'It felt perfect': Trevor Murray hits 3 to lift Streetsboro basketball to first-round win
STREETSBORO — Trevor Murray knew right away.
The moment the Streetsboro junior released his 3-pointer from the corner with seconds remaining in a tie game, he knew.
"Oh, yeah, it felt perfect," Murray said.
The crowd erupted when Murray's game-winning shot hit nothing but net.
When No. 37 Cleveland Central Catholic's desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer sailed wide right, the crowd erupted again.
No. 31 Streetsboro had prevailed 26-23 in a Division II first-round boys basketball game that was tense from wire to wire, earning the right to host No. 35 Marlington in a sectional final Friday. Rockets coach Nick Marcini said he was thrilled with the growth Tuesday's victory showed.
Marcini's team could have folded myriad times in the second half, including when the Ironmen threatened to jump ahead in the fourth on two Rockets turnovers. Instead, Streetsboro twice raced back to perfectly contest fast-break layups, getting the ball back and remaining even on the scoreboard.
"That's coach," junior Jackson Gula said. "He really emphasizes that in practice and we really practice hard at that every day, and when you practice this stuff you're going to be good at it."
The Rockets could have folded in frustration after turning the ball over up two with 30 seconds remaining, allowing Ironmen junior Ka'Elon Hurt to tie the score with an easy layup. Instead, Streetsboro (14-9) regrouped. Junior Charles Ivory drove to the basket and selflessly passed back to Gula, who made a similarly selfless decision and dished to Murray in the corner.
"That's a situation where you got a tie ball game, you're under 20 seconds, you could try to go one-on-one to make a play there," Marcini said. "But being selfless as they are, Charles kicks it [and] Jackson makes the extra pass to Trevor."
Murray was just standing there, waiting calmly in the corner.
"Deep breaths are my thing, to be honest with you," Murray said. "I see the time tick down, breathe in and out, calm down."
The selflessness of the possession. The poise of the shot.
Marcini had to smile.
"That's what I just told them in the locker room. I said, 'We lose that game 10 out of 10 times last year,'" Marcini said. "You turn the ball over at the end when you got the lead, they go down to score and we would have hung our heads. But we've been through every possible situation in the last two years with this group and we're finally to the point where there's no panic."
Jackson Gula, Streetsboro show tremendous fight
The Rockets have been in a lot of close, low-scoring games. Even so, this one was extreme. The teams were tied at 12 at the half and separated by just two points through three quarters.
The largest lead of the night? Four points for Cleveland Central Catholic. Four points for Streetsboro.
Dead even, again.
It was a game of patient, probing possessions. It was a mesmerizing chess match.
The Ironmen threatened to slip away late in the third, taking their largest lead at 19-15. Gula brought the Rockets back, making three of four free throws — draining two to end the third and splitting two to start the fourth — to draw within one.
Senior Josiah Knox drained a floater to expand Cleveland Central Catholic's lead once more. A little over a minute later, Streetsboro answered, with Gula dishing out to Jack Batten for a game-tying 3-pointer.
The pair combined again minutes later.
Batten, the junior sharpshooter held to five points as he battled illness, set a picture-perfect screen, allowing Gula (seven points, five rebounds) to drive easily to the basket for a go-ahead layup with 1:55 remaining.
A turnover took away that lead.
The Rockets were undeterred, not needing a timeout. Marcini knew his players had been through two years of low-scoring battles. He trusted them, and they rewarded his faith.
"We were a young team last year and we had a lot of games like this," Gula said. "Our record wasn't great last year, but this year we have that experience and we are comfortable in games like this, so we're able to come out on top."
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Trevor Murray hits game-winning 3-pointer for Streetsboro basketball
