ALLIANCE: Lake High School senior Chandler Vaudrin said he saw a little bit of himself in teammate Jake Moranville when he watched the freshman step up to the free-throw line to attempt the two biggest shots of his life.
After sitting on the bench for four quarters and nearly five overtimes of basketball, Moranville was called upon to shoot two free throws in a tie game against unbeaten Copley on Thursday in a Division I Alliance district semifinal.
No pressure, right?
In spite of not logging a single minute in the game and having no points prior to this live-or-die, sink-or-swim moment, Moranville sunk both free throws with the composure of a Chandler Vaudrin and the poise of a seasoned veteran to finally end the endless game and deliver his team a clutch 95-92 victory.
The Blue Streaks advanced to play top-seeded Warren Harding Saturday at Alliance High School. Harding defeated Louisville 62-58 in overtime Wednesday in their district semifinal.
Moranville’s heart was thumping “pretty hard” when he stepped to the line, and the crowd was electric, but the pressure didn’t faze him. It doesn’t get much more clutch than that.
“I was nervous but practice makes perfect,” Moranville said. “I thought I was going to stay on the bench, cheer my team on. Next thing I knew I was in the game.”
Moranville, who joined the varsity team halfway through the season, stole the ball from Copley senior Bryce Harvey, who was forced to foul Moranville — fouling out in the process — and send Moranville to the line for the game-winning shots.
“We put our trust in Jake Moranville, but we see him do it every night in practice,” Lake coach Tom McBride said.
Everyone on Lake’s roster contributed to the shocking win in some way. Whether it was senior Matt Jones’ game-saving blocks, Vaudrin’s block on Copley senior Larnell Nealy’s layup to force the first overtime, junior Jimmy Kirven’s clutch 3-pointer to set up the second overtime, Vaudrin’s block in the second overtime to save Lake’s life yet again or senior Drew Myers’ flying baseline layup that created the fifth overtime, the Blue Streaks never stopped fighting.
“Situations loom large,” McBride said. “We had a lot of guys earn their stripes. The toughness factor came through. It was a never-say-die attitude out of both teams.”
Vaudrin had a game-high 29 points, and Myers added 21. Sharpshooter Kirven racked up 15 points, all from beyond the arc, and senior Jack Lostoski posted 15 points before fouling out in the first overtime period.
Nealy tied for scoring honors with 29 points. He exited the game with 1:10 to go in the third overtime with a knee injury but returned in the fourth OT to continue to carry his team. Harvey and senior Drew Bodnar each added 18 points.