ATHENS The rematch looked exactly nothing like their time together in Tuscarawas County back in December.
In a bigger venue with a much bigger prize on the line, Garaway turned in an incredibly gritty, heart-pounding performance Saturday night against the unbeaten and No. 1-ranked Columbus Harvest Warriors.
And it even lasted longer than scheduled.
Harvest Prep, though, took over early in overtime and punched – barely – a ticket to the Division III boys’ basketball state tournament this week after defeating Garaway 59-53 in an instant classic regional championship game at the Convocation Center on the campus of Ohio University.
“We did what we had to do, we battled with grit and pride and desire from start to finish, but we just came up one basket short,” Garaway head coach Terry Rowe said. “Our kids wanted to win that game, they never wavered in working together tonight to get it done. It was just a tremendous effort.”
Garaway ends a memorable tournament run and a tremendous season at 19-9. Harvest Prep is now 28-0 and will play Columbus Africentric in a state semifinal Thursday at 8:30 p.m. in Value City Arena at Ohio State University in Columbus. Africentric beat Archbold on a 3-point basket at the buzzer.
The Warriors, who hammered Garaway by more than 30 points in the Tuscarawas Central Catholic Holiday Tournament earlier this season, probably were shocked to even see the Pirates make it to the regional title game against them. But the Pirates rolled up their sleeves, flexed all the muscle they had, and gave Harvest Prep everything it could handle right from the start of the game on St. Patrick's Day.
The game was tied eight times. There were nine lead changes, and the largest lead by Harvest Prep was only eight points, while Garaway had a five-point margin for its largest lead.
The Garaway defense particularly was stifling, limiting Harvest Prep to tough shots as the Pirates shut off the driving lanes to the quicker Warriors time and again. Garaway actually held a 24-20 advantage in rebounding, too, which helped the Pirates stay in the contest.
“We were going to get into their shots all night and make them work for everything – every shot, every pass and every drive,” Rowe said. “I felt we gave a tremendous effort on the defensive end."
Garaway led 14-11 after the first quarter and then the game went into a breakneck pace for several minutes in the second quarter, but neither team could score much. The Warriors eventually took the lead and limited Garaway to one basket and only three points in the quarter on a 3-pointer by Trevor Donaldson. Still, the Pirates were behind only 21-17 at the break.
Then Erik Miller came out on fire for Garaway in the third quarter.
Miller drained 3-pointers the first three times Garaway had the ball and gave the Pirates a 26-25 lead early. The teams battled the remainder of the period with Harvest Prep holding onto a 36-33 lead heading to the final quarter.
And what a fourth quarter it was. The Pirates refused to just go away and battled back to tie the game 40-40 after a 3-pointer by Donaldson and a layup from junior Ethan Roden. The teams traded baskets two more times as Garaway’s Korey Troyer and Roden each made layups and it was knotted up 46-46 with 56 seconds left.
Troyer struck again with a nice move to put Garaway up 48-46, but Harvest Prep’s Christopher Anthony tied it up 48-48 with 45.4 seconds remaining. The Pirates worked the ball and clock, but Harvest Prep knocked the ball out of bounds with 3.1 seconds left. Garaway got off a desperation shot at the buzzer, but it fell short and the game moved to overtime.
In the four-minute overtime, Harvest Prep got a big 3-pointer from Anthony to grab a 51-48 lead, and then Roden cut it to 51-50 on a bucket for Garaway. The Pirates, though, missed a shot and suffered two big turnovers, while Harvest Prep went on an 8-3 run to close out the game and earn the trip to Columbus.
Garaway had four players in double figures, led by Troyer with 15 points. Troyer left the game for about two minutes in overtime after suffering a turned ankle. Garaway got 12 points apiece from Miller (on four 3-pointers) and Roden, who had a game-high nine rebounds, and Donaldson added 10 points.
The Pirates made 21 of 40 shots from the floor (seven of 18 in 3-point attempts) and four of eight free throws.
Harvest Prep was led in scoring by Anthony with a game-high 18 points, while Brandon Beavers had 14 and Claudio Penha added 11. Harvest Prep made 24 of 43 shots, including three of 12 in 3-pointers, and canned eight of 15 free throws.
As Rowe watched a dejected group of Pirates walk off the floor after taking a team photo, he said he never doubted their desire to win.
“In two days (of practice) they picked up things from watching film on Harvest Prep and they knew what to expect and how to respond, and then they went out and did it,” Rowe said. ”They did everything we asked, and they did more since last summer – they came in early, they stayed late, they worked as hard as they could – and they did it without a 1,000-point scorer or that big superstar that we have had here many times. They worked hard for each other and they didn’t want it to end – what a great group of kids.”