By Malcolm Butler
Despite missing 14 free throws in the ball game, it came down to the free throw line late in the Select School Division IV first round playoff game between No. 16 seed Cedar Creek and No. 17 seed Westminster.
Senior Davis Walsworth hit two free throws with 32.1 seconds to play and two more with 17.1 seconds to play to extend the Cougars lead to four and Cedar Creek held on for a 53-50 win over Westminster Friday night at the Brickhouse.
After building as much as a 14-point lead, the Cougars had to hang on for dear life down the stretch.
“We got off to a really good start in the first half,” said Creek head coach Lance Waldron. “I thought we ran the floor really well. We got up and down trying to run our fast break. I thought we had a lot of success with it in the first half. We took some bad shots but anytime you can get some transition buckets it’s a good thing. I thought we did a good job of that. The guys were getting to their spots and making things happen.”
Creek took a 12-5 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to five points by Carter Hill, four by Walsworth and three by Brian Osborne. Parks McConnell got the Cougars going early in the second quarter with a shot off the glass and then Hill scored seven straight points to extend the Creek advantage to 23-11 with 2:28 to play in the first half.
Sophomore Jack Bell hit his second shot of the quarter with 2:05 to play and then following a Westminster bucket, Connor Norris scored off a nice pass by Osborne as the Cougars led 27-13.
Cedar Creek had an opportunity to extend its lead late, but Walsworth missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4.0 seconds to play and Westminster came up with the rebound and hit a half court heave to cut the advantage down to 27-16 at the break.
“The players did a really good job of running down the clock,” said Waldron. “We wanted to take the last shot (of the half), and we got it down to four seconds and we got fouled. But we gave the ball back to them (after the missed free throw) and they had just enough time to shoot one from half court and it went in. We wanted to take that last shot, but sometimes it doesn’t work in your favor.”
Westminster seemed to use the momentum as they came out of the halftime locker room. Creek held a 32-20 lead after a Connor Johnson layup with 6:10 remaining in the court, but Westminster ended the quarter on a 12-1 run, closing the gap to 33-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Westminster used its interior game to claw its way back into the game, feeding the post and getting offensive rebounds and putbacks.
“The second half we came out a little flat and let them get back into the game,” said Waldron. “Then it turned into a battle. Our plan was to double team whenever they got it inside. And sometimes we did double team them but sometimes it didn’t matter. They were able to work around it. They are just good on the inside.”
Westminster took its first lead of the game just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter and led 39-36 with 6:35 to play. The two teams traded leads over the next four minutes before Johnson’s bucket with 3:39 to play gave the Cougars a 45-44 lead. Walsworth followed with a layup and then following a Westminster bucket that closed the lead back to one, Norris converted on an offensive rebound and putback to make it 49-46 Cougars with 2:15 to play.
Any chance of a comeback was doused by Walsworth’s four free throws over the final 32 seconds of the game.
“We were able to come out on top in the end,” said Waldron. “We made some shots and got some big rebounds, but it was in doubt there for a while. We hit some really key free throws which made a huge difference. Davis really hit four big ones for us that closed it out.”
Hill led Creek with 21 points while Walsworth added eight points, Johnson scored seven, Osborne added six and Norris chipped in with 5 points
With the victory, Cedar Creek now plays at No. 1 seed Northwood-Lena Monday at 6 p.m.
“We get to go play the No. 1 team in the state,” said Waldron. “We couldn’t ask for anything more than that. Who playing basketball right now wouldn’t want to go play the No. 1 team in the state? If they don’t want to do that then they need to stay home. We are excited about that opportunity. We will see what we can do.”
