Whether it’s 10, 20 or even 30 years from now, Tyler Henry will be rewinding and replaying one particular sequence.
A sequence that closed out a state title game – in his team’s favor.
Henry’s bucket and one last defensive stop propelled South Fayette past Strawberry Mansion 49-47 in the PIAA Class AA basketball championship Saturday afternoon at PennState’s Bryce Jordan Center.
Henry finished with 10 points – seven fewer than teammates Mike Lamberti and Patrick Zedreck – as Rich Bonnaure’s Lions (24-5) prevailed in a physical affair that featured 36 fouls, nine lead changes, 13 ties and countless collisions.
Devonte “D.J.” Newbill scored 15 points and Jamal Jones muscled for a double-double (10 points, 19 rebounds) for hard-luck Mansion (28-2), which tumbled in a state title game for the second time in three seasons.
“It happens,” Mansion coach Gerald Hendricks said. “We didn’t want this result. We have two of these [second-place trophies] now. I’d like to have placed one higher.”
Blame Henry.
Tied 47-all after Newbill buried a 15-footer with 37 seconds remaining, a determined Lamberti tried to pop South Fayette back in front by driving to the hoop. His challenged finish, however, glanced off the rim and tumbled to the floor.
With a Mansion player sprawled nearby – and no one else in the vicinity – Henry filled the breach in a flash and hoisted up a short J. Good!
“I saw the ball there and I saw a kid laying there,” Henry recalled. “I just knew I had to rush there to get there before he could get up and get it. And it was basic instinct just to pick it up and shoot it before I had a contested shot.”
“That was our rebound,” Hendricks lamented. “It was clearly that, but our momentum took us too far under and we just couldn’t get it. Little things like that, little miscues can make the difference in a two-point game.”
Hendricks’ club had one last chance – and Khalil Meadows got a terrific look from the foul line – but the ball smacked off the iron and the Lions’ Christian Brumbaugh tipped it to teammate Josh Patterson. Game over.
“Running down the court after I hit that shot, I was like, ‘We’re about to be state champions if we just stop them one more time,’”Henry said. “We managed to stop them and we’re state champions. I just can’t believe what happened.”
Might take 10, 20, even 30 years, but he will.
From the Associated Press
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