Atlantic City Press 3/4/09: Mainland upsets C.H. West in hoops
Mainland upsets Cherry Hill West in OT on Casey Dillon’s 2 free throws
By AARON BRACY For The Press
(Published: Wednesday, March 04, 2009
)
CHERRY HILL TOWNSHIP – Great athletes thrive in pressure situations, and the hotter it gets the cooler they are.
Mainland Regional’s Casey Dillon showed that type of mettle by converting two crucial free throws with 28 seconds left in overtime to lift the 12th-seeded Mustangs to a 45-44 upset victory over fifth-seeded Cherry Hill West in the first round of the South Jersey Group IV playoffs on Tuesday night.
Mainland (12-12) now travels to Atlantic City to face the Vikings in the second round today at 7 p.m.
And the Mustangs can thank Dillon for that.
Mainland trailed 44-43 after West’s Joe DeSantis hit his only basket of the game, a 3-pointer from the right wing, with 35 seconds left. On the Mustangs’ next possession, Dillon was fouled on a drive to the hoop and stepped to the line with the crowd screaming and the game hanging in the balance.
Two swishes later Mainland led 45-44.
Pressure? What pressure?
“It was a great opportunity, and I wasn’t nervous at all,” said Dillon, who finished with a game-high 20 points while making 11-of-13 from the line. “I was excited for the chance to do something good. That’s as good as it gets right there. Why be nervous?”
Mustangs coach Jon Evans was so confident that he set up Mainland’s defense before Dillon’s free throws as if the two points already were on the scoreboard.
“It never occurred to him that he would miss,” Evans said. “That’s the kind of person he is.”
Cherry Hill West (17-10) still had time, though, after Dillon’s clutch free throws. But point guard Darryl Nable, perhaps not realizing how much time he had, misfired on a rushed 3-pointer with 14 seconds left. After two Mustang misses from the line, West got another chance to win but Mickel Orr’s driving shot at the buzzer clanged off the rim.
“It feels great,” Dillon said. “We were a higher seed but we’re better than a 12 seed.”
There’s no question the Mustangs looked like the better squad in the early going, as they took a 15-8 opening-quarter lead on two Kyle Davis 3-pointers to end the period. Mainland missed 12-of-14 shots from the field in the second quarter but still had a 25-21 lead at the break as its defense did just enough to keep West at bay. Dillon scored eight in a strong third-quarter performance to keep Mainland up four, 38-34.
The flow of the game changed in the fourth quarter when the Lions went into a stall offense, resulting in a combined six fourth-quarter points. West took its first lead of the game, 39-38, on Orr’s 3-pointer with 4 minutes, 52 seconds left in the period. Dillon tied it at 39 with 1-of-2 from the line with 4:36 left, but neither team would score again in the quarter.
Mainland went 0-for-2 from the field with three turnovers on its last five possessions, while West was 0-for-4 with a turnover in its five chances. The Lions had an opportunity to win it in regulation, but Jon Smith’s jumper from the free-throw line banked in and out.
And then Dillon took it from there, lifting the Mustangs into the second round and leaving his coach feeling confident.
“Besides the first game of the year (a 52-30 loss to Atlantic City) there hasn’t been a game we didn’t have a chance to win,” Evans said. “We feel like we can play with anyone.”
Mainland Regional15 10 13 1 6 45
Cherry Hill West 8 13 13 5 5 44
M-Davis 3 0-2 9, Champion 3 2-7 8, Shaugnessy 2 0-3 4, Floyd 1 0-0 2, Dillon 4 11-13 20, Reardon 1 0-0 2, Caprio 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 13-25 45.
C-Nable 2 0-0 4, Orr 5 0-1 13, Gebhart 9 3-3 22, Speckman 1 0-0 2, DeSantis 1 0-0 3, Smith 0 0-0 0, Ruffin 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 3-4 44.
3-pointers-Davis 3, Dillon M; Orr 3, Gebhart, DeSantis CHW.
RECORDS-Mainland 12-12; Cherry Hill West 17-10.
