02-23-18
BY JACK BULLOCK
PATOKA – The Dieterich Movin' Maroons have now won three-straight regional titles and, in the process, they kept the Odin Eagles from picking up their first ever boy's basketball regional championship.

Dieterich senior leaders Ryan Radloff and Callaway Campton saw to that on Friday night at the 1A Patoka Regional final.

Not only did the duo lead their team in scoring on the night but the two were part of a successful final set offensive play of their 62-59 win, which put their team into next week's Moweaqua Central A&M Sectional.

Working in their half-court offense while the clock ticked down with the score tied at 59-all, senior guard Bryce McClain spotted Radloff darting towards the basket.

McClain's pass turned into an assist as Radloff dropped in a lay up with just :02.4 remaining that gave Coach Josh Krumwiede and his team a narrow victory.

As it turned out, there was still drama yet to unfold in those final moments before Dieterich could celebrate.

Odin had a chance (after a timeout) to inbound the ball from underneath their own basket, trailing 61-59.

Hope seemed lost as the Eagles promptly turned the ball back over on the ensuing play as Dieterich's senior Tyler Higgs intercepted the pass and was fouled with just :00.4 left on the clock.

In the double bonus, all Higgs had to do was sink both free throws to sink Odin.

But the 6-foot-3 forward missed the first of two shots.

Then he made the second shot to give the Maroons a three-point lead.

Odin had just one chance as junior Gage Roberts caught a quick inbounds pass in the Eagles backcourt and with one motion launched a 70-foot desperation shot.

The shot left Roberts hands before the final horn so the attempt would have counted.

And it nearly did.

The ball hit the rim and bounced up into the air for what seemed like an eternity for everyone jammed into the gym on that night.

The ball came down through the net for what appeared to be a game tying 3-pointer.

But official Josh Douthit from Effingham was underneath the basket and saw that the ball had touched the metal support above the backboard and immediately waved off the basket as the Maroons and their faithful breathed a huge sigh of relief while the Odin fans were in disbelief.

Dieterich could finally celebrate the victory in front of a packed house at Patoka.

“I've watched a lot of basketball and every time a kids shoots those (long shots) I don't know what you think but I think it is going in,” said Coach Krumwiede. “I'll have to look at the replay but I think Josh (Douthit) made a good call. It was an unbelievable way to lose for them and you feel for Odin in that spot because they really played a tremendous game.”

The Maroons have now won five boy's basketball regionals, with their first one coming 11 years ago in the first season of four-class basketball (2007-08) while the Eagles quest for that success must wait another year.

Campton finished with a team-high 22-points while Radloff added 19 to the totals.

Higgs finished with 10-points but 11 would have eliminated the near heart failure at the end of the contest.

As it turned out Dieterich needed every point from every player to hold off Odin, who appeared on their way to that elusive crown.

“We wanted to make sure we shot the last shot because Odin was doing whatever they wanted to do and we didn't want them to get another opportunity and I thought we did that but they ended up having that heave at the end,” said Coach Krumwiede. “It's a play that we run a lot. We wanted it to be our last play.”

Coach Tyler Mitchell's club was led by sophomore Lucas Shaffer, who nailed 6-of-7 3-pointers and ended up with 22-points himself.

Senior Seth Nix added 18 for Odin while Caleb Jourdan and Roberts notched nine and eight.

“What hurts so much was we were right there at the end, up 10 with a few minutes left,” said Coach Mitchell. “It was our game to lose. Knowing we were right there and that close. We got better as the season progressed and we have came a long way. We had a rough patch in the middle of the year but the kids fought through it. I'm real happy for all of them. For the ones coming back that are feeling the hurt right now, I hope they comeback next year and push it during the break (between seasons).”

After trailing early in the contest 11-3, the Eagles took control of the remainder of the first half, outscoring the sub-sectional top-seed Maroons 26-9 to lead 29-20 at intermission.

Shaffer was unstoppable in the run, as the 6-foot-1 left-hander stroked home four of his 3's and finished the first half with 14 points.

As exciting as the first half was for the large crowd on Friday night, things were at a fever pitch in the final 16-minutes.

It was highlighted for a seemingly never ending number of runs by both teams, with each team making double-digit moves.

Coming out of the locker room to start the third quarter, Radloff and Campton gave their team a boost, each scoring during the frame that finished at 38-36 heading to the wild final frame.

Odin was thinking about where the regional championship plaque would look the best in the trophy case as they got their first double-digit lead.

Both Jourdan and Nix scored five-points in a 10-2 run to give the Eagles a 48-38 lead with 5:39 left.

They each converted three-point plays for the lead.

Dieterich was next up to bat for a run, and it turned out to be 13-2 to give themselves the lead at 51-50 with Campton scoring eight of the points, which included a 3-pointer and a conventional “And-1.”

Radloff added a score off of a nice inbounds play to start the scoring push and the senior guard closed the crusade with a 3-pointer from the left corner with 3:31 left.

Shaffer finished his scoring night moments later as his sixth trifecta hit the jackpot one more time for a 53-51 lead.

The trend of Radloff and Campton scoring continued as Dieterich looked the part of regional champs, taking a 59-55 lead.

Odin had one final comeback left in them as they got a bucket by Nix on a drive and Roberts got a shot to fall while falling down as he was fouled by Dieterich's Devin Flach.

Roberts didn't make the free throw but the game was even with a potential of overtime looming.

However Campton and Radloff made their final play count to give the Maroons the lead back for good, setting up the wild finish that should find it's rightful place in Dieterich lore.

“There obviously going to be an abundance of plays in a game like this that are crucial but out guys stepped up and made plays and that is what it takes in big games like this,” said Coach Krumwiede. I'm really proud of our guys because they didn't quit. “They just came back and did what was necessary.”

Odin finished their fine season at 18-11 while Dieterich continues on with a 23-6 mark as they will face Moweaqua Central A&M next Wednesday at the Raiders' home.

Both clubs shot the ball well enough for the win but the Eagles were much more mistake prone on Saturday.

Coach Mitchell witnessed 13 second half turnovers, 18 total while the while Dieterich had 10 early miscues but zero in the fourth quarter.

The shooting ended up 24-of-44 for Dieterich (2-of-5 from 3-point) in the contest while Odin finished 23-of-47, 6-of-16 from the arc. Subtract Shaffer and the Eagles were 0-9 from the arc.

Odin held a 28-19 “glass” advantage with 12-offensive rebounds.

“First I want to give Odin a lot of credit, they are a tough team. We knew coming in that they had all of these different options. The Shaffer kid was just 'bombs away' on us, he couldn't miss. We had difficulty getting stops,” said Coach Krumwiede. “But in the end we did just enough. Our guys came out in the second half down nine and they just kind of looked at each other and said 'it's time to go'. They may have not said it, but they acted like it. They didn't want to go home tonight.”