Right place. Right time.
It was a bit of a misunderstanding, too.
When Scott’s Jordan Clemons was on the receiving end of a stolen pass in the closing seconds of their 37th District tournament semifinal against Bishop Brossart, he was just wanting to get a shot off to not get fouled. He thought the Eagles were up one.
Turns out he’s now a hero in Taylor Mill.
Clemons’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer gave Scott a 65-62 victory over Bishop Brossart in the 37th District tournament semifinals.
Trailing 62-60 with 15 seconds left, Eagles’ Ben Brown drove down the floor and tied things up with a layup.
Mayhem ensued from that point.
Kaydenn Marshall stole the Brossart inbounds pass, but his momentum had him going out of bounds and his attempted save went to a Mustangs player. The Brossart player then turned and threw the ball into the hands of Clemons.
The attempt went up, nothing but net. Buzzer sounds. Game over.
Frame-by-frame of Clemons’ buzzer-beater below (by Will Jones, 10th Region)
“I didn’t even know it was a game winner at first,” Clemons said. “I was so confused when everybody started running towards me, but it felt pretty good to make the shot. I shot it so they didn’t get to have another shot, because I thought we already won the game and I make it and everybody comes running towards me and I’m just confused.”
Ignorance is bliss.
“When your happiness and misery is predicated on the successes and failures of 15, 16, 17-year-old boys, this is all you can do. Sometimes it’s just smile and shake your head like, okay, what are you gonna do?,” Eagles coach Steve Fromeyer said.
Scott came in as the No. 4 seed in the tournament, one of the most dangerous four seeds in the state, Tuesday a perfect example why.
“A healthy Scott High team is a dangerous team,” Fromeyer said. “It’s a tough out. A No. 4 seed has never won the opening game in this district. We’ve been in this position twice before and had the No. 1 seed down in the closing minutes and some crazy stuff has happened. Just made a great shot tonight.”
Tuesday’s affair was a grinder. No lead was safe, runs were a plenty and it came down to the final possession.
Brossart got hot early from three, Drew Steffen knocking down three triples in the first eight minutes plus of the game as the Mustangs held a 18-12 advantage a minute into the second.
The Eagles responded with a 13-6 run right before half and cut their deficit to 26-25 at the break.
Then the third was nothing but runs. Scott 6-0 out of the half, Brossart answers with a 8-0 run of their own, then a 10-2 Scott run followed by a Brossart 5-0 spurt. The end result: Scott 46-44 after three quarters of play.
The Eagles looked to have momentum clearly on their side in the opening minutes of the fourth after the Mustangs were whistled for an intentional foul, giving Scott a 51-44 edge after Jonathan Clemons knocked down two free throws.
Mustangs Beckett Kuntz said not so fast. The senior went nuclear down the stretch, scoring 12 points in a three-minute, 52-second stretch, the last two free throws to give the Mustangs a 62-60 lead.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Will Jones
Scott’s ensuing inbounds play worked in their favor according to Fromeyer.
“They guarded it different than the first time we inbounded it on the play before,” Fromeyer said. “They let the wings catch and Ben did a great job of letting the defender wall up on him and then he took off.”
Then the sequence is what makes Kentucky high school basketball and the postseason so special. This is just the start of miraculous moments over the next few weeks.
“A lot of magic has happened in this building and you have to have hope,” Fromeyer said. “I told the guys all you have to do is make a play. We got the layup and then we got the deflection and the ball went around and then went right to Jordan. As soon as it left his hands I knew it was in. Doing this for as long as I have, you just know.”
The Eagles will look to play this into their favor as they head to Thursday’s championship to face Campbell County.
“We’re playing with house money,” Fromeyer said. “Campbell County is not a good matchup for us size-wise and they have one of the top one or two players of the region. Didn’t shoot well against them the first time. Told the guys in the locker room we’re a tough out when we play together and score the ball.”
The Camels were a 83-53 winner over Calvary Christian in Tuesday’s second semifinal.
Campbell County 83, Calvary Christian 53
In the nightcap, Campbell County took care of a pesky Calvary Christian team as both were looking for their 20th win of the season.
The Camels are in search of a 13th straight district title and are now one win from doing so.
They led 17-13 after one, 34-25 at halftime and finally started to pull away in the third by taking a 64-41 lead into the fourth.
PHOTOS: Slideshow provided by Will Jones
Campbell County (20-9) was paced by Cade Anthrop’s 24 points, one of four Camels in double figures. Austin Davie added 18, Braden Elam chipped in 15 and Xander Guy had 11.
Calvary Christian (19-11) had one of their better seasons in recent years, defeating Scott to earn the No. 3 seed. They were led by Luke Getsy with 18 points, Luke Corbin adding 16.
Campbell County and Scott will tip-off on Thursday at Campbell County Middle School at 7 p.m.
Box scores for both games below:
EAGLES 65, MUSTANGS 62
SCOTT — 12-13-21-19 — 65
BROSSART — 13-13-18-18 — 62
Scoring
Scott (65) — Brown 19, Jordan Clemons 13, Dodd 12, Marshall 8, Boyd 6, Jonathan Clemons 5, Casnellie 2
Brossart (62) — Steffen 16, Kuntz 15, Boruske 11, Trauth 6, Hesse 6, Cozzi 4, Rowe 4
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Scott 5, Brossart 9
Free Throws: Scott 14/18, Brossart 17/21
Fouls: Scott 16, Brossart 17
Records: Scott 15-13, Bishop Brossart 15-13
CAMELS 83, COUGARS 53
CALVARY CHRISTIAN — 13-12-16-12 — 53
CAMPBELL COUNTY — 17-17-30-19 — 83
Scoring
Calvary (53) — Getsy 18, Corbin 16, Duty 9, Couch 6, Zachary 2, Ayyildiz 2
Campbell (83) — C. Anthrop 24, Davie 18, Elam 15, Guy 11, Eaton 6, Ballinger 4, L. Anthrop 3, Seibert 2
Game Stats
3-Pointers Made: Calvary 6, Campbell 2
Free Throws: Calvary 11/12, Campbell 15/21
Fouls: Calvary 15, Campbell
Records: Calvary Christian 19-11, Campbell County 20-9