ALTAMONT @ SOUTH CENTRAL
12-13-2002
BY JACK BULLOCK
FARINA - It was Friday the 13th and nothing really 'spooky' went on during a very physical and exciting game between Altamont and South Central.

Well not until right at the end of the contest that is.

After making up a seven-point deficit in the last 2:48 of the fourth quarter, Altamont had momentum going its way.

It appeared that they might be able to snatch a road victory at a very tough place to win.

But a freaky thing happened at the end the game that can be blamed on bad luck and bad timing, but not on a young man or his efforts on this night.

After Altamont's Trenton Kull put in a rebound basket with :09.7 left to tie the game at 55-all, Stice did exactly what every good young player would have done in his situation.

He immediately looked at the scoreboard to see how much time was left and what the score was.

However, in the excitement that ensued after the tying tally, the scoreboard operator was late getting Kull's two-pointer on the board and the score still read 55-53 South Central when he glanced up as the Cougars were putting the ball back into play.

Having seen that the scoreboard had his team still trailing, he did what any player in this situation would have done. He looked to foul someone to stop the clock.

That someone was South Central's Brock Adams, who was standing like a statue in the Altamont lane under the basket.
Much to the chagrin of his coach Gary Shirley, Adams stood there amazed that Stice was trying to foul him.

"I was screaming to throw the ball up the court," explained Shirley after the game. "After he (Kull) made the shot, we had about seven seconds to get a shot off, but we just stood around."

In the indecision and chaos that occurred in those few moments, by the time that Kull fouled Adams, the clock read :00.5 left.

Adams, after an Altamont timeout, made the first of a super-bonus charity tosses.

His second one rimmed out and Tyler Meier's desperation heave hit off the backboard as time expired.

As Altamont (2-1) looks back on this defeat, they can point the finger its horrendous start of the game, especially offensively.

They averaged a turnover a minute in the first quarter, which helped South Central build an early advantage.

Six-two senior Kevin Wilkins scored seven of the Cougars first eleven points to get his team off to a roaring start with an 11-4 lead with 2:20 to go to the first horn.

Nick Jones hit a 3-point bomb from the left side of the court to extend the Cougar advantage to 14-4.

However the Indians quickly responded with a 6-0 run to end the quarter.

A rebound basket by Anthony Grobengieser, a short jumper in the lane by Brent Anderson and another Grobengieser bucket while being fouled in the lane left the game at 14-10 at the end of the quarter.

Adams drained 3-pointer to open the scoring in the second quarter, pushing the Cougars lead back to seven.

Altamont's Jarod Shepard came off the bench and gave the Indians a bit of a spark offensively. The 5-10 senior scored five points in the second frame.

His 3-pointer from the left corner found nothing but the 'bottom of the net' to cut the Cougars lead down to 22-19 at the 4:07 mark.

After South Central's Tyler Burns hit a 3-pointer of his own to make it 25-19 Cougars, Altamont scored the next six points to get the score even.

Anderson got an offensive rebound off of a missed shot by Milleville. Adams fouled him on the play and his made free throw got the lead back to three.

Then Anderson scored again, this time in the lane off the glass after getting a great pass from Stice.
After a South Central turnover, Jones fouled Stice and he made the first one of two free throws to deadlock things at 25.

South Central scored the final three points of the half.

On a set inbounds play, Adams got loose in the corner behind the arc and he nailed the 3-pointer to put the Cougars back on top 28-25 at the half.

"Offensively, they (the Cougars) answered every run that we made all night," said Altamont coach Doug Hill. "The kids were geared up for this game tonight and that may have been a factor in our poor early start. But you have to give South Central credit, they capitalized on our mistakes."

Stice opened the third quarter with a drive down the lane that cut the lead back to one.

But a Jones '3' from the right corner and a nice reverse lay in by Wilkins after a feed from Jones pushed the lead to 33-27 with 5:50 left.

Altamont got its first points of the night from Tyler Meier, which came on a tip in off a Grobengieser miss, and then Stice hit a runner in the paint while being fouled by Burns.

His free throw rimmed out and left the Indians trailing 33-31.

A defensive breakdown by Altamont allowed South Central to widen its lead heading into the fourth quarter. Altamont switched to a 3-2 zone for two consecutive trips, and Adams made them pay the first time.

He worked his way free for a wide-open 'trifecta' that he nailed from the right corner.

After Jones made 1-of-2 free throws, South Central's Jason Shirley went on his own personal scoring binge by hitting three consecutive shots from all over the court.

His third made basket from the left elbow put the Cougars back on top 43-33. Shepard hit a shot to cut the lead back to 43-35 heading into the final eight minutes.

Wilkins scored five points in two-straight trips late in the game that appeared to have iced the game for the Cougars.

His conventional 3-point play at the 3:40 mark put the Cougars up 54-43.

However on this evening, Altamont had a run left in them that made things interesting before the game was over.

It started with Milleville putting in a rebound basket to cut the lead to nine.

Then a steal and lay in by Stice got the Altamont crowd back in the game.

They really got fired up when, after a South Central turnover, Meier hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 54-50 with 1:20 left.

With a chance to put the game out of reach, South Central missed two straight 1-and-1 chances.

After the second miss, Anderson hit a 3-pointer and it was suddenly a 54-53 game with :29.1 seconds left.

After being fouled, Adams made the first one of a two-shot trip to the line.

His second shot was rebounded by Altamont, which set up Stice's rebound basket to tie the game.

South Central (6-0) was led by Adams with 15. Shirley and Wilkins each chipped in 12 while Burns and Nick Jones added nine and seven.

Anderson topped Altamont with 15; Stice added 14 and Grobengieser pitched in 10. Shepard and Meier scored seven each.

"It is nice to get the win but this is not how you would like to win a game." added coach Shirley immediately following the game when referring to the confusion at the end. "We will take it, but we have a lot of work to do to get better."