GRANGER TWP. — The shot heard ’round Granger Township couldn’t have been more wide open, and Collin Rittman coolly drilled the biggest bucket of his young career.
Highland’s Collin Rittman shoots between Avon’s Ryan Maloy, left, and Damantle Thorton during the second quarter. (RON SCHWANE / GAZETTE)
With the Highland boys basketball team shortly removed from blowing a seven-point lead in the final minute Tuesday, Rittman took a pass from Isaac Matejin and hit nothing but net on a corner 3-pointer with one second left, giving the Hornets a hair-raising 48-45 non-league win over Avon.
The post-shot mob extended to center court before Highland (9-6) finally settled down for the postgame handshakes.
“This is crazy,” Rittman said. “I’m just so happy. This was a great shot.”
Rittman’s theatrics came 20 seconds after the Eagles’ Damantie Thornton (12 points) grabbed a missed free throw by teammate Delshawn Orr (19, 6 rebounds, 4 assists) and connected on a corner 3-pointer. The sequence capped a 7-0 run by Avon (10-6) over a 28.3-second span, helped by Hornets missing both ends of a double bonus.
The Eagles called timeout immediately after Thornton’s three, giving Highland 21.3 seconds to work with. Point guard Collin Levandowski took his time, initiated the play at 10 seconds and went right around screens from 6-foot-7 Joe Wiencek (16 points, 22 rebounds) and the 6-3 Matejin. Matejin then flared left and got the pass from Levandowski.
Rittman (17 points) was squared up in the corner, and his defender left to double Matejin, who initially wanted to hoist an elbow-extended three. The left-handed senior calmly pulled back the ball, however, and split the defenders’ arms while passing to Rittman.
Rittman caught and fired in stride, swishing with less than a second left. Avon neither called timeout nor had time to inbound.
“I knew I was going to knock it down. I was wide open,” said Rittman, who added Levandowski called the play during the timeout. “I was feeling it the whole game.”
Highland gave itself a 45-38 lead with 1:16 left behind the yeoman work of Wiencek.
The team’s only returning starter, the aggressive right-hander dominated the paint against an Eagles roster that didn’t boast anyone taller than 6-3. Wiencek was especially beastly in Highland winning the third quarter 12-4, scoring six points and grabbing a whopping 11 rebounds.
Of Wiencek’s Medina County season-high 22 rebounds, 11 were offensive and 14 came in the second half. He also harassed drive-first scorers Thornton and Orr, blocking only one shot but redirecting others.
Coupled with sound perimeter defense, the Hornets lowered their season defensive scoring average to 50.7, putting them on pace for the second-lowest figure in school history (46.6, 2009-10).
“They kind of put me on the guy who couldn’t shoot so I could just kind of clog up the middle,” Wiencek said. “We put our two best defenders on the two athletic guys (Orr and Thornton) — Jake (Mall), Rittman, Brandon (Sauer), Isaac (Matejin) — and they all did a great job defending.”
Getting a win over the second-place squad in the 10-team Southwestern Conference was just what Highland needed coming off a 54-50 loss to Revere on Friday. The Hornets need three victories to clinch their fourth straight winning season, something the school has never done since being founded in 1952.
If Highland reaches that milestone, it will look back at Rittman’s shot and Mall’s overtime buzzer-beater against Aurora on Dec. 18 and smile from ear to ear.
“We’ve been there before, so I knew we could do it,” Wiencek said. “I never doubt this team in any game.”
Notes
- The Hornets did not commit their first foul until 4:06 was left in the second quarter. They finished with only eight.
- A frantic comeback fell short as Highland’s junior varsity lost 60-57. Matthew Fry had nine points for the Hornets, who trailed 51-32 after three quarters.
- Cole Tessena had 29 points, including nine 3-pointers, as Highland’s freshman team won 56-43.
Highland 48, Avon 45
AVON 11 14 4 16 — 45
HIGHLAND 14 10 12 12 — 48
Avon — Damantie Thornton 5-0-12, Michael Nose 0-0-0, Justin Ladegaard 3-0-7, Delshawn Orr 8-1-19, Ryan Maly 0-0-0, Jason Santora 0-0-0, Jacob Chasteen 1-1-4, Ben Yurkovich 1-0-3, Eli Atzenhoffer 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-2-45.
Highland — Brandon Sauer 0-2-2, Isaac Matejin 3-0-6, Joe Wiencek 6-4-16, Collin Rittman 6-3-17, Collin Levandowski 2-0-4, Jake Mall 1-1-3, Tyler Frederick 0-0-0, Ryan Frederick 0-0-0, Devin Myers 0-0-0. TOTALS: 18-10-48.
3-point goals — Thornton 2, Orr 2, Yurkovich, Ladegaard, Chasteen. Rebounds — Avon 25 (Orr 6), Highland 35 (Wiencek 22). Assists — Avon 8 (Orr 4), Highland 6 (Matejin, Sauer 2). Records — Avon (10-6), Highland (9-6). Junior varsity — Avon 60, Highland 57.