With its season and postseason prospects possibly on the line, Skyline (17-13, 6-6) rallied from a 6-point deficit in the final 3:14 to get past a stubborn Canada (3-23, 1-11) squad to claim third place in the rugged Coast Conference North divison.
Saturday night's game was supposed to be much easier for Skyline against the last-place Colts, and the Trojans threatened to break the game open early in the second half, building a 40-27 lead with 16:20 left. But then Canada rallied, and had a 53-47 lead as the clock wound down towards the three-minute mark.
A driving lay-up by SF Rodney Freeman with 3:14 left began the final Skyline rally. Then a steal & basket by SG Ronney Freeman made it 53-51 with 2:47 left. But then neither team scored for the next minute-and-a-half, with the Colts in control of the ball and bidding for the upset.
And then PG Shawn Echols made the play of the game, blocking a 3-point shot, grabbing the rebound and outletting the ball to Rodney Freeman for a lay-up with 1:15 left. Moreoever, he was fouled on the play, and converted the free throw to give Skyline a 54-53 lead.
But Skyline missed an opportunity to extend its lead. Canada PG Bobby McCarthy was called for a technical foul on the play, but Skyline PF Mike Lavelle missed both technical free throws.
And moments later, Canada went back in front on a pair of free throws by PF Sam Green with 51.2 seconds left.
Again facing the possibility of a season-ending loss, Skyline got the ball to Rodney Freeman, who tried a lay-up. He missed, but got the ball onto the rim after drawing the defense, and Ctr Matt Fochtman followed with a putback basket that put the Trojans back in front, 56-55.
Still, Canada had two chances to rally. But PF Martin Milling missed a 3-pointer, and Rodney Freeman got the rebound with 11.9 seconds left. He was fouled immediately, and made both free throws. Canada then had a chance to tie it in the final seconds by McCarthy's desperation 3-point try missed at the buzzer.
All that followed a first half that saw Skyline lead most of the way but Canada keep the margin to single digits. The Trojans opened a 9-point lead at 23-16 with 6:39 left, but Canada cut the margin to 5 at the break, 30-25.
Skyline began the second half on a 10-2 run and threatened to pull away. But Canada stopped the run and rallied to tied the game at 42 on a jumper by Green with 12:25 left.
It was still tied at 46 until SG Ibrahim Ali scored on a driving lay-up with 5:20 left to give Canada a 48-46 lead. Then after a free throw by Fochtman for Skyline, Green hit a 3-pointer for Canada to make it 51-47. Then Green scored after rebounding his own miss with 3:28 left to make it 53-47, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
For Skyline, Lavelle led all scorers with 20 pts, including 4 threes. Rodney Freeman had 14 pts and 2 asts, not counting his "Iverson assist" on the winning basket. Echols had 10 pts, 6 rebs and 7 asts. Fochtman scored 9 pts and grabbed a game-high 13 rebs.
For Canada, Ali and Green each had 13 pts; Green also grabbed 8 rebs. McCarthy had 8 pts and 4 asts.
box score
Saturday, February 21, 2009 - 7 pm
at Canada College, Redwood City
Coast Conference - North Division
Skyline Trojans 58:
15-Shawn Echols, PG - 5/10 fg, 6 reb, 7 ast, 2 blk, 1 stl, 2 pf, 10 pts
21-Ronney Freeman, SG - 2/9 fg, 0/1 ft, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 1 pf, 5 pts
24-Rodney Freeman, SF - 5/11 fg, 4/5 ft, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 14 pts
34-Mike Lavelle, PF - 6/11 fg, 4/7 ft, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 20 pts
44-Matt Fochtman, C - 3/6 fg, 3/6 ft, 13 reb, 1 ast, 3 blk, 4 pf, 20 pts
5-Daniel Lindsey, G - 0/1 fg, 1 reb, 2 ast, 0 pts
41-Malik Williams, F - 0/2 fg, 7 reb, 4 pf, 0 pts
team rebounds: 6
Totals: 21/50 fg (.420), 11/19 ft (.579), 44 reb, 15 ast, 5 blk, 6 stl, 14 pf, 58 pts
3-pt fg (5): Lavelle, Ronney Freeman
Turnovers (20): Echols 6, Ronney Freeman 3, Rodney Freeman 3, Lavelle 3, Lindsey 2, Fochtman, Williams, team
Canada Colts 55:
1-Ibrahim Ali, SG - 6/8 fg, 3 reb, 3 ast, 3 pf, 8 pts
11-Toby Wulf, SF - 1/5 fg, 2 reb, 2 stl, 2 pf, 2 pts
13-Bobby McCarthy, PG - 3/12 fg, 1/1 ft, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 4 pf, 8 pts
15-Sam Green, PF - 3/12 fg, 6/9 ft, 8 reb, 1 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl, 1 pf, 13 pts
45-David Harder, C - 2/9 fg, 2/4 ft, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 blk, 3 pf, 6 pts
25-Martin Milling, C - 1/3 fg, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 pf, 3 pts
30-Max Graff, F - 1/3 fg, 0/1 ft, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 3 pf, 2 pts
33-Lasse Vilhelmsen, F - 3/3 fg, 1 pf, 8 pts
team rebounds: 0
Totals: 20/55 fg (.364), 9/15 ft (.600), 27 reb, 15 ast, 3 blk, 7 stl, 18 pf, 55 pts
3-pt fg (6): Vilhelmsen 2, Ali, McCarthy, Green, Milling
Technical Foul: McCarthy
Turnovers (11): McCarthy 3, Graff 3, Green 2, Wilhelmsen 2, Milling
Halftime Score: Skyline 30, Canada 25
Updated Records: Skyline 17-13 overall, 6-6 in conf; Canada 3-23 overall, 1-11 in conf
Skyline led by 13 early in the second half before Canada rallied to tie it at 42. Canada led 53-47 with 3:28 left and 55-54 in the final minute before a Fochtman putback put Skyline back in the lead.
