By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
With Friday's sub-state final tied at 62 apiece and the clock ticking down in overtime, Shawnee Heights senior Brennon Dodge drove from the right wing, hoping to find space for a jump shot. But as the defense converged on him, teammate Deacon Pomeroy was left alone on the right block.
Shawnee Heights senior Brennon Dodge (11) and junior Deacon Pomeroy (1) lead the T-Birds' celebration after Friday's 64-62 OT sub-state win over St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights celebrates with Heights students after Friday's 64-62 OT sub-state win over St. Thomas Aquinas. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Dodge jumped in the air to deliver a pass to Pomeroy, which the junior banked off the glass with 1.8 seconds remaining.
With that bucket, the T-Birds defeated St. Thomas Aquinas 64-62 and earned their first spot in the Class 5A state tournament since they won it all in 2017.
Coach Ken Darting, who has led Silver Lake and Highland Park to five state titles, was emotional about getting the T-Birds a trip to next week's tournament at Emporia's White Auditorium.
“It’s always emotional. It’s never better than any other year because it’s always a new group of kids,” Darting said within the throng of family and friends that flooded the court. “But this, I told them this is something, no matter what you do in sports, you ain’t never forgetting this. That’s where my emotion is at. It’s just wonderful to see when kids get what every kid wants, but very few get.”
About 45 minutes earlier, there were few in the gym who would have believed it could happen. The T-Birds trailed by 16 points late in the second period.
The two teams had sparred for most of the first period, neither able to hit shots. With 2:40 left in the quarter, Aquinas led 2-0 with seemingly more turnovers than shots attempted in the game. The offenses finally got untracked in the final two minutes, producing a 14-8 advantage to Aquinas.
The Saints got rolling in the second period. They used a 17-2 run to create a 26-10 lead with 2:23 left in the half. The T-Birds battled to cut the deficit to 30-18 at the intermission.
At that point, few would have predicted that the T-Birds would come roaring back. Dodge blew up for 11 of Shawnee Heights’ 24 points in the third period, cutting the deficit to 44-42.
The teams traded leads throughout the fourth period. Shawnee Heights led 55-52 with just seconds to play in regulation. Aquinas ran an out-of-bounds play that freed Wyatt Lewis for a 3-pointer in the corner to tie the game with 10 seconds remaining.
The back and forth continued in overtime until Dodge dished to Pomeroy for the game winner. Dodge had scored 20 points, 15 of them after intermission. Aquinas certainly believed he would attempt the final shot.
“He’s a great player. He’s our number one option most of the time,” Pomeroy said of Dodge. “Ever since middle school we’ve been playing together and building chemistry. I’ve always been there for him, and I was happy to step up and make a play for the team.”
Junior Deacon Pomeroy scored 18 points, including the game-winning hoop, in Shawnee Heights' 54-52 sub-state win over St. Thomas Aquinas. [File photo/TSN]
Not only did Pomeroy finish with 18 points, including the game winner, he drew perhaps the toughest defensive assignment, to guard Aquinas’ 6-foot-9 post Mark Goode. Goode finished with 13 points, but they were hard-earned.
“We believe in ourselves to guard a guy one-on-one, but we also know that we have our brothers behind us and who are going to pick us up,” Pomeroy said. “So that gave me the confidence to kind of push up against that kid and get physical because I know I’ll have support behind me.
“He’s got like six or seven inches on me, but I took the mindset ‘You’ve got to fight back. You can’t be soft and let him push you around.’ ”
One of the remarkable differences in the game was in the foul column. Shawnee Heights defended the long, athletic Saints while only picking up nine fouls in the entire contest. Conversely, Aquinas committed 20 fouls. Shawnee Heights shot 19 free throws to just three for Aquinas.
“My saying is ‘Don’t negate hustle with fouls.’ To play like we did and not get fouls was great effort,” Darting said. “Defense is not a talent, it’s a heart. It’s a brain. It’s a work ethic. And it took four years to get that through here. But now they believe it and every time we win a game like this, the defense gets reinforced.”
The Saints were led by London Burton with 15. Also scoring in double figures were Isaiah Freeman with 14, Goode with 13 and Lewis with 11.
Shawnee Heights improved to 19-3 and now awaits the release of the 5A tournament bracket. The tournament will be played in White Auditorium in Emporia March 6-9.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 64, ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 62 (OT)
St Thomas Aquinas 14 16 14 11 7 -- 62
Shawnee Heights 8 10 24 13 9 -- 64
St. Thomas Aquinas (17-5) – Welsh 2-4 0-0 5, Freeman 5-7 0-0 14, Burton 6-16 0-0 15, Lewis 4-9 2-2 11, Goode 6-10 1-1 13, Loughman 2-3 0-0 4, Goodenow 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-49 3-3 62.
Shawnee Heights (19-3) – Pomeroy 7-9 4-5 18, Dodge 8-15 2-4 20, Ross 0-2 0-0 0, Emmot 2-7 3-4 9, J. Sanchez 3-12 5-6 11, D. Sanchez 2-3 0-0 6, Holly 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 22-48 14-19 64.
3-point goals – St. Thomas Aquinas 9 (Freeman 4, Burton 3, Welsh 1, Lewis 1), Shawnee Heights 6 (Dodge 2, Emmot 2, D. Sanchez 2). Total fouls – St. Thomas Aquinas 20, Shawnee Heights 9. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
