ONE FOR THE AGES
ATLANTIC (March 2) -- There’s just something about a state tourney-clinching buzzer beater that makes a 36th-year coach run around like his hair is on fire.
The Harlan Community boys basketball team could have won Monday night’s substate final with a little less drama in the final minute by simply making an extra free throw or getting one more defensive stop.
But the memories might be a little less sweet than the moment that actually transpired in the final seconds against Denison-Schleswig.
Watching a three-point fourth-quarter lead turn into a seven-point deficit with 1:33 to go, Denison fought back gamely and tied the score at 58 on Charlie Wiebers’ driving layup with :07.7 left on the clock.
Following a timeout, the Cyclones inbounded the ball to senior Johnathan Monson under Denison’s basket and the rest was a blur. Monson quickly dribbled the length of the floor with a defender to each side, hesitated slightly on the left side of the lane, then attacked the rim with a shot over 6-foot-8 Goanar Biliew.
The hurried layup attempt was too strong off the backboard, but bounced perfectly into the hands of sophomore Connor Frame, who had crashed in from the right wing. Frame’s offensive tip-in fell through the net with about a second left - just enough time for Cyclone players to watch the clock hit zero on their breathtaking 60-58 Class 3A, Substate 8 final victory in Atlantic.
HCHS players and coaches celebrated like crazy the team’s first trip to state since 2014. The Cyclones (18-6) earned the number eight seed and will face top-seeded Norwalk (21-3) in a 3A state quarterfinal on Tuesday, March 10 (11:15 a.m.) inside Wells Fargo Arena.
“Right now I’m a little numb. It’s like an out-of-body experience thinking that we just won this game and how we won it,” said HCHS coach Mitch Osborn, whose recent bout with pneumonia never stopped him from coaching - or running around and hugging as many players as possible after the final horn.
On January 31, Osborn became just the fourth coach in state history with 700 career wins. He remains tied for first among Iowa coaches with his 19th state tourney appearance (11 with HCHS).
Until Monday, only one of Osborn’s substate wins had ended on a buzzer-beater. It occurred in 1992, when Pomeroy-Palmer - trailing by one - threw a length-of-the-court pass and won on an incredible “hook shot from the knees” by Scott Holtorf.
Frame’s game-winner lacked the same degree of H-O-R-S-E difficulty, but was equally thrilling.
“It was amazing. There’s no feeling like it,” Frame said. “Just looking up at the clock and watching it zero out as they add the points to the board and (your team wins), it’s just crazy.”
3A BOYS SUBSTATE FINAL (3/2)
Harlan Community 60, Denison-Schleswig 58
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Record
HCHS 12 13 9 26 60 18-6
Denison 5 15 12 26 58 15-9
Harlan Community Statistics
Player Pts. FG 3’s FT Reb. Ast. Stl. Blk. Fouls
Brad Curren 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0 0
Connor Bruck* 18 3-6 0-1 12-15 1 1 3 0 1
Michael Erlemeier* 10 4-5 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 2
Will McLaughlin* 5 2-3 0-0 1-2 5 0 4 2 2
Johnathan Monson* 16 6-8 1-1 3-6 4 2 2 0 2
Michael Heithoff* 8 3-3 1-1 1-2 4 2 2 0 2
Connor Frame 3 1-3 0-1 1-2 4 2 1 0 1
* Starters
HCHS 60 19-28 2-4 20-29 19 7 12 2 10
Denison 58 21-42 10-25 6-8 23 13 7 7 23
Denison-Schleswig Scoring: Charlie Wiebers 20, Bryce Fink 12, Braiden Heiden 11, Damien Magnuson 10, Goanar Biliew 3, Evan Turin 2. Rebounds: Wiebers 9, Biliew 5. Assists: Magnuson 5. Steals: Fink 2, Wiebers 2, Heiden 2. Blocks: Biliew 3. 3’s: Fink 4-9, Heiden 3-6, Magnuson 2-5, Wiebers 1-3.
FG%: HCHS 67.9, D-S 50.0. 3%: HCHS 50.0, D-S 40.0. FT%: HCHS 69.0, D-S 75.0. Turnovers: HCHS 7, D-S 15.