WPIAL Boys' CLASS AA Championship: Beaver Falls wins in 3 OTs
Last-second 3-pointer decides boys' AA thriller
Sunday, February 27, 2005
By Terry Shields, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When it comes to any Aliquippa-Beaver Falls athletic competition from football to tiddledy-winks familiarity breeds intensity, heart-pounding excitement and, of course that old stand-by, contempt.
And so it was again last night before a packed house at the Palumbo Center as these two longtime Beaver County rivals battled with the WPIAL Class AA boys' basketball title on the line.
The latest rendition of this passion play yielded one of the greatest WPIAL championship games in history. Beaver Falls (23-3) pulled out a 79-78 thriller in triple overtime as Lance Jeter banked in a 3-pointer from about 30 feet out to win it.
For Jeter, a 6-foot-3 junior guard who finished with 37 points, it was the final exclamation point on a night of heroics.
"It's just Lance," Beaver Falls coach Doug Biega said after the pulsating victory. "God blesses certain people with tremendous athletic ability and he's one of them.
"If it had been anyone else throwing up that shot, I probably would have just gotten up and walked over to the Aliquippa bench to congratulate Marvin [Emerson, the Quips coach]. But because it was Lance, I figured it had a chance."
For his part, Jeter was humbled by the turn of events.
"I guess I'm lucky," he said, referring to the deciding shot. "I just threw it up there."
Yep, he just threw it up there after dribbling up the floor after Sjavante Gilliam's apparent winning lay-in with about five seconds showing on the clock, taking a quick peek at the clock then wedging his body between two Aliquippa defenders to launch the game's final dagger.
Jeter turned in an unbelievable performance on a night of outstanding efforts on both sides. He was 13 of 16 from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. He was 7 of 10 from the free-throw line and had five rebounds.
Oh yeah, and he made another 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded at the end of regulation to send the game into the first overtime.
As one might expect in a game that was so closely and hotly contested, there was plenty of glory for both sides to share. Aliquippa's Herb Pope, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, scored 24 points, snared 14 rebounds and had 3 blocked shots before fouling out with 1:46 left in the second overtime.
He was joined on the bench by another Quips standout, 6-3 sophomore forward Mark Lay, who scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds before fouling out in the third overtime. Included among his points was a driving baseline layup with less than a second remaining in the first overtime to force the second overtime.
For Beaver Falls it was its seventh WPIAL title, but its first in Class AA (the previous six were Class AAA or its equivalent), the most recent in 1994.
It also was the rubber match of the season series between the Section 2-AA co-champions. Beaver Falls won the first meeting on its home court, 80-51, but the Quips (21-7) exacted some revenge on their court, 71-64. But this one topped those for excitement.
"I can't remember being part of a game nearly this exciting," Emerson said. "No game was even close.
"What are you going to do? Lance comes up and hits the clutch shots. What can you say? I guess you just have to give the credit to Lance."
The game was tight throughout. The largest lead by either team was a seven-point spread by Beaver Falls, 12-5 in the first quarter.
The Quips had a six-point edge in the final minute of regulation, but that was negated by two 3-point shots from Beaver Falls, one by Dom Henderson and then Jeter's at the buzzer.
Beaver Falls will meet Washington in the first round of the PIAA tournament; Aliquippa will face Farrell.
The Tigers ruined Aliquippa's bid for its third consecutive WPIAL crown, but Biega wasn't about to gloat.
"Before I left for the game, I told my wife, 'This is like the Yankees and the Red Sox.' And the Quips are the Yankees, they always seem to win the big one.
"I figured it was going to be decided in dramatic fashion, but not like this. It doesn't get any better than this." Well, not unless the two meet again in the PIAA western regional final.
