Ganser, York edge Neuqua Valley in wild finish
Neuqua Valley won't soon forget what happened in the final seconds of Monday's boys basketball tournament game against host York in the season opener for both teams. It will likely be a lesson learned as the season progresses.
The Wildcats failed to seal off the defensive glass on a desperation shot from halfcourt in the waning seconds and York forward Steve Ganser got the wild rebound under the basket, tossed in the shot while falling down as the final buzzer sounded, and was also fouled.
He calmly sank the free throw to complete the 3-point play, lifting the Dukes to a thrilling 58-57 come-from-behind-victory in Elmhurst.
"On a halfcourt shot, you've got to get the rebound," said Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton. "We stopped playing. They played better than us. The better team won. It's that simple."
The Wildcats (0-1) led by as much as 9 points early in the fourth quarter but couldn't hold off the spirited Dukes (1-0).
"I have coached for a long time and don't remember a play quite like that," said York coach Al Biancalana. "The big thing about that play was that Ganser never stopped running. Everyone quit and watched the ball except for one guy on the floor. That kind of tells you what he is all about. He kept going until he made the play. That was outstanding."
Ganser, a senior, said that was the biggest shot he has made in his career. He finished with 19 points to lead the team, including 11 points in the fourth quarter.
"When it went up, I crashed the glass," Ganser said. "The ball hit the backboard and went right to me. I just threw it up and didn't even see it go in, but I heard everyone yelling.
"There is no quit in this team."
Behind the play of forward Derek Raridon and center Dan Pawelski, Neuqua Valley was in command for most of the game. Raridon poured in a game-high 25 points. His 3-pointer early in the second quarter capped a 10-0 run to give the Wildcats a 25-15 lead. Pawlelski finished with 11 points and converted a bucket during that spurt.
Raridon then sank another long-range jumper from the left wing in the third quarter to give Neuqua Valley its biggest lead of the game, 39-24 with 4:22 to play.
The Dukes kept chipping away and rallied with 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. Guard Rick Aleman, who scored 16 points in the game, was the catalyst with some clutch points.
York finally tied it 52 with 42 records left on a 3-pointer by guard Tom Donohoe. Forward Roger Coffin (10 points) also made a big 3-pointer for the Dukes. The Wildcats kept their distance with some free throws but 3 missed charity tosses in the final 22 seconds came back to haunt them.