Big shots: ACC's aim is true
Aurora Central senior Ryan Harreld might have hit the biggest shot in school history Friday night in front of a raucous, packed gym in the Class 3A Woodstock North sectional championship game.
Only that honor didn't last long.
Aurora Central sophomore Joe Medgyesi, who had not scored in the game, stepped into a 3 at the top of the key and hit nothing but net, giving the Chargers the 14th and final lead change on their way to a thrilling 85-82 overtime victory over Rockford East for the school's first sectional title since 1991.
The Chargers (17-13) will play Rock Island, a 54-52 winner over Peoria, in the Class 3A DeKalb supersectional at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The teams played earlier this year at Aurora Central, with the Rocks winning 82-66.
On a night full of improbable comebacks and clutch shots, Medgyesi delivered a 3 for a 78-76 lead with 1:36 left in overtime.
The shot came from an unlikely source, one who needs a new nickname.
"He's the king of taking of bad 3s, so he took another bad 3 but made it at the right time," said Aurora Central coach Nate Drye. "So it was probably the best shot we have had all year. He picked a good time to make it."
Medgyesi added 3 free throws in the final minute as the Chargers overcame a dreadful 9-for-30 night at the foul line. His 2 free throws with 13 seconds left put the Chargers up 84-79.
Rockford East (19-13) junior Andrew Lantz hit a corner 3 to make it 84-82, and after Harreld split a pair, the E-Rabs had one last shot at a tie. But Javon Henderson, who had scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, couldn't connect on a 24-footer at the buzzer.
That miss sent an overflow Chargers student section storming onto the court to celebrate a sectional title that didn't seem possible either during a 13-13 regular season or after playing from behind nearly all night Friday.
"I've been struggling the last couple games," Medgyesi said of his 3. "I thought it was time. I just took it, spur of the moment, and it went in.
"It was nuts. I couldn't hear myself think the gym was so loud. Just a great feeling cutting down the nets. It's amazing, I can't explain it."
Until Medgyesi's 3, all 75 of Aurora Central's points had come from four players Harreld (24 points), Joey McEachern (19 points, 11 rebounds), Robert DeMyers (18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 blocks) and Tim Fernandez (16 points).
That group did the heavy lifting in bringing the Chargers back from a 38-31 halftime disadvantage that grew to as much as 54-42.
Drye called timeout down 49-39 with 3:56 left in the third quarter and went to a press. That move allowed the Chargers to be the aggressor the rest of the night, and they forced 8 of Rockford East's 18 turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtime.
"We definitely had our opportunities to win this game and put it away," Rockford East coach Roy Sackmaster said. "I think we got tentaive a little bit. Mentally, they wanted it more than we did. They were playing like their season was on the line and we were playing not to lose. All the credit in the world to them."
McEachern scored twice and Harreld once in the final 47 seconds of the third quarter to trim the E-Rabs' lead to 58-52. The Chargers kept pushing in the fourth quarter but were still down 69-64 with 1:17 left when Harreld drained his third 3 which wouldn't be his biggest.
McEachern's stickback basket kept the Chargers within 71-69. When Darshawn Pumphy-King split free throws with 30 seconds left, it kept Aurora Central within one possession. Harreld took advantage, swishing a 23-footer with 10 seconds to go to tie the game at 72-72 and producing a deafening roar from the Chargers crowd.
"He stepped back, he didn't step up," Fernandez said of the 3. "That was a deep one. He makes clutch plays. He's our shooter. That gave us the momentum going into overtime."
The E-Rabs traveled with .4 seconds left before getting a chance at a game-winner. The Chargers tried a long baseball pass but couldn't get a shot off before the regulation buzzer. Still, they couldn't have been in better position going to OT.
"We had all the momentum in the world," Harreld said. "As soon as I shot it I knew it was going in."
As they did all night, the Chargers again had to come from behind in overtime. Trailing 74-72, a Fernandez free throw followed by a DeMyers off-balance score in traffic gave the Chargers a 75-74 lead. It was their first since 27-26 in the second quarter.
Steve McNease, who had 21 points for the E-Rabs but only 4 after halftime, briefly put Rockford East back on top 76-75 before Medgyesi's first basket of the game gave the Chargers the lead for good.
"They just kept hanging around us and then they made the shots when they needed to, they made the plays when they needed to and we didn't," Sackmaster said. "They beat us the way we beat teams this season."
In addition to the 3 that forced overtime, Harreld pocketed 6 steals to lead the defensive charge.
"He had his hands on so many balls," Drye said. "He stepped up. He just didn't want to lose. That's the guy we want shooting it. He's the man. He's made those shots all year. He had it going. Just a huge shot by a huge player. What a player."
The Chargers shot lights out in the second half, 21-for-36, to finish 35-for-70. They needed all those big baskets to overcome 21 missed free throws.
"Good things happen when you don't stop playing hard," Fernandez said.
"Our kids just kept fighting," Drye said. "I couldn't be prouder of our kids. We were pressing them, probably had no business doing that. Everybody just balled."
Aurora Central won the battle of the boards 40-36, committed 5 less turnovers and at least one player, McEachern, couldn't put into words the emotions after cutting down the nets.
"I'm just speechless," the junior said. "Best game I've ever played in my life. We just didn't want to go home."