By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
On two occasions, the Thayer Bobcats were one stop away from playing for their first state championship in program history.
The quest for that elusive championship will have to wait another year after Thayer endured a heartbreaking loss to Lutheran North in Friday’s Class 3 Show-Me Showdown boys’ semifinals.
Berry Benson’s go-ahead putback with nine seconds remaining in overtime lifted the Crusaders past Thayer, 61-60. After Benson’s score, Thayer raced down court but couldn’t answer with a go-ahead shot of its own and time expired.
“The kid just made a tough shot,” said Thayer guard Easton Pitts. “We played as good of defense as we could. He just pump faked and made a tough shot.”
The Bobcats (25-4 overall), who are making their second straight final four appearance, entered this weekend on a 13-game winning streak.
“It’s disappointing, but I feel like we surprised a lot of people this year,” said Thayer sophomore forward Devin Harrington. “We showed people what we can really do. I think we’ll be back next year.”
Thayer junior guard Aidan Burns finished with a game-high 21 points. Three other Thayer starters scored in double figures.
“They just like to win,” Thayer coach Matt Pitts said of his squad. “You can take X’s and O’s and throw it all out of the window when you have hearts and guts. That’s why we’re still playing.”
A big rebounding advantage (53-30) put Thayer in position to win. The Bobcats grabbed 26 offensive rebounds, due in part to Lutheran North’s defense around the rim. The Crusaders blocked nine shots. Crusaders forward Davell Long had six of them.
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“Nothing was really easy,” Matt Pitts said. “Their length and athleticism made it hard, especially in the first half. Second half, we were able to spread them out a little bit, find some gaps and hit some shots. It was just a great high school basketball game with kids making plays and both teams playing hard.”
Harrington, who finished with 13 points and a game-high 22 rebounds, led the way for Thayer on the glass.
Harrington’s 22 rebounds are tied for the fifth-most in a single game in Show-Me Showdown history. Scott County Central’s Otto Porter owns the state record with 35 rebounds against Pilot Grove in 2010.
Twelve of Harrington’s 22 rebounds were on the offensive end.
“Going into the game, we knew we were a good rebounding team. I thought we’d have a good chance to crash the offensive boards,” Harrington said. “I tried my best to just get in there, get on the rim and put shots back.”
Victory slipped through Thayer’s hands at the end of regulation, too.
Lutheran North trailed 55-52 with 1.8 seconds remaining. In-bounding on its own end, the Crusaders found guard Izy Prude on the left wing. He pump-faked a defender and drained a game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime.
“It was a variation of a play we’ve run,” said Lutheran North coach Gary Spiller. “A lot of times, (leading scorer Bryce Spiller) is going to attract a lot of attention. So we’ll always try to counter. We knew the action was going to flow right and there would be an opening to the left. Izy did a great job with the catch, one pump and getting that (shot) off.”
Due to the limited time remaining on the clock, the Bobcats were hesitant to foul and put Lutheran North at the line for a one-and-one.
“With that much time, 1.8 seconds, I think you risk fouling on the shot. Because it’s going to be a catch and a shot,” Matt Pitts said. “When you do that and try to foul before the shot, you’re really at the mercy of the official. It crossed my mind, but with 1.8, that’s so sketchy. I liked our chances if we could prevent it from going to the Spiller kid. The kid who made it just made a great shot.”
Prior to Benson’s go-ahead score in overtime, Easton Pitts’ 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining had given Thayer a 60-59 lead.
The Bobcats were playing from behind most of the game. Lutheran North led 32-25 at halftime, thanks in part to 14 unanswered points late in the second quarter.
Thayer will play Lafayette County (28-3 overall) at 10 a.m. Saturday at Hammons Student Center in the Class 3 3rd place game. Lutheran North will take on New Madrid County Central at 2 p.m. at Great Southern Bank Arena in the Class 3 championship game.
Junior guard Bryce Spiller led Lutheran North (19-10 overall) with 17 points on Friday.
Coach Pitts said making it this far was a tremendous accomplishment for his young squad.
The Bobcats have no seniors on the roster. Only one player, leading scorer Aidan Burns, saw significant varsity playing time last year.
“The biggest thing for this team was getting out of the shadow of last year’s group,” Matt Pitts said. “Last year’s group was so good. You bring back a whole new group of guys the next season and everyone’s looking at you like, ‘Well, what are you guys going to do?’ These guys kicked the freaking door down and came back (to the final four). That shows a lot.”
Lutheran North 61, Thayer 60 (OT)
Thayer 11 14 16 14 5 — 60
Lutheran North 16 16 14 9 6 — 61
Thayer (25-4 overall) – Aidan Burns 21, Devin Harrington 13, Rowan Spencer 12, Easton Pitts 10, Brandon Prince 4
Lutheran North (19-10 overall) – Bryce Spiller 17, Davell Long 15, Izy Prude 10, Berry Benson 7, AJ Newton 6, Jai Smith 2, Jameer Cretter 2, Ike Prude 2
