With the game slipping away, Hillsdale boys' basketball coach Randy Metheany sat quietly on the bench, refusing to call a timeout.
For a coach known for barking out instructions and yelling platitudes loud enough for everyone in the gym to hear, his silence spoke volumes.
"Calling a timeout wouldn't have changed what we were doing," Metheany said. "It was up to them to get it right."
That's exactly what the Knights did. Trailing by 10 points early in the fourth quarter, host Hillsdale rallied for a 50-47 non-league win over El Camino on Thursday night. The Knights (6-3) outscored the Colts (3-3) 19-9 in the final eight minutes, turning the tide with solid halfcourt defense and clutch shooting down the stretch.
Preston Steele's fallaway 15-foot baseline jumper made it 43-43 with 3:46 remaining. The Knights then took the lead when Shelby Knops' converted a shot in the lane as he was falling down. After an El Camino basket, Eddie Attaway sank one free throw, and Jimmy Murphy converted on a three-point play to give the Knights a 49-45 lead with 17 seconds left. The Colts cut their deficit to two points before Attaway hit one free throw with three seconds to go.
Murphy then deflected a pass as time expired to seal the outcome.
In rallying from a 10-point deficit, Hillsdale showed resolve when it counted the most. But the Knights only have themselves to blame for being in such a precarious position. They were outscored 19-9 in the third, making careless mistakes against El Camino's full-court pressure and playing lackluster on defense.
Recommended for you
"We're making the same mistakes we did last year," Metheany said. "That can't happen if we want to be successful. At times we were impatient and trying to run, and that's not us. We got caught up in that and it almost cost us. We showed a little fight and that's good, but lately I think we've been feeling sorry for ourselves and wanting to have someone pat us on the back. We're not young anymore. We have to make better choices with the ball. It's fish or cut bait now. We're making poor decisions and hopefully we learn from them. If we don't, it's going to be a long year. If we can make better decisions, and get Renato back, I think we have a chance to beat a majority of the teams in the PAL."
Hillsdale suffered a devastating loss Wednesday when 6-foot-5-inch forward Renato Hodzic strained ligaments in his left ankle while playing a pick-up game during lunch time. Metheany said Hodzic will be out a minimum of three to four weeks and possibly longer. Against El Camino, Pat Drieth scored a game-high 15 points, Murphy finished with 11 and Steele nine. Attaway had seven points and three steals, including a couple of critical thefts late.
Hillsdale shot 17 of 45 from the field, while El Camino was 17 of 51. R.J. Ylagouns led the Colts with 13 points.
The Knights jumped on the Colts early, taking a 14-7 lead after one quarter. Murphy highlighted the run with back-to-back hoops, which spurred the Knights to a 10-0 run to close the period. Hillsdale next plays in the Fremont of Sunnyvale Tournament on Saturday.
El Camino 7 12 19 9 - 47
Hillsdale 14 9 8 19 - 50
High scorers: E - Ylagouns 13, Lee 9. H - Drieth 15, Murphy 11, Steele 9.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.