BY BRIAN HAMILTON
SEYMOUR – Austin-East and Seymour played on Friday night for the first time since November 2009, but it felt like the two teams were heated district rivals who have played twice annually for the last 20 years. Austin-East came into the contest having won the last 11 against the Eagles, but none of that mattered to Seymour, since most members of this year’s team were just being conceived in 2009.
None were alive the last time Seymour defeated Austin-East on February 22, 2005. That win was the only time the Eagles have defeated the Roadrunners this century, until Friday night. For most of the players, this was not only the biggest win of the season, but the biggest of their careers to this point.
Seymour’s Noah Bohanan goes up for a basket while Austin-East’s Justin Pruitt (1) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
“I think for all of our team, it’s the biggest (win) of their careers, because they knew what was on the line,” Seymour head coach Clint Sharp said after the game. “We need to beat this team twice to be able to finish second (in the district) and get that first round bye and that guaranteed region spot, but either way, we’ve been in a lot of close games this year and we have not finished them out. To be able to be down late and to be able to just get stops and get that lead at the very end against a really physical, really good team, it means a lot to us. I’m proud of those boys.”
The two teams traded leads and runs throughout, but nothing came easy for either team. Seymour made more stops down the stretch, along with timely baskets and superb free-throw shooting to pull out a 50-45 win.
Both teams would come out scrapping defensively, as baskets were hard to buy in the first quarter. Austin-East jumped out to an 8-2 run with just under three minutes remaining and that is how the first quarter ended, with Seymour’s only two points coming on a pair of free throws.
“I think that both teams wanted to establish themselves as the more physically aggressive team,” Sharp said of the first quarter. “Obviously their team makeup and our team makeup are different, but I feel like our team philosophy is very similar. We want to play big, physical, strong defense and on offense we’re trying to get into the paint and make a decision from there. It just came down to a grudge match, I think.”
Seymour finally scored its first field goal with 6:02 left in the second quarter, as Hayes Golden hit a three-pointer to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 8-5. Austin-East would stretch the lead back to 11-6 when Larrione Winton hit a three with 5:12 left.
A layup by Seymour’s Jonas Black pulled the Eagles to within 11-8, which was followed by a Noah Bohanan three to tie the game at 11-11 with just under four minutes remaining in the first half. The triple by Bohanan capped a 9-3 run for Seymour.
Justin Pruitt would answer with a layup to put Austin-East back in front 13-11, but Jack McAbee nailed a three to tie the game at 15-15 with 1:40 remaining.
Seymour trailed 18-17 when David Canterbury was fouled on a drive to the hoop. The senior converted both free throws, giving Seymour its first lead of the game, at 19-18, with 34 seconds left in the half.
Pruitt hit a layup on the other end to put the Roadrunners back in front 20-19, but McAbee would grab a rebound and put back the miss with eight seconds remaining to give Seymour a 21-20 halftime lead.
Austin-East opened the third quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 27-21 lead, but Black would corral a Golden miss and put it back while drawing a foul. Black converted the three-point play to cut the Eagles’ deficit to 27-24 midway through the period.
Golden was fouled on a three-point attempt and converted all three foul shots to tie the game at 27-27 with 3:35 left. Black would hit a layup to make the score 29-27. Golden then split a pair of free throws to give Seymour a 30-27 lead, capping a 9-0 run for the Eagles.
Austin-East’s Spencer Moore (23) goes up for a shot while Noah Bohanan (12) defends. Photo by Brian Hamilton
A driving layup by Reid Russell would give Seymour a 32-28 lead with 1:48 left, but Spencer Moore would answer for Austin-East, hitting a three on the next possession. The Eagles would take a 33-31 lead into the final quarter.
Similar to the third quarter, Austin-East would open the quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 37-33 lead after a layup by Antonio Stewart. A layup by Jonas Black would end the run and trim the Seymour deficit to 37-35. D’Andre Hundley would answer with a layup on the other end to put the Roadrunners ahead 39-35 with 5:44 remaining.
Another lay-in by Black would cut the Eagles’ deficit to 39-37 with 5:20 left. Black later grabbed a rebound and put it back in, plus the foul. The junior center completed the three-point play to put Seymour in front 41-40 with 4:23 to go.
Austin-East answered with a Hundley layup to put the Roadrunners back in front 42-41, followed by a basket by D’Shawn Fenderson to stretch that lead to 44-41 with under four minutes left.
An old-fashioned three-point play by McAbee tied the game at 44-44 with 3:04 to play. McAbee would later hit a layup with 1:14 remaining to put the Eagles in front 46-44.
Austin-East missed a layup that would have tied the game and the Roadrunners were forced to foul Golden, who sank both free throws to give Seymour a 48-44 advantage with 44 seconds left. Stewart went for a three on the other end, but it wouldn’t fall, as Austin-East intentionally fouled Noah Bohanan, who made both free throws, extending the Eagles’ lead to 50-44 with 26 seconds left.
Sharp elected to intentionally foul Austin-East’s Jaiden Turner on the next possession, resulting in Sharp making 1-of-2 free throws. Seymour would dribble out the clock on the next possession to pull off a 50-45 win.
Despite what was probably the biggest win for the program in over a decade, Sharp, a Seymour alumnus, feels like his team still has room for improvement.
“I felt like every quarter, they started with a run,” Sharp said. “Maybe not the second, but I know they did the first, third, and fourth and we weathered the storm and were able to fight back. We’ve gotta start quarters better, that’s for sure.”
Jonas Black led all scorers with 14, while Hayes Golden and Jack McAbee each finished with 12 apiece.
“Jonas has played the last three games, but he hadn’t played since Christmas (before that), because he was out with a concussion,” Sharp said. “Even before then, we saw sparks of things, and he’s come back with a vengeance. He’s been able to score the ball, but his taking the physicality and his rotations have gotten so much better. It’s good to see the progression.”
Austin-East was led by D’Andre Hundley’s 11 points, while Spencer Moore finished with 10. Larrione Winton added eight for the Roadrunners.
Seymour (18-7, 7-2 Class 3A District 3) has now won four straight and will travel to Austin-East (15-11, 7-2 District 3) for the grudge match on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The loss snaps a 5-game win streak for the Roadrunners and sets up a winner-take-all game for second place in the district.