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Swayzee Nine Overtime Regional Game
Most Indiana high school basketball fans know that Swayzee went nine overtimes to beat Liberty Center in the Marion Regional in 1964. What a lot of people don't know is that the Speedkings had to go three overtimes the previous week to beat Oak Hill in the final game of the Marion Sectional. Following are the two stories from the Marion Chronicle Tribune which covered the games:
Cinderella Speedkings Annex Swayzee's 1st Sectional Title
By JACK LAKE-Cinderella had nothing on Swayzee High School's remarkable basketball team. She, in fact had a midnight deadline, but the Speedkings are still alive and kicking today--with their first sectional crown to prove it.
Dave Huffman's sturdy charges fought their way through three tension-filled overtimes to do it Saturday night at Memorial Coliseum, ultimately nudging Oak Hill's Gold Eagles, 38-37.
But, it was so frantic a clash all the way it took most of the 6,508 fans on hand a while just to recover.
The Kings, who had only a 9-10 overall record heading into play, and, in Huffman, had a coach working as his own boss for the first time, finally accomplished the impossible, however, when Lennie Boswell, their agile pivotman, sank two free throws with eight seconds left in the third overtime.
That actually capped a tense duel in which both teams elected to handled the ball like it was a prize never to be lost--often going for several minutes merely moving it around and waiting for the "one perfect shot."
But Boswell, a 6-foot senior, capped it all when his two free ones put the Kings, once behind by three points with only 1:15 left in what proved to be the last overtime- ahead at 38-35. The jubilant Kings then let Denny Davis get a "free" basket for Oak Hill at the gun to make it 38-37.
There were at least a hundred climaxes, however, before the two free ones by Boswell finally ended things. Oak Hill, for one thing, looked to have its fourth title in five campaigns locked up with only 1:15 left in the third overtime with what appeared to be a solid lead at 35-32.
Two charity tosses by Tom Cretsinger seemed to clinched it for Oak Hill here.
But Boswell shook loose in the foul circle for a two pointer with 55 seconds left to close the gap to 35-34, and moments later the Kings got life on one of Oak Hill's five errors.
Jack Saylors, a 6-2 sophomore, hit from underneath at the 20 second mark for the Kings, and suddenly, it was Swayzee on top at 36-35.
Oak Hill, forced to go with Swayzee's tactics to a degree, worked its way to a 7-4 edge at the first pause and held a 16-9 lead at the half.
Starting the third period though, coach Phil McCarter decided to put his own charges in a ball control offense. But, the Kings battled back and three times pulled into ties at 18, 19, and 22 in the late going. A free throw by Boswell with nine seconds left gave Swayzee command at 23-22.
It was deadlocked again at 25 and 27 in the fourth round but a pair of free throws by Darrell Thompson then gave Swayzee a 29-27 edge with 3:43 left. A fielder by Mike Lake, however, at 2:51, tied it for the Eagles.
Swayzee then missed a shot and Oak Hill took possession and elected to hold the ball for almost two minutes to go for one shot. But Bruce Maghman's long one fell off with four seconds left- and it went into overtime.
Neither scored in the first overtime, with Swayzee getting the tip and holding for one shot. Saylors and Rex Woodmansee missed late tries, and Simmons saw his efforts go astray with two seconds left.
Lake hit from underneath with 1:38 left in the second overtime to put Oak Hill ahead 31-29, but Saylors forced a third extra session when he dropped two free ones-with pressure as thick as molasses-with 1:17 left.
Shots by Turner and Lake in the last ten seconds also missed the mark to force the two clubs into a third overtime.
Swayzee Defeats Lions In Record Nine Overtimes, 65-61
By JACK LAKE AND BOB LEE
Swayzee slipped past Liberty Center in a history-making nine overtimes, 65-61, and favored Huntington rolled over Portland, 68-64, in afternoon games of the 44th regonal tournement Saturday at Memorial Coliseum.
A restive, 6,508 sellout crowd watched Swayzee, the Marion sectional champion, and Liberty Center, the Bluffton representative, battle through five scoreless overtimes as each team tried to make one big play pay off.
But it didn't, and Swayzee finally gambled on going for broke in the ninth extra period, outscoring the Lions, 6-2 to bring an end to 59 minutes of tense basketball.
The marathon contest set a record for Indiana high school tournement basketball. The previous record of seven overtimes was set in 1938 when Camden defeated Delphi, 22-19, in sectional action.
Burl Turner started the Speedkings on the way to victory with a jump shot when the ninth overtime was only 19 seconds old. Lennie Boswell boosted the lead to four, 63-59, with a driving layup with 1:11 left in the period.
Burce Stanton hit a jumper for Liberty 11 seconds later, but the Speedkings were able to freeze the ball during most of the final minute.
Denny Archbold fouled Swayzee's Rex Woodmansee with 17 seconds left and the latter cashed both chances on the deliberate foul for the final points of the game.
Liberty Center had seven shots and Swayzee four in the first five extra periods, and the Lions almost won it in the second overtime when Stanton tried a a 15 footer from the right side and missed, but Archbold grabbed the rebound for another attempt. The ball was rolling aroudn the hoop as time expired, but it finally dropped off to keep Swayzee's hopes alive.
Dave Pence's fifth foul against Bill Day with 1:32 to go in the sixth overtime, gave the Lions an opportunity for the lead, and they made the most of it.
Day hit both attempts from the 15-foot strip, but Turner fed a scoring pass to Boswell with 57 seconds left to keep Swayzee alive a while longer.
Swayzee had three shots in the seventh overtime, one by Jack Saylors and two by Boswell--with scoring, as the Kings controlled the ball during the period.
A two-man, three-point play gave Swayzee a 57-54 lead early in the eighth extra period. Saylor hit the first of two free throws, missed the second, but Boswell was there to grab the rebound and put it back through. But the lead didn't last.
Stanton hit from the left corner, then Archbold drove in for a lay-up to give the Lions a a two-point lead with 42 seconds showing on the coliseum scoreboard, but Boswell pivoted away from his guard to hit a 15-footer with 21 seconds left to put Swayzee back in business again.
Swayzee, coming through with three upsets in the sectional last week, appeared near the end of the line when they trailed by seven points, 48-41 with 3:27 remaining in the fourth quarter. But, the Kings weren't finished.
Two baskets by Saylors and one by Turner moved the Kings closer to the pace, but they still were five in arrears, 52-47, after Raber hit a free throw with 1:35 to go.
Saylors pivoted away for a basket, Woodmansee converted a free throw and then Turner's bullseye from the left side with 13 seconds to go deadlocked the struggle at 52-52 and sent the teams into overtime. But no one suspected what was coming.
The Lions used possession basketball, a favorite Swayzee weapon, and their 6-5 center, Dick Harris, to control the game until the Kings' flurry late in the fourth period.
But the Liberty cause suffered a serious blow when Harris fouled out with 48 seconds left in the fourth. The Kings had been unable to halt his close-in maneuvering and he scored an afternoon-high 26 points before departing.
The Lions had held quarter leads of 19-15, 31-26, and 38-34. Seven points represented their biggest margin.
Saylors led Swayzee with 20 points. Turner added 15 and Boswell 13.
The win boosted Swayzee's record to 13-10. Liberty closed at 19-5
copyrighted © 1999 IHSBH |
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