By Steve Fields
Tribune-Star Correspondent
SPENCER — In classic Hoosier Hysteria game that would fit well into the movie Hoosiers, the Sullivan Golden Arrows pulled out a thrilling 60-58 victory over the Owen Valley Patriots on Friday night to earn a berth in the sectional championship game.
With the rafters shaking from the screams of the near-capacity crowd, James Lisman, a versatile 5-foot-11 sophomore for the Arrows, hit two free throws with 2.7 seconds left in the game to put Sullivan into the title game.
“I’ve always envisioned it. Just last practice, we were practicing free throws and me and my buddy, Caleb Turner. We were pretending that it was for the sectional. We get two shots and we were down by one [point] and you got to hit both of them to win. That’s exactly what I thought when I was on the line,” Lisman said.
Sullivan (22-2) goes for its first sectional crown since 2003 against Brown County (14-7), who stunned three-time defending champion Edgewood 63-51 in the first game on Friday.
This rematch from the Western Indiana Conference season was a white knuckler from beginning to end. Sullivan led 21-14 after one quarter and 37-30 at halftime. The Golden Arrows took 45-44 lead into the fourth quarter.
Sullivan’s Rhett Smith, who scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, and Owen Valley’s Cody Vest, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds, were both in foul trouble early.
Sullivan got 12 points from Dreyson Boyd and 11 from David Bedwell, while Owen Valley got 18 points from Dalton Vest and 11 from Sean Hollows.
After four lead changes, Owen Valley’s Hollows hit a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left in the game to tie the score 58-58. At 19 seconds, Sullivan used a timeout to set up a play, but that was ruined when OV knocked the ball out of play with 10 seconds on the clock.
“By then I just wanted David [Bedwell] to get the ball in bounds. I wanted David to penetrate, spread the court and take the ball to the basket. All of a sudden three guys from Owen Valley just rushed out at him,” Sullivan coach Jeff Moore said.
Bedwell found Lisman going to the basket and rather than give up the uncontested layup, the Patriots fouled him. Lisman hit the shots, but the Golden Arrows held their collective breath when Cody Vest got off a 3-pointer from just over the mid-court line that spun off the rim.
“We’ve won every imaginable which way all year. We’ve been down by eight with two minutes to go. We’ve been down five with nine seconds to go and we just find ways to win ball games,” Moore said.
Owen Valley scored the first seven points of the game, but Sullivan responded with a 23-7 run. That run was helped when Cody Vest was called for his second foul with 1:50 left in the opening quarter.
With the Golden Arrows leading 26-16, Sullivan’s Smith was whistled for his second foul in the second quarter. Owen Valley’s Woody Worland hit a three to bring the within two, 32-30, with 1:38 left in the first half. But the a basketball Bedwell and a three-point play from Smith gave the Golden Arrows a 37-30 halftime lead.
Sullivan led just 45-42 in the third quarter when Smith picked up his fourth foul. Coach Moore pulled Smith off the floor and tried to used up some game clock, but Owen Valley used the opportunity to take a 47-45 lead in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
“I felt like when we were trying to run a little bit of time off the clock so we could get Rhett back in [the game], we didn’t make very good decisions there for a little while and we allowed them to get up on us,” Moore said.
Moore put Smith back into the game with 5:20 to play. Two minutes later OV’s Cody Vest was called for his fourth foul, so both teams played the final 3:51 with their best player one whistle away from fouling out.
“We’re awful small when Rhett’s not out there,” Moore said of the 6-6 Smith.
Owen Valley coach Trent Heckman felt the game could have gone either way down the stretch.
“You make a play here or there and maybe it turns out different and they’re the team that made the plays. They’re a very good basketball team. I wish them the best of luck,” Heckman said.
