Schaumburg's Payne drains bomb to beat buzzer
PONTIAC - Cully Payne displayed no sense of urgency whatsoever.
The Schaumburg guard received an inbounds pass with 6.3 seconds remaining and casually strode to a spot some 25 feet from the rim.
Payne, with the Saxons trailing Plainfield North by a point, simply elevated and fired.
The ball barely grazed the iron while falling, and Schaumburg turned back the game Tigers 50-48 in the semifinals of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on Wednesday afternoon.
The tournament was running far behind schedule, and Schaumburg tipped off against Warren for the championship late Wednesday night.
The game-winning shot that culminated the pulsating, televised atmosphere provided a much-needed reprieve for Payne, whose turnover in the waning seconds enabled Plainfield North to take its final lead at 48-47 on 2 Scott Vachon free throws.
It was also the second attempt for the Alabama recruit; after missing a runner on the baseline, Payne received new life when Plainfield North was cited for an over-and-back call.
"I was either going to be the hero or everyone would be hating me," Payne said after his fifth 3-pointer of the game fell with .8 seconds remaining. "It felt good when it left."
Schaumburg (13-0) trailed for virtually the entire game; to make matters worse foul trouble to Paris Bell and an injury to Josh Spandiary severely limited the Saxons' offensive options.
Payne, who finished with 27 points to lead all players, and Justin Swiercz (20 points) - who drained five 3-pointers - had all but 3 of the Saxons' total output.
"That certainly wasn't by design," said Saxons coach Bob Williams. "(Plainfield North) forced us to do some things we didn't want to do."
The Tigers (12-2) scored 22 of the first 33 points of the game and took a 29-21 lead at the intermission.
Payne and Swiercz continued their ways in the third quarter, and the former had a 5-0 personal run to give Schaumburg its first lead at 34-31 since the second field goal of the contest.
The duo struck again in the fourth quarter, tallying 15 of the Saxons' 16 points to overcome a 5-point Tigers' lead with 5:15 left.
"Big-time players make big-time plays," said Plainfield North coach Nick DiForti. "We all knew the ball was going to Cully."