Boys Basketball: Oberlin forces overtime, edges Firelands

HENRIETTA TWP. — After the first three quarters of its 45-44 overtime win over Firelands, Oberlin was barely hanging on. The Phoenix trailed the Falcons by five points, had not led since the first quarter and its two leading scorers, Carmello Williams and Drew Walter, were in foul trouble. The fourth quarter, however, was a different story. "We always tell ourselves that we have the capability, with our defense, to get back in the game," said Oberlin coach Kurt Russell. "We've had two low-scoring games already so we knew we could come back." Oberlin outscored Firelands 12-7 in the quarter, despite Walter fouling out in the final minutes, and finished the period with a stop on a Firelands possession that took up almost the entirety of the final minute of regulation. In overtime, the Phoenix defense was even better, limiting the Falcons to one point and getting another nearly minute-long stop to end the game. "The team really came together," Williams said. "We had good subs come in and play good minutes for us, and we just locked in on defense." The reason Oberlin was in position for that final stop to win the game was thanks to Williams, who made an acrobatic layup with just over 50 seconds remaining in overtime to give him a team-leading 17 points and his team a one-point lead. "I had one point here last year," Williams said. "So I wanted to make a statement. I told my coach, whoever's in front of me, I'm going to attack him, and that's what I did." Williams picked up two fouls early and exited the game with the Phoenix holding a slim first-quarter lead. "I just have to remember that I'm an important part of this team," Williams said. "I have to stay out of foul trouble, but I talked to my coaches and let them know they can trust me." His spell on the bench allowed Firelands to take control of the game, so when he picked up his fourth foul early in the fourth quarter, Russell knew he had to trust him. "We just kept telling him to keep attacking," Russell said. "He was in foul trouble early, so we took him out, but he gained his composure and really took over the game at the end." Before Williams emerged as the hero for Oberlin, it looked like it was going to be Ayden Fortner's night for Firelands as the senior scored 21 points and knocked down three 3-pointers. "He's been aggressive," said Firelands coach Colin Myers. "He's a hard matchup for teams to guard. He's strong, he's physical, he can shoot the ball, he can beat you off the dribble and he's really important to this offense." As good as Fortner was, especially in the first half, Oberlin did a better job of containing him as the game went on, holding him to seven points after halftime. Most importantly, the Phoenix was able to keep the ball out of his hands on the final possession in regulation and overtime, forcing other Falcons, none of whom had more than five points, to take the key shots. "We're a young team and we're just not aggressive enough yet," Myers said. "Not enough people want to take the shot, and that's something we need to work on." Contact Will Cunningham at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Oberlin 45, Firelands 44 (OT) Oberlin (45): Korrie Freeman 2-3-7, Jozayah Smith 2-0-6, Carmello Williams 7-2-17, A'son Bell 1-0-2, Drew Walter 5-2-13, Cade Thompson 0-0-0, Santos Navarro 0-0-0, Julean Page 0-0-0. Totals 17-7-45. Firelands (44): Jonah Weber 2-0-4, Lucas Green 1-2-4, Mikey Janosik 1-0-2, Gabe DiFilippo 0-0-0, Max Brown 2-0-5, Carter Jones 1-1-3, Liam Tobicash 0-0-0, Ayden Fortner 7-4-21, Brett Beury 2-1-5. Totals 16-8-44. Oberlin 14 8 9 12 2 — 45 Firelands 14 14 8 7 1 — 44 Three point field goals: Oberlin (Smith 2, Williams, Walter), Firelands (Fortner 3, Brown). Field goals: Oberlin 17-43 (39.5%), Firelands 16-41 (39%). Free throws: Oberlin 7-15 (46.7%), Firelands 8-17 (47.1 %). Rebounds: Oberlin 23, Firelands 27. Turnovers: Oberlin 11, Firelands 13. Team fouls: Oberlin 14, Firelands 16. Junior varsity: Firelands, 53-25.