It came down to a final shot that bounced off the rim, as seventh-seeded Johnstown-Monroe (13-11) went on the road and held on to win its Division III sectional final 43-40, over Centerburg in a hard-fought defensive matchup.
Both teams played man-to-man defense in a game that went to the wire with the Johnnies needing all of Cody Siegfried’s 25 points to secure the win, while Johnstown-Monroe's defense held KMAC's No.2 scorer, Mckinnon Mead, 10 points under his 17.3 points per game average.
“Give them the credit. They played like we expected them to,” Centerburg coach John Marhefka said.
With the game tied 40-40 and 9 seconds on the clock, Siegfried took the inbound pass just left of the elbow and drained his third 3-pointer of the game. Down 43-40, the Trojans quickly called a time out and set up a final shot with 6 seconds left. The three-quarter court shot by KMAC Player of The Year Mead nearly went in, bouncing off the front of the iron.
“It was a well-fought game, and that’s the way it was gonna play out,” Marhefka said. “It’s tournament time. Our last shot hit the rim; we executed our home run play and got an opportunity.”
The Johnnies fought off a frenzied defensive effort by the Trojans to get to that point.
“I told our guys, we just have to stay competitive,” Johnstown coach Max Shawver said. “We have to value the basketball and be better with our decision-making, and we did that in the last minute of the game.”
Fifth-seeded Centerburg (19-4), which trailed by 10 points after three quarters, forced Johnstown into 16 turnovers in the game.
The Trojans stormed back to take a 2-point lead in the waning moments. Johnstown’s Drew Brett tied the game 38-38,on a 3-point shot with 2:35 remaining. Centerburg worked its half-court offense on the ensuing possession for nearly a minute and a half before a loose pass was intercepted by Brett, who laid the ball in for a 40-38 Johnstown lead with under a minute to play. The Trojans tied it again, leading to the final-second heroics and near-heroics.
“In tournament time you might have to grind it out in the half court," Marhefka said. “My guys, I gotta give them a lot of credit, they weren't told to hold it or work it, they just looked for the best shot. They’ve done that all year.”
Siegfried, who left the game with a leg injury, was banged up the entire game.
Siegfried 'being a tough guy and a tough kid and buying into our culture, it's about grit," Shawver said. “I’m so proud of him.”
Both teams entered the Feb. 26 Division III sectional final coming off wins. Centerburg beat Fredericktown 44-39 in its regular-season finale and was prepping for the tournament.
“We talked about teams this point in the year, they’re all 0-0," Marhefka said. “We’re trying to keep our guys' minds clear and their legs fresh and then have fun playing.”
Johnstown, who limped into the tournament following four consecutive regular-season losses, got off to a fast start in a 54-42 win over Amanda-Clearcreek.
“We played our brand of basketball finally,” Shawver said. “We finished the regular season on a tough stretch, and it was nice to get back on the right foot.”
Kyle Siegfried scored seven points and Seth Scarberry added six points for the Johnnies, who were paced by Cody Siegfired’s 25 points. Centerburg, who had seven players in the scoring column, was led by Landon Griffith’s nine points. Colton Martin added eight points, Mead scored seven points and Isiah Reynolds chipped in six points.
