Friday night’s matchup found itself tied late as Holy Cross sophomore Nate Rominger converted with three seconds left to play in overtime.
While fans cheered and players scrambled around the court, a whistle was blown with 0.9 seconds to play as hopes for another five minutes of play quickly vanished.
A blocking foul sent Lloyd Memorial junior Isaiah Sebastian to the line as he sank his first free throw, sealing a 52-51 win on the road.
Friday’s highly anticipated matchup was full of excitement as both teams shared momentum and traded runs early.
The Indians were led early by sophomore Luke Arlinghaus as he hit two threes in the opening quarter, while the Juggernauts relied on Sebastian and fellow junior EJ Walker who combined for 11 of Lloyd’s 16 first quarter points.
Walker, who currently holds dozens of offers from schools such as Purdue, Wisconsin and Ohio State is no stranger to pressure. It was a collective effort Friday night however, as the Juggernauts found strength in their half-court offense.
“Every team’s philosophy is to always take away EJ’s opportunities,” said Lloyd head coach
Michael Walker. “At some point these teams have to realize I got some guys that can play really good basketball.”
Lloyd sprung into the second quarter firing on all cylinders as Sebastian hit back-to-back threes to help ignite a 16-0 scoring run to lead the Juggernauts into halftime with a 31-23 lead.
Although Lloyd carried most of the momentum heading into the locker room at the half, the atmosphere inside the gym left Holy Cross faithful optimistic.
Holy Cross’ resilience continued in the third quarter as the Indians responded with yet another run thanks to baskets from Rominger and a quick six points from junior Jonah Crail to tie the game up at 33.
“We’ve got guys that show up and can compete with any team in our district and any given team in our region,” says Holy Cross head coach Ricardo Johnson.
The Juggernaut offense slowed the back and forth tempo as they ran through sets and attacked the rim. After six converted free throws, Lloyd headed into the final quarter of play up 44-35.
“This is why I make the schedule as hard as it is,” says Walker. “Close games on the road like this are what it’s all about.”
With the home crowd rallying behind them, the Indians fought their way back into the game early in the fourth.
Holy Cross senior Carson Reinersman converted on a three-point play down low, which erupted the crowd and helped bring the Indians back to within two with two minutes left to play.
As the Indians defense intensified, they were able to force the Juggernauts into several turnovers down the stretch. An intercepted pass led to a fastbreak layup on the opposite end for Rominger as Holy Cross tied the game up at 46 with a minute left to play.
“After sticking to our gameplan, we definitely had chances down the stretch to win with our defensive pressure and intensity,” says Johnson.
As the seconds winded down, the early January contest had the atmosphere of a tournament final.
Although the Indians controlled most of the possession in the final minute, the Juggernauts defense prevailed as they came up with the stop and regained control of the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining.
Walker had what looked to potentially be a game winning basket erased as he slipped just
moments before the buzzer signaled an extra overtime period.
Rominger hit a three to give Holy Cross a late edge, however it was quickly combated with a basket by Walker and four clutch overtime free throws by Sebastian.
“I got a kid who can come out and knock down those free throws in big moments,” says Walker.
Sebastian finished the game with 23 points with seven of them coming from late game free throws. Walker finished with 10 while sophomore Anthony Blaackar had eight.
Holy Cross was led by Rominger and Arlinghaus with 19 and nine, while juniors Will
McElheney and Gavin Goetz each had seven.
Despite the controversial call, Johnson felt optimistic regarding the team’s future.
“We’ll keep getting better each and every day,” Johnson said.
As Friday’s contest brings both teams to 9-4 on the season, Holy Cross will look to set their sights on the All “A” Classic Tuesday, taking on the winner of Ludlow and St. Henry in the quarterfinals while Lloyd will take on Simon Kenton at home.