ICE IN HIS VEINS: Indred Whitaker's late 3 sends Briar Jumpers to regional final

Mar. 12—Off the right side of the rim, now the left, now the backside, and it goes in! The hearts of the faithful Briar Jumper Nation were on edge as Somerset's Indred Whitaker took the game-winning shot in Somerset's triple overtime victory over Danville Christian with only about four seconds left. The win completed a miraculous comeback for head coach Ryan Young's team, with the coach almost at a loss for words following the game.

"Like you tell the kids, until its triple zeros it isn't over. We made some mistakes, but we also made some big plays. This team has been resilient all year," he explained.

The length of Danville Christian was really bothering Somerset early on in the ball game, as the Warriors got out to an 11-5 lead that forced a timeout in the first from the Jumpers. A three from Aedyn Absher plus two from Whitaker were the only points Somerset could score during the first period. A traditional three-point play from sophomore Geu Ateny ended the quarter with Danville Christian on top 13-5.

It was raining three-pointers early on in the second, as Absher connected with two more along with senior Emmanuel Dut. The first three of the game from Whitaker went through the net as Somerset cut the Warriors' lead down to just 19-14. Somerset were solid on defense in the quarter and cut their deficit to 21-19 after four straight points from Ben Godby, forcing Danville Christian head coach Don Story to call for a timeout.

Somerset then finally grabbed the lead back with yet another bomb from long range by Absher. A pair of free throws each by junior Titus Boyd and Ateny threatened to derail the Jumpers' momentum heading into the break, but a last-second rebound and put-back from Absher meant that the Warriors held just a one-point lead at 25-24.

Once again the teams came out shooting in the third, as a three from Boyd was quickly followed on the other end by a long range shot from Kole Grundy. Grundy and fellow big man Jakob Bartley, despite their lack of points in the contest, played huge minutes despite both being in foul trouble. A 5-0 spree by Danville Christian put pressure on Somerset midway through the period, although Godby soon drained a three to cut their deficit in half down to 33-30.

Dut and Ateny scored back-to-back inside late in the quarter, once again putting pressure on the Jumpers. Whitaker stepped up in a massive way and was fouled while hitting a three-pointer and despite missing the free throw, that shot cut the Danville Christian lead down to 37-33 heading into the final period.

The Warriors were able to extend that lead back up to seven as they scored the first three points of the quarter, however the lead was back to four quickly after an offensive rebound and three from Josh Lewis. Godby then had a fast break and slam dunk to energize the Somerset fan base. Things began to get away from the Jumpers though, as Danville Christian scored the next seven points to take a 47-38 lead with less than a minute remaining in the ball game.

All began to seem lost for Somerset, but all of a sudden, Whitaker was fouled on a three and hit all three from the charity stripe. He stole the ball on the next Warrior possession and had an easy layup, with the Danville Christian lead now down to four. Boyd was only able to hit one from the line after the Jumpers fouled and following a three from Absher the Jumpers were only down 48-46. The atmosphere was wild as Boyd stepped up to the line for two, missing both, with the Pulaski gymnasium reaching unheard of decibels. With nine seconds left, Somerset raced across the court and got the ball to Lewis and the corner, with the freshman being fouled on a three-point attempt. With the pressure firmly on the young man, he missed the first but connected with the back two, tying the game up at 48-48. What a game so far, so good that four quarters weren't enough and after a shot was off by the Warriors, we were going into overtime!

Ateny hit the first basket after the Warriors won the tip, but Whitaker began to catch fire, hitting a three to swing the lead back to his team at 51-50. Ateny answered with a fadeaway basket in the post, but just as quickly another three from Whitaker rocked "The Big House" and gave Somerset a two-point edge. Back-and-forth the two players went, with Ateny hitting a massive three for the lead before Whitaker hit another from long range. Junior Lual Ayiei hit two massive free throws to tie the game up late in overtime and after a game-winning shot was off by the Jumpers, to double overtime the game went.

Somerset took advantage of there not being a shot clock in high school basketball in the second overtime, holding the ball for the entire four-minute period and denying the Warriors a chance to even possess the ball. Another game-winner was off the mark and this one was going to triple overtime.

This was the type of game you hate to see either team lose, but someone had to lose eventually right? Somerset looked to be deploying the same strategy but turned the ball over with around two minutes left, giving Danville Christian the chance to give the Jumpers a taste of their own medicine. Their go-ahead basket also missed, with the rebound picked up by the Jumpers. Bartley dived for a loose ball and Somerset was able to get the timeout called, giving themselves a chance to forever etch their names in program lore.

Time was running out, no one was able to get a clean look for Somerset. Passes kept coming, cuts kept coming, but all of a sudden it was Whitaker near the corner finding the slightest bit of space and the rest, as they say, is history. Whitaker found the shooter's touch with the made three and after a half court heave was off, the Jumpers, along with their student section, rushed the floor to celebrate a massive 60-57 victory over Danville Christian in triple overtime.

The Jumpers were led by Whitaker with 25 points, including all 12 points in the three overtime periods, as well as Absher with 17 and Godby with 10. Other scorers included Lewis with five and Grundy with three. Danville Christian was led by Ateny with 18 points.

Somerset advances to their first 12th Region title game since 2013 and will battle Pulaski County for the fourth time this season in a crosstown showdown, with this marking the first time the two teams have met in the regional title game.

Jacob Pratt is the Sports Editor of the Commonwealth Journal and can be reached at jpratt@somerset-kentucky.com.