ERIE, Pa. – All poise, no panic.
Facing an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, the McDowell Trojans rallied for a thrilling 49-47 overtime win over Erie High in the District 10 Class 6A championship game on Thursday at Mercyhurst University.
McDowell actually took a 39-37 lead on a pair of free throws from freshman Kamden Kramer with 3.7 seconds left, only to watch as Erie went the length of the court, tying the game on a Shaq Horton layup at the buzzer to send it to the extra session.
Overtime! Shaq Horton at the buzzer pic.twitter.com/gseVKfZh1C
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It was another freshman, Stephon Porter, who scored the first four points of overtime for McDowell, giving them a 45-41 lead. They never trailed again.
“That’s the big word, poise,” said McDowell coach Kevin O’Connor. “The last couple of games we’ve been in the same situation and I thought this time our experience paid off, our scheduling paid off and we’re excited about that.”
Erie (12-11) rallied to tie the game, 45-45 on a pair of Jay Smith free throws and a bucket from Kre Thompson with 1:46 to play.
Kramer had the answer again from the line, knocking down 1-of-2 to give the Trojans a 46-45 lead and after an Erie turnover, he went 2-of-2 with 51.9 to play to make it 48-45.
“We kind of threw them into the fire about two-and-a-half weeks ago and we’ve sprinkled them in here and there,” O’Connor said of his freshmen. “Kamden Kramer’s got some special skill there and we’re excited to get him rolling and get him more minutes.”
A Kaleb Nickson layup cut the lead to one with 27 seconds to go, and Luke Chamberlain was fouled for McDowell (12-11).
He missed both but the Trojans were able to get the ball back off an Erie turnover and Chamberlain knocked down 1-of-2 with 7.1 seconds left in overtime.
Unlike at the end of regulation, the Royals weren’t able to get down the court and get a shot up before time expired.
Final: McDowell 49, Erie 47, Trojans win the D10 6A title pic.twitter.com/h7bPlThVmy
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Chamberlain, who picked up two fouls in the first three minutes of the game and was a non-factor in the first half, came up big when it mattered most. The senior scored all 12 of his points in the fourth quarter and overtime.
He talked about the win afterward:
McDowell went on a 7-0 run early, but Erie took a 16-14 lead on an Andreas McCullum layup with 3:16 to go in the second quarter and never trailed again until Kramer’s free throws late in the fourth quarter.
Jay Smith was the offensive catalyst for the Royals, scoring 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second and third quarters as the Royals led 21-16 at halftime, closing the half on a 10-2 run, and 30-22 at the end of the third quarter.
Erie’s Jay Smith (13) is guarded by McDowell’s Stephon Porter during the second half of their D10 Class 6A championshiop game. Smith led Erie with 19 points and Porter had 14 to pace McDowell. Photo by Andy Close.
The Trojans began chipping away, however, thanks in large part to their frequent trips to the foul line. They were 18-of-31 from the charity stripe in the game, while Erie was 5-of-9.
“The last time we played, it went to overtime, and they hit a shot at the buzzer again on us,” O’Connor noted. “We’ve had a lot of buzzer-beaters against us, for us, some overtime games, but that’s why we play a tough schedule. “It doesn’t always look that good with the win-loss record, but in the playoffs, it helps.”
Porter led McDowell with 14 points in addition to Chamberlain’s 12, while Kramer finished with nine and Nick Grimm eight.
McCullum and Horton had seven points each, with McCullum and fellow starter Layveon Gore both fouling out.
With the win, McDowell advances to play District 8 champion Allderdice in a subregional on Tuesday (March 1).
“We’ve got big crowds everywhere we go, we’re McDowell High School, people want to see us play,” O’Connor noted of the electric environment at Mercyhurst. “To get a playoff win, with the schedule we’ve played, makes me feel good.”
MCDOWELL 49, ERIE 47, OVERTIME
Score By Quarters
McDowell 10 6 6 19 8 – 49
Erie 6 15 9 11 6 – 47
MCDOWELL – 49
Isaiah Logvin 0-0-0-0, Brody Paris 0-0-0-0, Luke Chamberlain 5-2-7-12, Stephon Porter 4-6-8-14, Nick Grimm 2-4-7-8, Kamden Kramer 1-6-9-9, Tyler Grove 3-0-0-6, Ben Moore 0-0-0-0, Totals 15-18-31-49.
ERIE – 47
Andreas McCullum 3-0-0-7, Shaq Horton 3-0-2-7, Kre Thompson 2-0-0-4, Layveon Gore 2-0-2-4, Jay Smith 6-5-5-19, Tay Carr 2-0-0-4, Jahiem Mims 0-0-0-0, Kaleb Nickson 1-0-0-2, Totals 19-5-9-47
Three-pointers: McDowell 1 (Kramer); Erie 4 (Smith 2, McCullum, Horton)
