond bragging rights or a Holliday trophy. Playing for a conference championship; it’s something every member strives to achieve each year.
In the boys’ contest of the NECC tournament, you had two teams that have spent the first half of the season in prime position to contend for an NECC title. Angola and Garrett met a month ago where Angola won 56-44 at the Hive. Now, going into Paul Bateman Gymnasium in Garrett, the Big Train now had their home court advantage on their side. Last night, Garrett got their sweet revenge in a 56-55 overtime thriller in the opening round of the 58th NECC Boys’ Basketball Tournament.
Early onto this contest, Garrett took the bull by its horns and attacked Angola in all 3 zones in the first quarter. Angola did make the first basket on a Kyler Huscher jumper. However, they ended the quarter missing 9 of their final 10 shots of that quarter. Unless you looked at the scoreboard early on, you would have thought Garrett was going to steamroll the Hornets.
After all, Parker Reed scored all 6 of his points in that quarter. Carter Coffman wasn’t getting his shots to fall but was still getting points at the charity stripe, and Isaiah King failed to reach the scoreboard until the 3rd quarter. It’s also worthy of note neither Niles Knox or Cru Weber were a huge factor in that first quarter. Angola turned it over 8 times on their way to committing 25 turnovers.
Now judging by what I’ve told you so far, you’re thinking: ‘So, Garrett dominated this game.’ In the words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.
That second quarter couldn’t be any more different from the first. Angola went on a 14-4 run to take the lead thanks in part to Cru Weber scoring 8 of his team-best 12 points in that quarter as a freshman no less. However, Garrett didn’t go into intermission quietly as Dawson Hedges drained a three before the buzzer sounded.
It’s important looking back into this game because Parker Reed already committed his fourth foul, so he was unable to carry over his first quarter success due to a stifling Angola defense and foul trouble.
The first half of this game was sluggish in every meaning of that term. Poor shooting, lots of fouls, sloppy passing, tough defense, etc. This game had emotion and fire that really Garrett lacked in their first go-around with Angola.
The 3rd quarter early on didn’t look to go that way. Angola went on another one of their runs as Tommy Caswell and the Hornets used a 7-0 run to break a 21-21 tie and take a 28-21 lead. Angola continued to hold onto their 7-point cushion with less than 10 seconds left in the quarter.
Carter Coffman kept his team in it with great defense, relentless penetration drives, getting to the free throw line, and knocking down four straight free throws. Before we could even get a breather for the 4th quarter, Coffman made a forward pass to a heavily guarded Isaiah King. King, a sophomore transfer out of the Fort Wayne Hawks Homeschool team, banked in the desperation three to cut the lead down to 4 at 37-33.
The game started to get really good by this point of the game. What was once a comfortable Angola lead and a sluggish showing on Garrett’s end suddenly became a seesaw battle to see which team would have the ball last.
From this point forward, neither team led by more than 5 points for the reminder of this contest. Carter Coffman was starting to feel it in that 4th quarter as asserted his will and at times put the team on his back. Coffman would go on to finish the game scoring 18 of his game-high 27 points in the second half.
Fouls and more turnovers became a bigger issue as the game got closer to its conclusion. 45 combined turnovers were recorded in this game. Angola had to finish this game without the services of Tommy Caswell, who foul out late in that quarter to finish his night with 11 points.
However, when it felt like maybe Garrett was going to hold on in the final couple minutes of the game, a few other Hornets stepped up in a huge way. Ryan Stuckey, who had 17 points in the 58-41 win over Prairie Heights Friday, dropped all 11 of his points in the second half. Landon Leach scored 6 of his 9 after halftime, and each of his baskets were crucial to the team’s opportunity to succeed.
The game was so good, it was fitting this game needed overtime to conclude a great night of basketball at good ole’ Garrett, IN on this snowy, freezing January night.
Overtime started with Coffman making a free throw to take a 50-49 lead. Stuckey’s basket regained the lead back followed by free throws redirecting the lead back to Garrett at 52-51.
Stuckey responded again with a basket and the opportunity to complete the 3-point play, the old fashion way. He unfortunately failed to convert as was the case on many occasions for both teams in this wild seesaw affair.
As the game got to the finish line, the stakes grown higher. King’s basket gave Garrett a 1-point lead with under a minute to play. However, Cru Weber was in the right place at the right time to draw a crucial foul and yet again put a Hornet at the charity stripe. Weber’s pair of free throws gave Angola the 55-54 lead with 43.9 seconds left.
However, Garrett had one more play up their sleeve. As they run the clock down to the final 20 seconds, the sophomore guard (Carter Coffman) once again went on full-attack mode to the basket and completed a “drive-and-dish” finding the cutting King down low for the easy layup with just 17.2 seconds left in OT.
However, there was no celebratory feeling until the final buzzer sounded. Angola’s last gleaming hope came in the hands of Tyler Ruple for a wide-open three at the buzzer…..it hit the front iron and stayed out. Garrett got their revenge and snapping a 10-game losing streak against Angola.
Next up, Garrett (11-2) will travel to Butler, IN tonight to face West Noble (5-6), while Angola (7-4) awaits the outcome of tonight’s games in anticipation for Thursday’s consolation games.