Geneva stuns undefeated Elgin in 3 OTs

So how in the world does a struggling Geneva basketball team topple undefeated Elgin in the Upstate Eight River Division conference opener Friday night?

By extending the game into three overtimes, and scoring two more points, which is what the host Vikings did in a 66-64 thriller that wasn't decided until a desperation heave by Elgin at the buzzer fell well short.

Still, how did this happen?

By having Geneva coach Phil Ralston pull out a play his team hasn't run in two years, and doing it at the most crucial time in the third overtime. And by scoring 9 of 11 points in the final overtime from the free-throw line.

Oh yes, and by having senior Brendan Leahy tally a game-high 22 points. And don't forget forward John Swiderski making a key steal with 30 seconds left in the third overtime, getting fouled on the play and making two free throws to give Geneva a 65-64 lead.

Mix it all together and Geneva (2-3, 1-0) pulled off an improbable upset on their home floor over Elgin (4-1, 0-1), setting off a courtside celebration more commonly seen by teams in March.

"Elgin is one heck of a team, and we knew we were a little beleaguered in here with two starters out (Phil Lorenz and Ben Rogers) and we did what we could," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. "We wanted to negate their strengths and play to ours, and our kids for the most part stuck to the game plan and did a great job."

The Vikings displayed their best poise in the final 1:20 of the third overtime, shortly after a spurt in which they momentarily lost control.

With Geneva leading 60-59 with just over two minutes left, Viking guard Rob Willing was trapped in the backcourt and the ball was knocked loose and nabbed by Elgin guard Arie Williams (team-high 21 points), who was fouled going to the basket.

Willing was tagged with a technical foul as well, and Williams proceeded to give his team a 62-60 lead by making three of four charity tosses. Elgin got possession again because of the technical, and Cortez Scott added two free throws for a 64-60 lead with 1:19 left.

"Even at the bleakest moment, when it was 64-60, the guys executed," Ralston said. "We called a play that we haven't practiced, an old play that we haven't run in years, but we had to run the play."

That play was Mark Becker's scoring drive to the hoop, in which he was fouled and added a free throw for a three-point play with 1:01 left.

"It was something the coaches just threw at us because we haven't practiced it, but it was a play we knew from before," Becker said of his key shot. "It's actually set up to give Brendan an open three, but the lane was open."

It set the stage for Swiderski's game-winning free throws when he poked the ball away from Elgin star Kory Brown (17 points, 7 rebounds) with 30 seconds left and was fouled by Brown in an attempt to regain the ball.

"Arie (Williams) had the ball at midcourt and Kory was right there, and I know they are good friends, so I knew the pass was coming to him," Swiderski said. "I was expecting it and the ball just kind of showed up and I ran out there and got lucky and got fouled."

With 10 seconds left, Brown drove the lane to attempt a game-winning shot, but he was called for traveling. A Becker free throw with 1.1 seconds left gave Geneva its final margin before an Elgin toss at the buzzer was well short.

Brown had a chance to win the game in regulation but his driving shot came up short at the buzzer, but he made up for it with two clutch free throws with 25 seconds left in the first overtime to knot the game at 53-53 and send it into a second overtime.

Elgin coach Mark Sitter chose to hold the ball most of the second overtime, attempting to pull Geneva out of its zone defense. When Brown made a swirling layup with 1:38 left, it appeared Elgin might win by scoring only one basket in the overtime. But Geneva junior Connor Chapman tied it again at 55-55 by muscling inside for a score with less than a minute left to send the game into the frantic third overtime.

"They had a game plan to run a box-and-one defense and spread us out and we had a game plan to attack it," Sitter said. "They ran their game plan better than we did.

"We settled for a lot of jumpers today instead of taking it to the rim, and that is on us, so we have to go back to the drawing board because we're going to see a lot of zones and box-and-ones," Sitler added.

Geneva corralled 24 rebounds in the game, while Elgin pulled down 19. The Vikings were forced into 18 turnovers by the Maroons' aggressive man-to-man defense, but Geneva's zone rattled Elgin to the tune of 23 turnovers.

The Vikings did not miss a shot from the floor in the fourth quarter or the three overtimes, illustrating the patience and good foul shooting that aided the victory.

"Elgin is an unbelievable team, they are up there with one of the best I have seen in this area in a long time," Ralston said. "But we did some things tonight, in terms of executing on a dime, especially after timeouts, that I have not always seen from us in the past."