03/04/2022
BY DAN CHAMNESS
FOR A BASELINE VIEW
EFFINGHAM - With less than two ticks left on the clock at the Enlow Center in Effingham, Meridian guard Graham Meisenhelter simply threw up a prayer.

His prayer was answered as his three pointer from the right side of the court from approximately 65-feet way, drained straight through the middle of the net, not bothering to even give a passing greeting to the fiberglass backboard or the steel of the rim.

The 3-pointer by the senior ended the double-overtime game with fellow IHSA Class 1A State ranked team, the Tuscola Warriors, abruptly 82-79.

"That was something that you see on television, not in real life," said Meisenhelter. "When I let it go, I thought 'that is actually has a chance'. When it went in, I could not believe it. I have never been to a Super-Sectional, but I am eager to experience one. We rotated our guards a little bit, because we were trying to stay away from Jalen a little bit."

It was the third time the teams had faced off this year and with each contest, the intensity and the stakes got more and more important.

Meridian, now headed to a Monday night meeting in Carbondale to face Steeleville for the IHSA Class 1A Supersectional at 6 p.m.

It will be played on the campus of SIU-Carbondale at the Banterra Center.

The Hawks would win two of the three game trilogy with Tuscola as each matchup will go down as a classic in their own right.

Meisenhelter took the inbounds pass from senior teammate Drew Hurelbrink, the center.

Meisenhelter pivoted, dribbled once and fired the shot up over the outstretched arms of Jordan Quinn, who tried to alter/block the shot.

"Our play was to throw it long, but Graham called for the ball," said Hurelbrink. "Tuscola is a great team. Man are they good. Two great teams played tonight. One had to go home. We beat them, but every time we played them, it was a struggle. We are in the final eight teams now. We are wanting to get in the top four, but first we have to get through the Carbondale Super."

While that was the final bucket, it was not the only time that Meisenhelter had brought the Hawks back from the jaws of defeat.

In the final minute of second overtime, he would nail another 3-pointer, this one a little closer to the basket from the right wing.

In the opening overtime period, Tuscola would be leading by as many as five points when Jalen Quinn nailed an old-fashioned 3-pointer with 36.5 seconds left.

The three points had Tuscola leading 68-63.

But the Hawks were not to be denied.

They got a layup from Mekhi Phillips with :22 left in the first overtime and a pair of free throws from Phillips with only :13.1 left on the clock.

At the end of the first overtime, the two teams were deadlocked at 70.

Meisenhelter sent the game from regulation when he drove down the middle of the lane and hit the tying bucket with :29 to play.

The Hawks entered the game fired up and put the first nine points on the board.

But, every single person in the Enlow Center knew that was not going to be the way the game would ultimately go.

Preston Brown, a 6-4 Tuscola Warrior senior, scored the first points for his team grabbing his own missed shot and hitting a bucket with 4:52 to play in the first.

Tuscola would use the three point line to get back into the game and got a trey from James Parsley early in the second quarter to tie up the game at 16-16.

The Warriors would score the first seven points of the second quarter. After Parsley hit his trey, Jordan Quinn and Jalen Quinn each nailed a bucket.

Meridian would would regain the lead by using the three pointer, getting one trey from Phillips and another from Hurelbrink.

The Warriors final score of the first half was a three-pointer from Jalen Quinn from the top of the key. Meridian would hold a 28-25 lead intermission as Graham Meisenhelter hit a layup and drove the baseline to hit another bucket.

Easton Cunningham would drain a pair of three pointers, both from the top of the key, in the third quarter.

The long-ball efforts, combined with the normal scoring prowess of Jalen Quinn and his younger brother Jordan Quinn, turned the tide of the game and gave Tuscola a 46-44 lead as they ended the third and opened the final eight minutes of play.

"We had a couple of opportunities there to extend the lead beyond the five points," said Justin Bozarth, Tuscola's head coach. "That was a credit to Meridian. The last shot of the game. If he had to take that shot 10 times, he probably only makes it one time. Losing by that little is tough, because you can drive yourself nuts playing the 'what-if' game. I wish we could have pushed and expanded the lead, but it simply did not work out. They made some big shots."

Jalen Quinn finished with 37 points for the Warriors. He was joined in double figures by Jordan Quinn, who had 17 points. The Warriors finish the season with a 28-7 record.

For the Hawks, Phillips finished with 24 points, while Meisenhelter had 23 points.

Hurelbrink was also in double figures for the Hawks with 11-points.

"One sports writer said it was like Ali-Frazier," said Shannon Houser, Meridian's head coach. "This certainly felt like Thrilla in Manilla. Our kids never gave up and we managed to get the score tied up and kept coming at them. I am so proud of them and I look forward to getting to Carbondale. When he put that up, I locked eyes with the score keeper and we were like "oh, crap". We just give God all the glory. From our athletes 1-15, they all contributed all season. I am so proud them."