Wildcats advance to semi-finals with overtime win over Granby

GRANBY – It what some are saying was the best Lee basketball game in years, the Wildcats waltzed into Granby last Thursday and escaped with a late 12-point heroic comeback to win 78-77 in overtime.

The victory gave the Wildcats a date with St. Joe’s at the Cage in Amherst for the Western Mass. semi-finals.

Granby came out at home against Lee as the no. 2 seed in Western Mass. with a 17-3 record, known for their perimeter shooting and guard play by Corey Baker – a 1,000-point scorer as a junior.

At the start of the game, the Rams began to light up the scoreboard with their outside shooting as they built an early 22-11 first quarter lead, with five daggers from behind the arc.

The Wildcats were able to withstand the pressure, as Jake LeProvost (30 points) and Heamon Williams (23 points) began to go to work. LeProvost knocked down a three and Williams added a free throw after a tough rebound to cut the lead to 22-15 after one quarter.

LeProvost opened the second quarter with a steal and a driving coast-to-coast for a lay-up, as Nick Sitzer followed up with a bucket off a inside feed from Williams, to make it 22-19.

Granby added four more three-pointers in the quarter but Williams (10 points in the second quarter) kept the Wildcats alive almost single-handedly, as the Rams lead by only four at the break, 38-34.

“That’s a good basketball team [Granby], they shot the ball extremely well – nine threes in the first half, but we knew that’s what they do – we threw the kitchen sink at them, and their shooters kept knocking them down,” said Lee Head Coach Dan Korte.

The Wildcats opened the second half in a man-to-man defense to try to limit the outside shooting by the Rams, yet, at the start of the third, Granby knocked down two NBA-distance threes to build a 46-34 lead.

“We had to suck it up and play man-to-man and get out on them,” Korte said. “Every man in that situation had to do his job and had to do his part, and they did.”

A Ryan Kohlenberger three-pointer loomed large midway through the third quarter, as Lee was able to cut the deficit to nine at 59-50 heading into the fourth.

Deaglan Giarolo opened the fourth with a three at the top of the key, to cut the lead to six, yet the Rams answered with 6-0 run to open a 12-point advantage with 6:16 remaining at 65-53.

“I think the difference is that we have played games like this all year long – we are battle-tested – we know what this was like, we’ve been down at halftime, we’ve been down at the end of the game – and we’ve come back to win,” Korte said.

Lee answered with a 9-0 run, thanks to a quick outlet by Sitzer to LeProvost, who finished at the other end with a foul and free throw to cut the lead to 65-58.

LeProvost then cut the lead to 65-62 with a rebound and put back with 3:52 left.

Lee even earned the lead with 2:11 left when Williams knocked down a lefty hook to put the ‘Cats up 69-67.

However, Granby would tie the game with 8.3 seconds left when Baker drew a foul on Williams just outside the paint. Baker calmly drained both free throws, and we were on to overtime to settle which team would advance.

Granby opened the OT with a steal and lay-up before Lee’s Kenny Retzel (11 points) knocked down a three to give the ‘Cats a 72-71 lead.

Baker then fouled out with 2:29 left, and Williams converted on a pair of free throws to put the ‘Cats up 74-71.

After a tough Granby turnaround jumper made it a one-point game, Giarolo tipped a rebound over to Sitzer, who converted the lay-up to give Lee a 76-73 advantage.

LeProvost added a pair of late free throws to put the ‘Cats up 78-75, as Lee would hold on and advance after an errant three attempt and a meaningless bucket as time expired.

“We’ve been here before – we pulled off a 15-point deficit against St. Joe’s at home, and I brought the guys together, that we done it before – and we weren’t going to be denied tonight,” Williams said after the win.

Posted by Tim Davis on March 7, 2013. Filed under High School Sports,Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry