03-03-10
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - The start was slow but the finish was fantastic!

Once Justin Matyi and his teammates got rolling – the ride was a thrill.

The Sesser-Valier Red Devils advanced to the program’s first sectional final since 1999 with a 52-42 over a very good Carrier Mills club Wednesday night at the Eldorado Class 1A Sectional.

Matyi – who has only missed a handful of shots in his four postseason games – finished 11-of-14 from the floor in scoring a game-high 29-points in leading the Red Devils into Friday night’s title game against Meridian.

The 6-foot-4 center scored 27 of his points after his club fell behind early in the first quarter as he closed like a championship thoroughbred “down the stretch” – hitting 6-of-8 free throws in the fourth quarter and a pair of huge field goals as Coach Chip Basso’s squad held off the Wildcats.

Offensively the Red Devils were in sync from the second frame on and Carrier Mills (25-5) could do little to slow the onslaught.

When S-V finally coaxed the Wildcats out of a sagging man-to-man defense in the second half – the middle of the floor opened up for Matyi and he didn’t disappoint.

“Quiet is the best way to describe him (Matyi) because all of a sudden you look at the scorebook after the game and he has 20 every night,” said Sesser-Valier head coach Chip Basso. “He does it so consistently and even with other teams scheming against him. The game comes down to if we can get him the ball. More times than not he is going to get points.

The season ended for Carrier Mills and head coach Mark Motsinger – seeking their second consecutive sectional championship game but falling just short in front a good crowd at Duff-Kingston Gym.

Six-foot-one “do-everything” senior guard Wyatt Kirkland closed out his career in leading the Wildcats with 16-points in his final prep basketball contest.

CM made too many mistakes offensively – especially in the second half – to muster up enough of a rally to win.

The Wildcats – champions of the Greater Egyptian Conference and Gallatin County Regional – committed 12 turnovers including four in the fourth quarter while hitting just 3-of-14 from behind the 3-point line.

Coach Motsinger’s team missed six trifectas in the final stanza.

“I think that the only team that gets to end their season the way they want it wins the state championship but this was a good year,” said Carrier Mills head coach Mark Motsinger. “A lot of people didn’t think we would do this well. We overachieved this season.”

Carrier Mills got going with Kirkland scoring twice early to take the lead 6-4.

Chase Craig and Raeshawn Ward each scored on mid-range shots to give Carrier Mills its largest lead at 10-4.

The quarter ended with Dane Eubanks getting fouled by reserve point guard Jordan Miller – normally a starter but missed action the last four weeks due to a disciplinary decision – while attempting a 3-pointer.

Eubanks hit 2-of-3 free throws to close the quarter at 10-6 Wildcats.

Although Carrier Mills had the lead – a trend was being set in place.

The Wildcats struggled shooting the ball in a gym that has been kind to them the last two seasons at the Eldorado Holiday Tournament.

Carrier Mills missed seven shots in the first quarter and finished the game 18-of-42 overall.

A steal and fast break score by Kirkland gave the Wildcats its biggest lead of the contest to begin the second quarter.

But after having just two first quarter points – Matyi started imposing his will on the Wildcats.

He scored eight points in the second quarter – getting loose underneath the basket and also stepping out to hit some big shots from around the foul line.

Matyi’s bucket from the left blocks with 3:29 left before intermission gave the Red Devils a 15-14 lead.

After a Ward basket “seesawed” the advantage – Sesser-Valier made a couple of big plays.

With Carrier Mills holding the ball for a last shot in the half – Kendall Gibson forced Kirkland into a five-second closely guarded violation with :23 seconds left.

Working for a final attempt Dane Eubanks launched a shot in which Matyi corralled and stuck home before the buzzer for a 20-17 halftime lead.

The Wildcats final lead of the night came in the opening moments of the third quarter on a 5-0 run orchestrated by Jordan Jackson and Chase Craig.

Jackson scored over Matyi on the baseline and Craig hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 22-20 CM.

But all of the long offensive runs on this night belonged to the Red Devils.

Coach Basso’s club scored the next eight points (10-2 total run) to take command.

Of course Matyi had a hand in this sprint – scoring twice – and teammate Kendall Gibson nailed a couple of shots.

When Matyi scored from the right side of the basket – Sesser-Valier was in charge at 30-24.

“This is a game of runs and if you can control those spurts that will make the difference in the game,” finalized Basso. “Kendall (Gibson) had several baskets in the third quarter. We brought Justin (Matyi) up to the high-post and that freed up Kendall for some shots. T.J. Eubanks is a thousand-point scorer but he was solid tonight on the defensive end. He does some of those little things.”

Gibson closed out the quarter by beating the buzzer on a spin move in the lane and S-V took a 36-30 lead to the final eight minutes.

“We really don’t have any size at all in all honesty. Our goal was to keep the Eubanks kid (T.J.) down and I don’t think he scored,” added Motsinger. “We tried to control the tempo and keep the score kind of low. Play good defense until the end.”

At this point in the proceedings - Sesser-Valier used ball control to its advantage in forcing the Wildcats to come out and guard them.

The strategy worked as it forced Carrier Mills to make a defensive move.

The combination of long possessions by Sesser-Valier and turnovers and missed opportunities by CM shortened the contest in favor of the Red Devils.

“We had “packed-it” in and when you reach a point where don’t have the lead you can’t keep doing that and you have to come out and try to guard them,” Motsinger explained. “With Miller (Jordan) not playing for a month you could tell he was a little rusty but he came in and did a good job. I thought Chase Craig stepped up and did a good job but we just couldn’t get over that hump right there at the end. They (Sesser-Valier) played really good defense tonight. We tried to get some back-door cuts but we ended up standing around too much.”

Carrier Mills made one final run and got to within two points at 44-42 with :49 left after reserve JR Brown nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner.

After Matyi made just 1-of-2 free throws – Dane Eubanks made the defensive play of the game by taking a charge on Miller in the lane with :40.4.

“That play (Eubanks) was huge,” said Basso. “Sometimes that is what it takes this time of year. You have to make plays down the stretch.”

Sesser-Valier put the game away by hitting 5-of-6 free throws. Matyi hit the final pair with :9.1 left and grabbed the final rebound of the game as time expired.

“That is what it takes (making free throws) and I thought we were a little tight coming down the stretch but we were able to close them (Carrier Mills) out,” Basso added. “We tried to make them extend their defense in the fourth quarter and we were hoping it would open some things up. The kids made some good decisions. We eliminated some turnovers and ran some clock. It worked out alright for us.”

Sesser-Valier – perhaps the hottest postseason team left in the state – once again scorched the nets in hitting 20-of-36 from the floor.

The two teams were pretty even in other categories – each team hauled in 22 rebounds and S-V committed 11 turnovers compared to 12 by the Wildcats.

No other Red Devil player hit for double-digits in scoring besides Matyi as Dane Eubanks finished with nine points followed by Gibson who scored all eight of his points in the third quarter while being busy guarding Kirkland most of the night.

Carrier Mills closed out its season with Craig hitting for 11-points as he and Kirkland closed their prep careers.

Sesser-Valier – who wasn’t expected to make much noise after a mid-season slump – finds itself in the sectional title game with a tough opponent.

ABV “Salem Super-Sectional” top-ranked Meridian will be a tough matchup for the Red Devils.

Sesser-Valier was the ABV “Preseason Number One” in the same Super-Sectional area.

“Meridian is awfully athletic and talented group,” said Basso about Friday night’s opponent in the sectional final. “They send wave after wave of athletes at you. Take some off the floor and send more at you. They will be out picking us up defensively. If we can handle the pressure and get Justin the ball inside we will be in good shape.”

Carrier Mills (42) – Craig 4 1 0-0 11, Jackson 2 0 0-0 4, Kirkland 6 1 1-2 16, Ward 2 0 0-0 4, Harrison 0 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 1 0-0 3, Morgan 0 0 1-2 1, Miller 1 0 1-4 3.
2FG-15, 3FG-3, FT-3-8, PF-18.
Sesser-Valier (52) – D. Eubanks 2 1 2-3 9, Tinsley 1 0 1-3 3, Gibson 4 0 0-0 8, T.J. Eubanks 0 0 0-0 0, Matyi 11 0 7-10 29, Edwards 0 0 0-0 0, Pitchford 0 0 0-0 0, Donovan 1 0 1-2 3.
2FG-19, 3FG-1, FT-11-18, PF-8.
Fouled Out – None.
Technical Fouls – None.