HOLMES TOWNSHIP — It took seven years and an unsuspecting hero.
Junior Grant McGuire, held scoreless through three quarters, scored 8 of his 11 points, including the winning shot in overtime, as Wynford upset Colonel Crawford 55-53 in the only boys Northern 10 Athletic Conference contest on Tuesday night.
The Royals (10-4, 6-3 N10) had not beaten the Eagles since Jan. 22, 2016 as Crawford had won 12 straight.
But that was not the case Tuesday night and not with McGuire getting the hot hand late in the contest.
“In the first half I couldn’t find my shot and I was losing confidence. At halftime I was going to just get my teammates involved in the game more because I wasn’t making shots,” McGuire said.
His first basket knotted the game at 45-45 with 3:25 left in regulation.
“After I made that first shot, I was ready to go. I knew I could make a lot more,” he said.
But the winning shot wasn’t drawn up that way in the huddle.
“The ball wasn’t even supposed to go to me. I was very surprised. The guy overplayed it, and I turned around and was able to get it off in time, and I knew it was going in as soon as it left my hands.”
That 12-foot jumper with 3.6 seconds left in OT gave Wynford the win and a happy Royals fanbase stormed the court.
Wynford coach Mike Smith loved the atmosphere, as well as the result.
“It’s really what I had planned when I took this job,” he said. “I told them we would play one game in the old gym (W.R. Donnenwirth Gymnasium) as a throw-back game and David (Sheldon) wanted to do it too — and it turned out to be one of the best games of the year.”
The game started with the Eagles taking a commanding 13-4 lead after a quarter. Jacob Maddy scored 5 of his 15 points in the opening period and Wynford couldn’t find the rim.
“We told them to keep executing. Get a rebound, which we didn’t a couple of times, but get some stops,” Smith said.
“At the end I thought our execution was almost flawless. We did some things we needed to do. I knew if we could get to overtime we’d have a shot. That’s our fourth overtime and we’re 3-1 now.”
Wynford closed the gap to 23-17 at halftime. Sam McMillan scored 6 points and the Royals were back in the game.
“Everybody looked like seasoned veterans by now. Last week we looked like a junior high team against Carey, but Carey will do that to you,” Smith said.
“We got down by 7 and we kept chipping away, chipping away and finally got the lead. I thought when we got the lead we really executed well. We shot well. James Rindfuss came off the bench hit a big 3 for us. Crawford came over here and battled us, and it was just a great high school basketball game.
Colonel Crawford (12-4, 7-2 N10) didn’t play poorly, but a couple of things hurt its chances.
“Here’s a stat I am looking at. You can’t go 7-of-17 from the foul line,” Eagles coach David Sheldon said.
In the fourth quarter and overtime Crawford was just 1-of-5 from the free throw line.
“In that first half McMillan hurt us off the bounce. Then they hit a lot of 3s. That’s a very potent offense and we just didn’t get stops with the game on the line. They made some big shots.”
The Royals outscored their rivals 17-13 in the third as Allen netted 9 points.
Smith said his team adjusted at halftime.
“We went to a ball screen on one of their guys and then attacked him. That opened some things up. We were 1-of-9 in the first half, but we kept shooting. We’re too good not to; everybody’s got the green light.”
McMillan, a 6-fot-6 junior, had 16 rebounds to go along with his 10 points. Caiden Allen led the Royals with 16 and Drew Johnson 10.
“Hats off to them. I thought Drew and Grant made big shots for them. We couldn’t get that last stop. We were patient offensively; defensively we just didn’t get stops,” Sheldon said.
“Credit Wynford for their offense. We have to do a better job in close games. We prided ourselves over the years on winning close games.”
Allen’s drive put the hosts ahead 47-45 with 1:45 in the fourth. Trevor Vogt answered with a basket to tie the game. Crawford missed a pair of free throws in the final minute that could have won it.
“Tonight, we forgot to make free throws. Seven of 17 is not going to win you a lot of games against a team like Wynford,” Sheldon said.
“We knew this was going to be a tough, tough, tough game. They are one of the most skilled teams in the league. They have great skill at all 5 positions.”
Derek Horsley led the Eagles with 16 points. Maddy added 15, Vogt 12 and Braxton Baker 10. Maddy had 8 rebounds.
“I thought Derek was a great floor general and did a great job of using gap steps and getting into the paint and hitting some big shots. You expect that from a senior.”
Colonel Crawford visits Carey, 8-1 and holding onto first place in the league, on Saturday night with the N10 title up for grabs.
“They are in first by themselves. We have to go on the road again in a tough environment against one of the most talented teams in the league,” Sheldon said. “We tasted adversity earlier in the year. We are going to see how we respond after tonight.”
Envisioning making the winning shot in a big game is something most players dream about.
“I always do that in practice, but to do it in a game is really awesome,” McGuire said. “We hadn’t beaten them in a long time. A rival when they’re at the top of the league. We’re in there now too. It’s a good feeling; a really good feeling.”
Box score
Colonel Crawford 13 10 13 11 6 — 53
Wynford 4 13 17 13 8 — 55
Colonel Crawford (12-4, 7-2 N10): Shots 22-46; 3-pt. shots 2-4 (Derek Horsley 2); Free throws 7-17; Rebounds 29 (Jacob Maddy 8); Turnovers 6. Scoring: Trevor Vogt 5 2 12, Derek Horsley 7 0 16, Braxton Baker 4 2 10, Jacob Maddy 6 3 15.
Wynford (10-4, 6-3 N10): Shots 23-44; 3-pt. shots 7-11 (Grant McGuire 2, Cainen Allen 2, Drew Johnson 2, James Rindfuss); Free throws 2-4; Rebounds 24 (Sam McMillan 16); Turnovers 13. Scoring: Ashton Warren 2 1 5, Drew Johnson 4 0 10, James Rindfuss 1 0 3, Cainen Allen 7 0 16, Grant McGuire 4 1 11, Sam McMillan 5 0 10.
JV: Colonel Crawford 38-31.