ED'S SEPTIC WINS TITLE IN OT
Jeff Harrell scored 28 points and hauled down 24 rebounds to lead Ed's Septic to a 70-68 overtime win over Danger Den in the Knappa Summer Basketball League championship game at Knappa High School Thursday night.
Andrew Nieman added 22 points for Ed's Septic, which had split the regular season series against defending champion Danger Den, including a loss in the final regular season game on Monday that gave Danger Den the top seed to the playoffs.
Danger Den led 37-33 at the half after leading by as many as ten points. Nieman, who will play at Warner Pacific College this year, nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11:35 left in the second half to put Ed's Septic in front 46-45. Ed's held Danger Den scoreless for more than seven minutes, opening an eight point lead in the final ten minutes before Rockaway native Tim Lambert broke the drought with a free throw with just under six minutes remaining.
"I think they jumped ahead of us in all three games by ten or so," said Harrell, a 1994 Ilwaco High School grad and former Lower Columbia College Red Devil. "We seem to be a little tight and pressing things, but we're a good physical team and we can wear them down. Those threes that were going in the first half aren't quite as easy in the second and we were able to chip away and get a little bit of a lead towards the end."
Ordinarily, the league games are not officiated until the final four minutes, but league director Craig Cokley took the floor with seven minutes remaining to referee a physical contest that often got testy. Cokley forced both teams to the bench with just seconds remaining in the first half after a verbal altercation threatened to escalate.
Lambert sparked a comeback for Danger Den with back-to-back threes, the second set up by his own steal to pull the league champs within two at 57-55 with 3:10 remaining. After Harrell missed a pair of free throws, Tex Cokley nailed a three pointer to put Danger Den back in front. Blake Gertulla answered with a spinning layup on the other end. Another Cokley three made the score 61-59 Danger Den before a driving Nieman layup tied the score at 61-all with a minute remaining.
"Nieman's led us the whole year," said Harrell. "He's always averaging 30's and Tex, he's a flamethrower. There's nothing more said. He can shoot it from anywhere. He can hit ten in a row. He can do it all. He's got a great stroke."
Danger Den held the ball until a time out was called with 14 seconds left, but on the inbounds, Cokley was trapped at midcourt and forced into a backcourt violation, giving Ed's the ball with :09 seconds left. Nieman missed a contested three at the buzzer and the teams went to overtime.
Ed's Septic scored the first six points of overtime, but Danger Den countered with a Ryan Isom three-pointer and a McBride steal led to a Cokley layup and a timeout by Ed's with the score 67-66 and :52 seconds remaining.
Harrell would go to the line again, this time nailing both shots to put Ed's up 69-66. On the ensuing possesion, McBride drove the lane, but missed a tough reverse layup. Brad Dalton grabbed the rebound for Ed's and was fouled with :14 seconds left, missing the ensuing free throw. After a timeout with ten seconds remaining, Harrell wisely fouled McBride along the sideline, preventing a potential game-tying 3-point attempt. McBride made the first and missed the second free throw, but Harrell grabbed his biggest rebound of the night, heaving the ball downcourt where Gertulla was fouled hard by Cokley in the chase and hit the final free throw of the night.
With the victory, Ed's Septic, which also featured contributions from Luke Roman, Tim Harrell and Chris Dalton, gets to keep its team intact for next season, while Danger Den's squad will be broken up an entered in next year's draft pool.
"We ended up with a nice little squad," said Harrell. "Most everybody made it every time. We played really well together. We're actually excited to play again together next year."
Three Ed's players--Nieman and both Harrells--were selected to play in Tuesday's All-Star game along with Cokley and McBride from Danger Den. The game will be at 7:00 p.m. at Knappa High School and admission is free.
Andrew Nieman added 22 points for Ed's Septic, which had split the regular season series against defending champion Danger Den, including a loss in the final regular season game on Monday that gave Danger Den the top seed to the playoffs.
Danger Den led 37-33 at the half after leading by as many as ten points. Nieman, who will play at Warner Pacific College this year, nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 11:35 left in the second half to put Ed's Septic in front 46-45. Ed's held Danger Den scoreless for more than seven minutes, opening an eight point lead in the final ten minutes before Rockaway native Tim Lambert broke the drought with a free throw with just under six minutes remaining.
"I think they jumped ahead of us in all three games by ten or so," said Harrell, a 1994 Ilwaco High School grad and former Lower Columbia College Red Devil. "We seem to be a little tight and pressing things, but we're a good physical team and we can wear them down. Those threes that were going in the first half aren't quite as easy in the second and we were able to chip away and get a little bit of a lead towards the end."
Ordinarily, the league games are not officiated until the final four minutes, but league director Craig Cokley took the floor with seven minutes remaining to referee a physical contest that often got testy. Cokley forced both teams to the bench with just seconds remaining in the first half after a verbal altercation threatened to escalate.
Lambert sparked a comeback for Danger Den with back-to-back threes, the second set up by his own steal to pull the league champs within two at 57-55 with 3:10 remaining. After Harrell missed a pair of free throws, Tex Cokley nailed a three pointer to put Danger Den back in front. Blake Gertulla answered with a spinning layup on the other end. Another Cokley three made the score 61-59 Danger Den before a driving Nieman layup tied the score at 61-all with a minute remaining.
"Nieman's led us the whole year," said Harrell. "He's always averaging 30's and Tex, he's a flamethrower. There's nothing more said. He can shoot it from anywhere. He can hit ten in a row. He can do it all. He's got a great stroke."
Danger Den held the ball until a time out was called with 14 seconds left, but on the inbounds, Cokley was trapped at midcourt and forced into a backcourt violation, giving Ed's the ball with :09 seconds left. Nieman missed a contested three at the buzzer and the teams went to overtime.
Ed's Septic scored the first six points of overtime, but Danger Den countered with a Ryan Isom three-pointer and a McBride steal led to a Cokley layup and a timeout by Ed's with the score 67-66 and :52 seconds remaining.
Harrell would go to the line again, this time nailing both shots to put Ed's up 69-66. On the ensuing possesion, McBride drove the lane, but missed a tough reverse layup. Brad Dalton grabbed the rebound for Ed's and was fouled with :14 seconds left, missing the ensuing free throw. After a timeout with ten seconds remaining, Harrell wisely fouled McBride along the sideline, preventing a potential game-tying 3-point attempt. McBride made the first and missed the second free throw, but Harrell grabbed his biggest rebound of the night, heaving the ball downcourt where Gertulla was fouled hard by Cokley in the chase and hit the final free throw of the night.
With the victory, Ed's Septic, which also featured contributions from Luke Roman, Tim Harrell and Chris Dalton, gets to keep its team intact for next season, while Danger Den's squad will be broken up an entered in next year's draft pool.
"We ended up with a nice little squad," said Harrell. "Most everybody made it every time. We played really well together. We're actually excited to play again together next year."
Three Ed's players--Nieman and both Harrells--were selected to play in Tuesday's All-Star game along with Cokley and McBride from Danger Den. The game will be at 7:00 p.m. at Knappa High School and admission is free.
posted by Matt Richert at 11:14 PM
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