STEVE GOLDMAN
EUCLID — To most of those present at Madison’s 44-41 loss in Monday’s Division I sectional semifinal, what will stand out in their memories will be the fact Glenville held the ball for the first seven minutes of the second half.
Many of the Blue Streaks’ fans who were in attendance at Euclid’s Daugherty Gymnasium were furious. Not Madison coach Pat Moran, however.
“(I was thinking), ‘Thank you,’ Moran said of the fact that, with the eighth-seeded Tarblooders ahead 29-24 and beginning just seconds after his team inbounded the ball to begin the second half, Glenville coach Michael Holt elected to have guard Robbie Hurst stand just over the time line, holding onto the basketball.
“I’d rather play Glenville for three quarters than four quarters,” Moran, whose team had held the ball for a stretch in the first quarter, although not nearly as long, said. “And that helped us out. We had kids that were tired. We weren’t going far off the bench. That absolutely played into our hands, so if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same (darn) thing.”
The 12th-seeded Blue Streaks (4-17) stayed in the 2-3 zone the entire time, allowing Glenville (9-10) to continue the strategy. Finally, the Tarblooders went into their offense when Madison came out of the zone.
Glenville didn’t score on the long possession, but netted the only points of the quarter when Rodnell Pierce (19 points, 9 rebounds) followed in a missed shot with about 10 seconds left, making it 31-24.
Madison was able to make it a one-possession game on five occasions in the fourth period, the first four coming via one of the eight 3-pointers it converted in the contest. However, the Streaks never again had the ball while down one possession, as Glenville kept answering.
Finally, after Tyler Richmond (14 points, including 3 triples) hit a trey to cut it to 43-40 with 29.2 seconds left, Glenville’s Mike Alston split a one-and-one.
After three Blue Streak misses from the floor, Mark Vaughn (all 7 points in the fourth quarter) was fouled with 1.9 seconds left. Needing four points to tie, he hit the first freebie and intentionally missed the second, but Johnathan Brown (7 blocks) corralled his 13th board for the Tarblooders.
Adam Sweeney had 12 points and Joe Pietrzyk three blocks for Madison, which was without post Jake Skelton.
“I was proud of the fact my kids executed, and they didn’t quit,” Moran said. “We’re 4-17, and there are a lot of teams that might have folded it up and called it a season. My kids battled.
“There’s only been three times in my life I’ve been proud after a loss. That goes back to my Berkshire days when we played (Villa-Angela St. Joseph twice), and this one ranks right up there with them.”
Glenville, which led on the glass, 36-23, also ended the first half with a long possession. It stalled for about a minute, and eventually Alston finished off a nine-point quarter when, with less than two seconds remaining, he inbounded the ball softly off a Madison player whose back was turned, retrieved it and laid it in.
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
