The Saline Reporter
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Larsen scores 36, but Hornets lose in 2 OT
Buzzer-beater hands Hornets home loss despite 'great effort'
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: February 22, 2007
Against Ypsilanti-Lincoln Tuesday night, the Saline boys' basketball team shot 55 percent from the field. They led by three points with less than a minute remaining. Junior center Kyle Larsen scored 36 points in a dominating performance.
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And none of it was enough.
Lincoln's Aaron Hawkins converted a buzzer-beating lay-up at the end of a second overtime to hand Saline a heartbreaking 79-77 loss.
Larsen had scored tying baskets in the dying seconds of both regulation and the end of the first overtime, but the Railsplitters scored the final five points of the second extra period to drop Saline to 4-12 overall, 2-8 in Southeastern Conference play.
"We gave a great effort," Saline head coach Terry Breneman said afterward. "Our game plan was to get the ball inside and most of the time we were able to do that. Give Lincoln a lot of credit. They hit some big shots."
Because of a snow cancellation, the Lincoln game was Saline's first since Feb. 9. During the interim, the Hornets lost both of the team's point guards as Steven Breneman suffered an injury and Jason Danneffel was dismissed from the team as a result of a code of conduct violation.
That led to Breneman calling sophomores Cord Trott and Eric Braham up from the JV team, with Trott getting the start against Lincoln. Breneman praised both players for their play, but admitted that his team "showed some nerves" while adjusting in a first half that saw Saline turn the ball over 10 times.
Despite only turning the ball over 11 times in the remaining 24 minutes, the Hornets trailed 43-41 at the end of three quarters and faced a 58-51 deficit with only 2:48 to play.
Then Larsen went to work, scoring the Hornets' next seven points to pull the home team within 61-58 with :59.2 remaining in regulation.
A quick Mike Adler basket cut the lead to 62-60 before two Bryant Jennings free throws, with just 18.1 seconds to play, pushed the lead back to four and looked to have sealed the game for Lincoln.
But Trott hit a three with 8.9 seconds left and after a foul Hawkins hit only one of two free throws. Aaron Ziegler's long inbounds pass looked to be headed out of bounds along the left sideline, but Adler leapt and tipped the ball to Larsen just inside the three-point line. Larsen turned and drove to the hoop, scoring with 2.3 seconds left to force overtime.
"It was an incredible play by Adler to get us to overtime," Breneman said.
Saline looked to be in trouble again at the end of that overtime after five straight points from the Railsplitters gave them a 74-72 edge with just 13 seconds left. But again Ziegler found Larsen with a pass across half court, and again the 6-foot-3 center drove and scored with four seconds remaining for his 35th and 36th points of the game. A last-gasp Lincoln three was just off and the teams headed to a second overtime.
"It was a career game," Breneman said of Larsen's performance, which he believed to be the highest single-game scoring total for any player during his tenure and also included a game-high 15 rebounds.
"His teammates did a good job of getting him the ball and he had some great finishes," Breneman said.
Saline held the visitors scoreless for more than four minutes of the second overtime, while an Adler free throw and Ziegler basket gave the Hornets a 77-74 lead.
With 40 seconds remaining, Lincoln responded with a game-tying three-pointer. After holding for the last shot, Adler drove the lane and just missed with less than four seconds to play. The Railsplitters grabbed the rebound and sprinted up court, with Aaron Mitchell's pass finding Hawkins wide open under the basket. He laid it off the glass as time expired and Lincoln escaped with the win.
Larsen was joined in double digits by Ziegler with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Adler with 12 and nine assists. Trott scored six points in his varsity debut, while Derek Fairchild and Gabe Helmuth added four each and Jacob Santure scored two.
Breneman said his team could have rebounded better on the offensive glass and missed chances to feed the post on certain key possessions, but that given the obstacles the team faced its performance was a "step forward" regardless.
"This team is so resilient," he said. "We're going to hold together and I think we will still have a successful end to the season."
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