Down by a point with less than a minute left and near a five-second call with the ball in the hands of freshman star Gabe Gizzi, Seton LaSalle used a timeout to save the possession.
It was the play that came out of it that lifted the Rebels to a huge 53-49 win Friday night at first-place and third-ranked South Park.
After a slight bobble catching a pass underneath the basket, senior Jaleel Wright found junior guard Charlie Crummie on the wing. Crummie connected from 3-point land to put Seton LaSalle ahead 51-49 in a back-and-forth fourth quarter with just over 40 seconds to play.
Crummie ended up icing the game at the free-throw line with 8.5 ticks to play, giving him a game-high 19 points in a win that pulls Seton LaSalle (12-4, 5-1) into a tie with South Park (13-3, 5-1) for first place in the section with four section games to go.
“That was a play we put in at the end of the practice yesterday, and it was a very similar option,” said Rebels coach Kenny Klase. “The fact that we got that rep in yesterday and it paid off today where he made the shot … it’s a testament to Charlie and the work he puts in.”
Crummie pulled the Rebels within one at 47-46 a few possessions prior on a smooth finish and fade, another bucket in a seven-point quarter for the junior.
“It’s funny if you see Charlie. He has this ball he got over the summer that’s dark brown (because) it’s been used so much now,” said Klase. “He’s at school almost every day at 6 a.m., getting shots up before school. He’s a coach’s kid. He never wavers, and we always trust him in the game. (There’s) not a better guy we can ask to make that shot at the end and win a game.”
The first half was anything but an instant classic, marred by turnovers on both sides, moreso from the Eagles, who went to the locker room down 29-19.
But the Eagles came out buzzing in the third, getting big contributions to rally from a 10-point deficit midway through to tie the game 38-38 late. The Eagles fought back to 33-27 before a small spurt by the Rebels put them back up 37-29. The Eagles tied it before a bucket by Crummie at the last second in the third put Seton LaSalle ahead, 40-38.
South Park led by four at 44-40 after scoring six of the first eight points in the fourth and eventually led 47-44 on a tie-breaking triple by Cooper Hochendoner. A Luke Scarff basket put South Park ahead 49-48 with just over a minute to play before the Crummie 3.
Scarff finished the game with a team-high 16 in the loss while Hochendoner chipped in 15. Crummie’s 19 were followed by 14 from Gizzi and 13 from Wright, 11 of which came in the second quarter.
In two of Seton LaSalle’s four losses this season, the Rebels took leads into the fourth. The win was a nice step for Klase’s bunch.
“We have a group of guys that just want to get after it,” said Klase. “They love showing up to work, they want to get better and they want to win.”
South Park plays at Shady Side Academy on Tuesday and in a nonsection tilt against Brownsville on Wednesday before its final three section games.
For the Rebels — weather permitting, of course — it’s back home for Steel Valley on Tuesday before visiting defending Class 3A champ South Allegheny on Friday night. The Rebels beat the Gladiators in the first meeting this season.