Saturday, February 10, 2001
Moeller beats Elder on last-second shot
Crusaders close old gym with fantastic finish
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
The final game in Moeller's original gym will stand as one of its most memorable. Senior center Clint Nagel put back a missed shot in traffic in the final second, giving Moeller a 42-41 victory over Elder Friday night before a sellout crowd that included most of Moeller's basketball history.
More than 150 former varsity players and seven of the school's eight varsity coaches witnessed a game that puts Moeller (14-4, 8-2 Greater Catholic League South) within a game of clinching its first GCL South title since 1998.
“I just knew I had to get in position in case something happened,” Nagel said of his thoughts when Nick Monserez put up a shot from the corner with five seconds remaining. “As soon as it went up, I saw it was long.”
The ball missed everything and landed in a crowd on the far side of the basket. “Clint just grabbed it. It was a 50-50 thing, and he outjumped the guy,” said Moeller's Matt Sylvester, who had a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds.
Sylvester, who had scored all nine of Moeller's points in the final quarter to that point, was the first choice to take the shot. But he was closely guarded and passed the ball to Monserez, who was open in the corner.
“I thought we played great defense. We didn't let Sylvester take the shot,” Elder coach Joe Schoenfeld said. “We forced a bad shot, an airball, and if it hits the rim, we win.”
Elder stunned the crowd by recovering from a 38-34 deficit in the game's final two minutes. The Panthers first got a short jumper from Tim Schenke and then, following a Sylvester miss, Elder center Phil Bengel got an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled. His foul shot
made it 39-38 Elder with 54 seconds left.
Sylvester answered with a 12-foot jumper in the lane with 39 seconds left. But Elder again responded.
Coming out of a timeout, point guard Jake Bazeley got the ball at the top of the key, hesitated, then lofted a perfect alley-oop pass to a backcutting Schenke, who dunked with 25 seconds left.
That created the possibility of Elder ruining Moeller's final game in the old gym.
“It probably would have been the worst loss I've ever experienced,” Sylvester said. “My dad was here; all the alums were in the house. We wanted to show them this is still the place where championships are made.”
Elder, which could have tied Moeller atop the GCL South standings with a victory, fell to 12-6 and 6-4 in league play. Guard Mike Mahon led the Panthers with 10 points.
ELDER (41) — Miller 1 0 2, Bazeley 3 3 9, Benken 3 0 6, Schenke 2 1 5, Mahon 4 0 10, Bengel 3 3 9. Totals: 16 7 41.
MOELLER (42) — Tabler 1 0 2, Byrnes 1 0 2, Monserez 2 0 4, Nagel 3 2 8, Sylvester 10 0 22, McGlone 2 0 4. Totals: 19 2 42.
Elder ....... 15 7 9 10—41
Moeller ....... 12 6 13 11—42
3-point goals: E - Mahon 2; M - Sylvester 2. Records: E 12-6, 6-4; M 14-4, 8-2 GCL South.
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Moeller beats Elder on last-second shot