Harvest drops sectional heartbreaker on last-second tip-in
Richie Armour was in the right place at the right time.
The Serena center's tip-in with 4 seconds left gave the Huskers an exhilarating 72-70 win over Harvest Christian in a semifinal game of the Class 1A Harvest Christian sectional in Elgin Wednesday night.
“I knew I didn't have a lot of time,” said Armour. “I saw the ball hit the back rim and got great position. This is a great win. We beat a great team on their court.”
A desperation shot by JJ Gonnam at the buzzer fell short.
The Huskers (31-3) will play Aurora Christian for the sectional championship Friday at 7 p.m. Harvest ends the season at 20-12.
A win by Serena would be school's first sectional crown.
The Lions seemed to be in good shape with a 70-69 lead with 22 seconds left with the ball. But a Harvest player called a timeout and the Lions didn't have any left, and they were issued a technical.
Beau Raikes made 1-of-2 technical free throws to tie the score at 70 to set up Armour's heroics.
“We were aware we had no timeouts,” said Harvest coach Lafayette Bell. “A kid called a timeout in the heat of the moment. Mistakes really hurt us and Serena capitalized on them. Hats off to them. They outplayed us.
The Serena defense forced the Lions into 28 turnovers.
“Our game all season has been forcing turnovers and getting baskets off of transition,” said Serena coach Dain Twait. “We have been riding the storm all season. It was a great win against a great team.”
The first half was basically a 3-point shooting contest. Harvest made of 9-of-14 from beyond the arc for 64% while Serena connected on 6-of-12 for 50 percent.
A 3-pointer by Nathan Foster gave the Lions a 40-38 lead at intermission. Gonnam made 4 treys and scored 17 points as Harvest led by 2 after 16 minutes. Kadeen Meeker scored 11 with three 3's. Tanner Faivre hit three 3's and scored 14 points in the first half for the Huskers.
The biggest lead for HCA in the second half was 63-57 early in the fourth quarter after a 3 by freshman Elijah Bell.
The Huskers responded with a 6-0 run led by 5 points from Raikes to tie the game at 63 with 3:11 remaining.
Gonnam led the Lions with 21 points with four 3's while Meeker scored 20 with a 3 treys. Bell scored 12 10 in the second half. Foster added 10.
All five Husker starters scored in double figures led by Faivre with 20. Armour scored 14, Raikes 13, Carson Baker 11 and Hunter Staton 10.