Wilson boys come back to beat Carnegie, advance to Class A regional finals
By Glen Brockenbush
GERONIMO - Down five points with under 1:45 left to play, and no shot clock, Wilson’s boys team was staring down a trip to the consolation bracket in its Class A regional semifinal against Carnegie on Thursday night.
But thanks to persistence on offense - especially by junior Jake Schiralli - the Eagles cut the lead down to one, and defensive pressure forced a crucial turnover, which allowed Schiralli to score the go-ahead basket.
Wilson then watched a final game-winner attempt hit rim and give the Eagles a 47-45 win in Geronimo.
That win propels Wilson into Saturday’s regional final in Geronimo against Caddo, the No. 1 team in all of Class A. The Bruins hosted - and beat - Central High on Thursday night. The Caddo girls will also play a regional final in Geronimo on Saturday night, squaring off against Waurika after the Lady Eagles knocked off Hydro-Eakly, 57-48.
Earlier in the day, the defending state boys champions from Tushka dug out of a 15-point hole to defeat Hydro-Eakly. In the first girls game of the day, the hosts from Geronimo upended Tushka thanks to a lay-up from Chrissa Gomez with about 12 seconds left.
Wilson 47, Carnegie 45 (boys semifinal)
With 1:01 left, Schiralli narrowed the deficit to just a point. And after taking a time out with under 45 seconds to go, Carnegie was set to inbound the ball on the sideline.
But apparent miscommunication led to an errant in-bounds pass, which ended up in the hands of Wilson’s Landon Richardson, who passed it to Schiralli, who laid it in for a go-ahead basket. Improbably, Wilson had the lead.
On the other end, a missed shot from close range by the Wildcats’ Jagger Worley was rebounded by Schiralli. The teams traded free throws until Carnegie got the ball with under two seconds left, trailing by two.
Worley’s fade-away 3-point attempt was off, setting off jubilant celebrations for those in gold and black.
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It was a nerve-wracking ending that nearly gave Eagles' coach Samuel Ackerman blood pressure problems.
It also happened to be the best gift Ackerman could have hoped for on his birthday.
“This is the best present I could have asked for,” Ackerman said. “This is top-tier, this is number one by far.”
After watching his team struggle with Carnegie’s swarming defense all night, Ackerman knew conjuring six more points than the Wildcats over the final 1:45 would be no easy feat. But led by Schiralli and point guard Caylen Fulton, the Eagles were patient on offense over their final possessions, each of which ended with points by Schiralli.
“Carnegie’s defense was so good. That’s the first time all year we’ve seen them switch up, switch everything,” Ackerman said. “We couldn’t get anything to the rim, and by the time we did, there were four guys in there ready to take a charge.
“But (those possessions) by Jake (were) big, being able to post up, being able to finish through contact.”
Dealing with foul trouble and having scored just four points through three quarters, Schiralli grew frustrated at times, but said his teammates encouraged him and reassured him that when a play needed to be made, they’d need him to be ready.
“I could have just been out of it the whole game, but my point guard (Fulton) said, ‘Hey, Jake, we need you right here,’ and I said, ‘OK,’ and started doing my thing," Schiralli said.
Schiralli and Jordan Parks each finished with 10 points to lead Wilson (21-4), while Carnegie (14-8) was led by 15 points from Worley. The Wildcats will face Rock Creek on Friday in an elimination game.
Waurika 56, Hydro-Eakly 49 (girls semifinal)
Waurika led by six at halftime, thanks to three first-half 3-pointers by Aubree Showalter. Meanwhile, Tessa York and Lotti Parker each had eight points in the first half for Hydro-Eakly.
Hydro-Eakly put the clamps on Waurika’s offense in the third quarter, holding the Lady Eagles to six points in the frame. Behind eight more points from York, the Lady Bobcats took a 39-38 lead after three.
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But Waurika took control in the final quarter, outscoring Hydro-Eakly, 18-10, the rest of the way.
Liberti Simmons finished with 18 points for the Lady Eagles (17-6). Cassidie Berry was borderline unstoppable down low, especially in the fourth quarter, where she scored eight of her 15 points. However, she left the game holding her knee (already in a brace) in the final minutes of the game.
Hydro-Eakly (16-8) plays Rock Creek on Friday.
Geronimo 40, Tushka 38 (girls consolation bracket)
Chrissa Gomez had been Geronimo’s go-to scorer all game, all season and for most of her career. And when her team needed her most, Gomez delivered - but only after missing on a chance just seconds earlier.
With the game tied at 38 and less than a minute left, Gomez went to the free throw line to shoot two shots. But she missed both attempts, giving the Lady Tigers another chance.
A Tushka turnover gave the ball right back to Geronimo, and the ball got into the hands of Gomez, who glided to the basket for the go-ahead score. A 3-point attempt for Tushka rimmed out, giving the hosts the win.
Gomez finished the game with 26 of the Lady Jays’ 40 points.
After more than three minutes of scoreless basketball, Geronimo opened with two baskets from Gomez.
But that was all the Lady Jays were able to muster in the entire quarter, as Tushka went on a 9-0 run to finish the first frame of play. Gomez snapped the run with another bucket early in the second quarter, but Shyler Hurt’s second 3-pointer of the game put the Lady Tigers back up by six.
Geronimo’s McKenzie Huffman hit a 3-pointer with under 20 seconds left in the second quarter to give Geronimo a 19-18 halftime lead.
Geronimo (15-11) faces Empire on Friday night.
Tushka 63, Hydro-Eakly 55 (boys consolation bracket)
Last year, Tushka’s state semifinal win against Hydro-Eakly was seen as improbable, in large part because the Bobcats were the defending state champions and ranked No. 1 in the state while Tushka was unseeded.
This year’s playoff matchup will be remembered as an unlikely victory as well, not because of the disparity in rankings, but because of the deficit the Tigers overcame.
Tushka trailed Hydro-Eakly by 15 at one point on Thursday. As poorly as the Tigers played in the first half, they were able to rally back behind Mason Hill and Tagen Simon.
“We played about as bad as we could,” Simon said of the team’s first-half performance. “We just said, ‘Let’s play hard, see what happens.'
"Our press started coming together, and we knew we could get steals and buckets. And we kept getting buckets.”
The Tigers cut it to a six-point deficit by the end of the third quarter, but Hydro still held a double-digit lead for much of the third quarter. And despite the best efforts of Hydro’s Carter Tharp, who had a game-high 28 points (and 11 in the fourth quarter), the Bobcats’ lead kept shrinking.
Tushka senior Landon Griffin poured in eight of his 10 points in the final quarter, giving the Tigers a definitive spark.
“Landon kept playing hard and we just fed off his energy, and we just came back and rallied around him,” Simon said.
Simon proved to be the Tigers’ catalyst early and late, scoring 12 of his team-best 27 points in the final quarter, 10 of those coming from the free-throw line. After being down by double-digits for much of the first three quarters of the game, Tushka outscored Hydro-Eakly, 28-14, in the fourth quarter.
Tushka (14-11) plays Central High on Friday, while Hydro-Eakly’s season is done with a 12-14 record.
