Saturday, January 13, 2001
Loveland holds off Wilmington
Tigers improve to 6-0 in FAVC
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
Loveland coach Mike Ferone's warning to Matt Beck after a free-throw drill Thursday was simple — “Now you had better make them at the end of the game.” On Friday, Beck did.
The Loveland junior forward made two tie-breaking foul shots with five-tenths of a second to play, setting up a 51-48 victory over Wilmington in a Fort Ancient Valley Conference Cardinal Division game at Loveland.
Loveland (10-1, 6-0 FAVC Cardinal) is ranked No.8 in The Enquirer's Division I coaches poll.
Loveland's final points came on a technical foul called on a Wilmington player after Beck's first free throw. Loveland's Kevin Schappell made one of the two foul shots to account for the final score.
Thursday's foul-shooting drill helped Beck's confi dence on Friday. “I just wanted to step up and make a big play for our team,” Beck said. “I didn't play that well tonight, so I wanted to make up for it.”
Beck's foul shots came after a scramble for a rebound following a missed a baseline jumper by Wilmington's Ryan Hinman with three seconds left. “I was just trying to get position for the rebound. It was a tough call to make with a second left, but it was a good call,” Beck said.
Loveland has had flu problems and played without starting point guard Nick Kowatsch, while Wilmington is still trying to deal with the loss of four-year starting guard David Washington, who broke an arm and a leg in a December auto crash.
Each tried to make up for their deficiencies with defensive intensity.
Wilmington went to a box-and-one defense in the second quarter to slow Schappell, the area's second-leading scorer at 21.3 points per game. The change — and three 3-pointers in four possessions — helped Wilming ton to a 29-23 lead late in the second quarter.
Loveland slowly recovered, even though Schappell was held scoreless in the third quarter. “With their running junk defenses, we just felt we could take shots inside and pound the boards,” Ferone said. That approach paid off with the game tied at 40-40 with 6:20 to play.
The Tigers went on a 6-0 run to seemingly take control of the game with 4:10 left, but three minutes later, the game was tied 46-46 after a clutch 3-pointer by Wilmington's Justin Wilson. Wilson finished with a career-high 27 points, including 17 of his team's 19 points in the second half.
Kyle Partin, who had 14 points for Loveland, hit a 17-foot jumper with 31 seconds left, but Wilson countered with a pair of free throws with 13.1 seconds remaining to tie the game again. Loveland guard Derek Manville missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left, setting up the game's final sequence.
Loveland is in its first season in Division I.
“We're a small school, but come tournament time, we'll be ready to make a run,” said Schappell, who finished with 18 points. “Everyone might look past us, but we're going to show we're not weak.”
WILMINGTON (48) — Harte 0 2 2, Hinman 3 0 9, Grove 0 2 2, Armstrong 3 0 6, Wilson 10 5 27, Halley 1 0 2. Totals: 17 9 48.
LOVELAND (51) — Manville 1 0 2, Partin 5 2 14, Beck 1 4 6, Schappell 7 3 18, Vanbuskirk 4 3 11. Totals: 18 12 51.
Wilmington ....... 14 15 7 12—48
Loveland ....... 18 9 9 15—51
3-point goals: W-Hinman 3, Wilson 2; L-Partin 2, Schappell. Records: W 6-4 (3-3 FAVC Cardinal), L 10-1 (7-0 FAVC Cardinal).
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Loveland holds off Wilmington
