(Stephen Priest/CHSAANow.com)
PARKER — ThunderRidge senior Austin Mueller single-handedly took the air out of The Coliseum at Legend High School.
His tomahawk dunk lifted his team to a three-point lead with the clock dwindling in the final quarter as the Grizzlies clawed to a 43-41 win over the Titans.
The Titans (13-5 overall, 4-2 Continental League) had a chance to respond after the slam, but unfortunately for coach Kevin Boley and his squad, a blown assignment on the pressure defense led to a leak-out layup for ThunderRidge senior Troy Brady. The Legend student section was just as dejected as the coaching staff after the play.
“I have to win, you know. It’s that competitive mentality,” an exhausted Brady said after the game. “I live for these big games and that’s when I really shine, when the pressure is the highest, I like to come out and play my hardest and just leave it on the floor, no regrets.”
After a quick timeout by the Titans to recollect themselves, Legend senior Danny Garrick injected hope back into the jam-packed gym as he nailed a clutch three with one minute remaining in regulation, getting his team within two.
The balance of the game remained in doubt as both teams found themselves turning the ball over and wasting possessions until the clock struck 11.5 seconds to go. Legend had one final opportunity to either tie or win the game.
The inbound pass went to Garrick, but he was double-teamed immediately. Keeping his dribble alive, he managed to find an opening on the left wing, with one defender to beat. He hesitated, dribbled left just inside the 3-point line and nudged with his off arm to create space before launching his shot.
Sadly, for Boley and all of the Titan faithful in attendance, the ball fell short. The horn sounded and the small contingent of Grizzlies fans who made the trip over, stormed the court to embrace their team’s courageous effort.
The No. 7-ranked Grizzlies (16-3, 5-1) earned a badly need league win.
“It was a gritty win. A tough win.” ThunderRidge coach Joe Ortiz said. “This was a good win for us because we needed that to finally figure out how to win.”
As one can deduce from the final score, the game was one that lacked any noteworthy offensive production. The contest sputtered to begin things in the first as both teams couldn’t find a consistent rhythm offensively due to turnovers and unnecessary fouls.
The game headed into the second quarter with a combined 20 points scored from both teams, with No. 9 Legend out front 12-8.
The second quarter was much of the same in terms of lack of offensive production; the only difference was the implementation of a 2-3 zone look from the Grizzlies that discombobulated the Titans. However, the Titans did just enough to hang onto the lead going into the half, 20-14 Legend.
“It was a grind defensively for both teams, I mean clearly both teams were prepared for the game,” Boley said. “They played a lot of zone and I didn’t think we attacked the zone great, but enough to have the lead at halftime.”
Legend came out with great intensity and crisp ball movement against the zone in the third, going on a 10-0 run thanks to senior Andre Hogan who cashed in two threes pointers during the run; the second coming at the buzzer to send the teams into the final period of play.
The fourth quarter saw both teams trading punches back and forth not only through scoring, but mental lapses with awful turnovers. It came down to who could swing the momentum, and Mueller did so with his monstrous dunk.
“Legend’s a Final 4-type team and we beat them on the road in their place, when we were struggling to play,” Ortiz said. “So that’s a lot to build from after our loss last week and we’re right there at the top of the league fighting for it, so we’re still in the midst just grinding through it.”