A pair of wide-open three-point shots rimmed out in the closing seconds of a crosstown rivalry and the home fans went home disappointed.
It's a good bet to assume Dublin Scioto boys basketball coach Tony Bisutti didn't get much sleep following his team's gut-wrenching 43-40 loss to visiting rival Dublin Jerome Friday, Feb. 11.
Roughly 20 or so minutes after the game, Bisutti was at a loss for words trying to put a finger why his team had once again come up short despite playing well in stretches.
"This has kind of been the story of our season," Bisutti said. "We just can't get over the hump when we get down six or eight (points); it's just really hard for us. We're struggling."Putting it all together has been tough, getting a big stop or hitting a big shot. We've talked about effort and toughness, we gave great effort tonight but frankly we just haven't been tough enough."
In Friday's showdown, Scioto jumped out to a fast start, taking leads of 9-2 and 13-6 in the first quarter. But a quick defensive change by Jerome changed the flow of the game.
The Celtics implemented a box-and-one defense, where four players played zone and a fifth drew a man-to-man assignment on Scioto's biggest scoring threat, senior Raneal Ewing.
"It's frustrating for sure," Bisutti said, "we were up 13-8 and it seemed like we were on 13 for a long time. They switched up and went to a diamond-and-one chasing Raneal, and we didn't respond well to it."
Jerome went on a 10-0 run to take a 16-13 lead and played with the advantage for the rest of the game.
"To start the game off they kind of jumped on us," Jerome coach Dave Hale said. "They really pushed the ball up the floor and we were too slow getting back. We took the timeout and stressed the importance of getting back on defense and from there, once we made them run their half-court sets that's what we wanted to do.
"Have our half-court defense against their half-court offense, instead of them shooting layups."
Jerome's effort to keep Ewing from going off worked to perfection. He scored just six points and forced other Scioto players to pick up the slack.
"We just tried to keep him from getting the ball," Hale said. "He will hurt you in so many ways. He can hurt you with penetration and by knocking down threes. We tried to just keep him from touching the ball. I think that's the best philosophy.
"When he did get it we tried to contain him and keep him from getting to the basket; it was a complete team effort. They run so many sets to get him the ball and our guys did a great job of defending those."
Jerome was led in scoring by Nick Neale (15 points) and Robbie Davidson (10) both of whom stepped up to fill in for leading scorer Cam Wilson who missed the game because of an illness.
"We do rely on Cam a lot to run our offense," Hale said. "He was sick today and there's really not anything we can do. The guys really stepped up without him. It was a little shaky early, but they did their jobs."
Scioto got 11 points apiece from Antonio Bisutti and Josh Ashwill.
Ashwill and Ewing each missed three-point shots in the closing seconds which would've tied the game.
"You've got to give them credit without their big guy," Bisutti said of Jerome.
"Sometimes other guys rise up and that's what happened tonight."
Tourney time
The area coaches got together Sunday, Feb. 13, to put together the Division I district tournament bracket.
Dublin Coffman was the highest seeded of the three schools, nabbing the No. 7 seed (out of 42).
Coach Jamey Collins was happy with the seed and will see his team open the postseason Tuesday, Feb. 22 (9 p.m.), against Logan at Hilliard Bradley.
The winner of the first-round affair will meet either Whetstone or St. Charles in the second round Feb. 25.
The Chieftains aren't total strangers to the 'Rocks, as the two teams met a year ago in the district tournament with Coffman winning 67-53.
"From what I've heard they're still physical and aggressive and we know they're going to come ready to compete," Collins said.
Before Coffman can think about the postseason it has a chance to win a share of the OCC Central title when it plays at undefeated Upper Arlington Friday, Feb. 18 (7:30 p.m.).
"You know the mentality sort of shifts at this point in time to start thinking about the tournament but we have a pretty big game coming up on Friday," the coach said.
"We know what kind of game it's going to be. We have to play that one before turning around and playing the tournament game on Tuesday."
Scioto will open the tournament Wednesday, Feb. 23 (6 p.m.), against Teays Valley at Hamilton Township. The winner will advance to face either Central Crossing or No. 5 seed Pickerington North Feb. 26 at Heath High School.
Jerome will meet Delaware Feb. 23 (8 p.m.), at Jonathan Alder. The winner will advance to meet either Hilliard Darby or Olentangy Liberty Feb. 26 also at Alder.
"Sometimes other guys rise up and that's what happened tonight."
--Tony Bisutti