Late dramatics finish off Yellow Jackets=

By Joe Huddleston , News Sports Editor
Monday, February 25, 2008

COLUMBUS — A last-second shot and a no foul call in overtime. That’s how one of Saturday’s Division I Central District Semifinals ended at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

The Mount Vernon Yel= low Jackets had done all they could throughout regulation to hold off the Dublin Scioto Irish, but when the game went to overtime, the Irish surged ahead by five. A 3-pointer by Ben Severns pulled the Jackets within two and set up t= he finale.

Scioto’s Ben Ashwill hit a free throw to make it a three-point game with 8.9 seconds lef= t. Mount Vernon then brought the ball up the court and Severns, who had hit fi= ve 3s in the game so far, got the ball. Under intense pressure by Ashwill and Blair Gorniak, Severns managed to get the ball up before the buzzer, but the shot failed after he was apparently hacked on the way up. No call was made, giving the Irish a 55-52 victory.

Following what transpired in the final seconds, Dublin Scioto coach Tony Bisutti simply wr= ote it off as the result of a physical game.

“What was a foul?” said Bisutti when asked about the last play. “It was a physical game and the officials did the best they could. It is not my posit= ion to judge them. … I would probably be reacting the same way (if I was = in Mount Vernon’s shoes). There were a number of bang-bang plays in a physical game. I think it shook out the way it was set up to shake out.R= 21;

Mount Vernon coach K= urt Kaufman, visibly upset of the final “bang-bang” play, was disappointed to see the game end the way it did.

“There were a = lot of other things involved, but that is certainly a tough way to end a game. = It is what it is,” said Kaufman.

“Our guys kept battling. That’s their characteristic. They’ve done it all year when things haven’t gone the way we wanted them to. They’ve nev= er given up and always gave their best effort. That was certainly the truth today.”

The Irish had two fo= uls to give, and Bisutti admitted he told his team not to let Severns get a shot off.

“We said, with that much time and knowing that Severns would get the ball, to foul him bef= ore he could get a shot off,” said Bisutti. “We did our darnedest to not let him get the ball, but he has such a quick release. He is a great player.”

Ashwill felt the end= ing matched the play of the rest of the game, saying, “It was a physical = game so wouldn’t it come down to a physical play? … We knew we wante= d to make him dribble, but he got it up so quick. We defended well.”<= /o:p>

Mount Vernon led for much of the game, including a 17-12 first-quarter advantage and a 28-25 lea= d at halftime. The Jackets, who led by as much as 10, shot 11-of-16 from the fie= ld in the first half and were 4-of-4 from the foul line. Even still, the Irish were hot on their tails.

“I felt good a= bout the way we were playing, but I never really felt in control,” Kaufman said. “Scioto is a good team. They are going to make runs. I thought = we could take their run and weather it; then we could make a run of our own.”

The Jackets went on = an 8-5 spurt in the first 4 1/2 minutes of the third quarter only to see the I= rish answer with a 6-3 run to close the quarter. A layin by Gorniak made it a 39= -36 game after three quarters.

“We were leery= to go to our 1-3-1 (defense) just because of Severns,” said Bisutti. “We wanted to make sure not to trap up where he is opposite because that’s an open shot for him. I felt we needed to do something, so we = changed up. They were hitting everything in the first half, but I felt pretty good. … We had taken everything they could throw at us, and we were only do= wn three.”

Dublin Scioto contin= ued to push the ball in the fourth quarter, mounting a 13-4 run. The run includ= ed 10 straight points and gave the Irish a 49-43 lead with 2:23 left. Severns = took a pass from Cuy Sheffield and hit a 3-pointer 33 seconds later to keep Mount Vernon in the game. Then, with 1:12 left, Severns left his mark. From 8 to = 10 feet beyond the arc, Severns drained a pull-up 3, tying the game at 49.

“(Ben) is a go= od shooter, and people know it. Scioto knew it. That’s why they were cha= sing him around all night. He can play. Big-time players make big-time shots in big-time situations. That’s what Ben did,” said Kaufman of the game-tying shot.

Severns’ 3 set= up the overtime and game-ending dramatics. He finished with 23 points, two ste= als and two blocks. Sheffield added 19 points and four assists.

“”Severns showed the kind of player he is,” said Bisutti. “He is everythi= ng you saw. … (Sheffield) also stepped up. He was driving to the basket = all night.”

The Jackets didnR= 17;t get much point production out of its post players, but they did hit the boa= rds. Joe Scott pulled down 13 rebounds, and senior Matt Dusenberry had 10 reboun= ds and two blocks.

Bradley McDougald led Dublin Scioto with 19 points, four rebounds and five steals, including a pa= ir in the fourth-quarter run. Gorniak had 11 points, nine rebounds and two assists; Ashwill dropped in 10 points and dished out four assists; and Marco St. John had nine points.

“They are a scrappy team. They’re athletic and physical,” said Kaufman.

With only three seni= ors, Kaufman knows his team can learn from this valuable experience. With their strong play, it is an opportunity to jump start their offseason workouts.

“This was great,” said Kaufman. “Anytime you can get underclassmen on this floor, in this environment, it is going to make them hungry. Hats off to ou= r seniors for what they’ve done. Hopefully, our younger players are hungry.R= 21;