10 for 10 free-throw shooting in final stanza led Ocean City over 12-2 LCMR
ERMA – Ten free throws, ten points.
That made the difference in overtime as Ocean City’s boys basketball team upset Lower Cape May Regional 54-46 Saturday afternoon on the Caper Tigers’ home court.
The Red Raiders entered the game with a 5-9 record going up against LCMR, which had lost only once in 13 outings.
The game was close throughout regulation, with neither team able to get a double-digit lead. Ocean City pulled ahead in the third and fourth quarters, but every time LCMR was able to narrow the gap.
The Red Raiders had a four-point lead late in the fourth quarter and possession with less than 90 seconds to go, but a five-second possession penalty that gave the ball back to the Caper Tigers and an LCMR steal helped tie the game at 40-40 at the end of regulation. Ocean City had the chance for a game-winning shot as the clock wound down, but the jumper was off the mark, sending the teams to the four-minute overtime.
All four minutes belonged to the Red Raiders.
Two and a half minutes into overtime, Ocean City had built a 10-point lead, 50-40; the Caper Tigers’ strategy of fouling the Red Raiders didn’t pay off.
Sean Sakers scored one basket and was 2 for 2 from the free-throw line.
Pat Grimley scored a basket and was 2 for 2 from the free-throw line.
Dylan Schlatter hit both free throws and Kori Segich was 4 for 4 from the line.
The Caper Tigers managed only six points in overtime.
“Collectively, we were 10 for 10 from the foul line in overtime with each guy shooting two, with the exception of Kori (Segich), who shot four. I told the kids in the locker room the reason we won the game was because of the foul shooting at the end. You miss those shots and that lead can go down in a hurry,” Ocean City coach John Bruno said.
“There’s no better place to win than here because it’s always going to be a tough environment. It seems like there are 2,000 people in the gym. It’s always a close game. I think we’ve won in overtime four of the last five times we’ve played,” Bruno added.
“To their credit, I thought the last part of the fourth quarter and the overtime we seemed to get rejuvenated and had some energy and we were the team forcing the action rather than kind of backpedaling,” Bruno said.
Ocean City and LCMR were knotted 8-8 at the end of the first quarter and 16-16 at the half as the teams limited each other’s scoring opportunities.
The Red Raiders held the 17-12 edge in the third quarter propelled by three-pointers from Ben McGonigle, Omero Chevere and Segich.
It was a reversal in the fourth quarter, with the 15-7 edge going to LCMR. Although the Red Raiders kept narrowly ahead, the Caper Tigers made up ground courtesy of buckets by Jacob Bey, Macky Bonner, Auri Wright and a pair of free throws by Michael Cronin.
Chevere led the Red Raiders with 14 points, Segich had 13, Schlatter 11, Sakers 7, Grimley 6 and McGonigle 3.
Bonner was the high scorer of the game with 17 points for the Caper Tigers. Teammates Bey had 10, Braswell Thomas 8, Wright 6 and Cronin 5.
“The important thing is we’ve been competitive,” Bruno said of the team’s losing record heading into the game. “With Andrew Karayiannis being hurt for a while and Kori Segich being hurt for a while, we didn’t have much of a rotation. I think fatigue has been a factor in a lot of games, where we’ve played well for a quarter, a half or even three quarters, then in the fourth quarter our legs kind of give out on us.
“Dylan Schlatter doesn’t come out, Omero (Chevere) doesn’t come out. …. To their credit, they hang in there. It’s good to have Kori Segich back. He’s been out with that ankle close to four or five games and tonight he kicked in with 13 points,” Bruno said.
“I can’t take anything away from Dylan Schlatter,” the coach noted. “For a kid who plays his heart out from end to end, handles the ball against the best defenders, penetrates, tries to distribute, I can’t ask enough of what one guy is doing to hang us on when we didn’t have Kori and Andrew out there.”
At the end of regulation, he said he thought LCMR coach Scott Holden did a great job going to the zone. Bruno said he thought of calling a timeout to set up a play, but decided to let the players create something.
“That’s kind of been my M.O. over the years. We don’t really have something we’ve set up like the good coaches do. When the score’s tied, I’m not that concerned. With 45 seconds left, I’m not holding the ball. I feel that high school teams tend to turn the ball over when they wait for the last shot.”
He said his team didn’t get down when the game went to overtime as the last shot in regulation missed.
“When the other team scores to tie it up, there’s that sense of defeat, but when it’s a tie score it’s not as bad. You could have won the game, but now you have a tie game.”
Bruno said his players came off the court after regular “really upbeat. Like I said, Dylan Schlatter didn’t shoot well from the line, but in the overtime he knocked two down.”
“I can’t say enough about Sean Sakers and Omero Chevere. They are those guards who people forget about. Sean had a big shot in the corner to keep the distance going. (Chevere was 5 for 5 from the foul line in regulation.)
“We just needed a win,” Bruno said. “I don’t care how we got it and this was a great power point win. Hopefully that will help us in the playoffs. I don’t care about the CAL (Cape-Atlantic League) or anything but trying to get a home game in the playoffs or at least getting a good seed to advance. I want to win one playoff game. That’s what I tell the kids; they should enjoy a playoff win.”
The Red Raiders are at Holy Spirit at 7 p.m. tonight (Wednesday) and host Middle Township at 7 p.m. Friday at Ocean City Intermediate School.
Ocean City lost in overtime Monday to Egg Harbor Township, 57-55. Segich led with 18 points, Chevere 11, Grimley 10. Schlatter had 7 points and 6 rebounds. Chevere and Segich each had 5 rebounds. The team’s record as of Monday was 6-10 (4-9 conference.)
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
