University won their third consecutive Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference championship Saturday afternoon with a 48-47 road win over previously undefeated Greenwood Christian.
Senior Sam Mervis made the second of two foul shots with 3.2 seconds remaining for the winning points. The Cougars threw their inbound pass to half court and immediately called timeout with 2.7 seconds remaining. Jacob Sager and Max Greenamoyer combined to knock away the inbound pass and Mervis gathered the ball and ran out the clock to seal the victory.
Joe Martin scored 23 points for his fifth consecutive 20-point game and Sager had a career-high 17 points as University consistently attacked the paint.
The Trailblazers battled foul trouble through the first three quarter of the game and held a 33-31 lead midway through the third period when Camden Brown picked up his fourth foul. Greenwood Christian outscored the Trailblazers 8-2 the remainder of the quarter and led 39-35.
The Cougars Andrew Anderson hit a three pointer from the left corner one minutes in to the fourth quarter for a 42-35 lead. Brown re-entered the game for University and the Blazers began to climb back in the contest. Mervis found Greenamoyer for a corner three pointer and then passed to Martin in the same left corner for another triple and the Blazers were within 42-41 with 5:26 left.
Martin put University back on top with 3:38 left at 43-42, but Champ McCorkle drove the baseline and was fouled as he scored. His free throw put Greenwood Christian ahead 45-43 with 3:13 left. Martin split a pair of foul shots on each of University’s next two possessions to tie the game at 45.
Greenamoyer rebounded a Cougar missed field goal attempt and University called timeout with 1:03 left. The Trailblazers went up 47-45 when Mervis found Sager for a layin with 51 seconds left. Derek Peterson tied the game back up for Greenwood Christian with 36 seconds left and was fouled, but missed the ensuing free throw, setting up the game-ending heroics.
Coach Brandon Lafferman began with compliments for his rival. “Hats off to Greenwood Christian for a great season,” he said. “They are a phenomenal team and are well coached. They are big and strong and played really hard. They will be a tough out in the postseason.”
“I can’t say enough about our senior leadership in the fourth quarter of that game,” said Lafferman. “We were down seven and made two huge shots and clawed our way back in the game. It was an impressive finish with (Sam) Mervis and Joe (Martin) making plays for us handling the basketball. The key for us was Jacob Sager and his defense, particularly in the fourth quarter. I thought he did a phenomenal job following the game plan. It was a tough, hard fought game and I’m proud of our guys for winning another conference championship.”
Mervis had a team-high eight assists and Mervis and Greenamoyer each pulled down five rebounds.
University improves to 18-4 on the season. The Trailblazers close out the regular season next week with a pair of home games – Tuesday against Irvington Prep Academy and Thursday against Bishop Chatard. Greenwood Christian finishes the regular season with a 22-1 record.
University won both the boys and girls PAAC basketball championships for the second consecutive season.
UNIVERSITY 48, GREENWOOD CHRISTIAN 47
University FG FT TP PF
Sam Mervis 1-2 1-2 3 3
Max Greenamoyer 1-5 0-0 3 3
Camden Brown 0-1 2-2 2 4
Jacob Sager 8-11 1-3 17 2
Joe Martin 8-14 4-6 23 1
Korey Ash-Simpson 0-0 0-0 0 3
Aaron Stallings 0-0 0-0 0 0
Matt Jones 0-1 0-0 0 1
Larry Pierce 0-1 0-0 0 0
Totals 18-35 8-13 48 17
Score by Quarters
University 15 8 12 13 – 48
Greenwood Christian 12 11 16 8 – 47
University 3-point shooting (4-9) Martin 3-4, Greenamoyer 1-4, Jones 0-1.
University rebounds (18) Mervis 5, Greenamoyer 5, Sager 4, Martni 2, Pierce 1, Brown 1.
The University boys basketball team beat previously unbeaten Greenwood Christian 48-47 on Saturday to win the Pioneer Academic Athletic Conference championship. (Photo provided)