By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

ARCANUM — In the championship game at the Jet Holiday Tournament at Franklin Monroe, the hosts fall in overtime to an undefeated Maumee Valley Country Day team, 54-52, on Dec. 28.

Head coach Troy Myers said Maumee just was able to make their outside shots when they needed to for this win. But, he was proud to see the growth of this team in a pressure situation like this.

“I think two weeks ago, we would not have even known how to try to close out that game. The last two and half minutes of the fourth quarter were brutal. We didn’t get the stops that we needed,” Myers said. “We just said in there, ‘We’re not happy by any means, but we’re proud.’ You can be proud of the effort, proud of the plan, proud of the discipline that our kids have for all but two and half minutes of the game.”

The game started out slightly in Franklin Monroe’s favor. Both teams were playing sound defense and wouldn’t let much by them. Some offensive fouls by both teams also kept the halftime score low.

The Jets had a 21-17 lead heading into halftime. While the offense wasn’t humming, their defense and rebounding helped them gain an edge in the game.

In the third quarter, the Hawks were able to tie the game at 32-32 to end the third quarter. The Jets had a few turnovers that the Hawks took advantage of and scored in transition off of them.

Late in the game, junior Eric Brenner and sophomore Lucas Brenner both made clutch plays to keep Franklin Monroe out in front.

Lucas made a layup to give the Jets a 38-36 lead with 5:15 remaining. They held onto that lead until the final seconds. Myers said Lucas grew up this game and vastly improved his ball handling skills and his command of the offense. It’s even improved from 14 days ago.

Eric had 27 points and made five three-point shots in the game. He would make the big shot when Franklin Monroe needed it. He also had to free throws late to go up 47-44 in the fourth.

Myers said Eric has become a more dynamic scorer as he can score inside and outside. He is someone the team can rely on when they need a bucket.

“People try to stop EB (Fall), that’s no secret. You take him away, but now there’s someone else dynamic on the floor. He’s been able to stretch the defense for us and do a great job,” Myers said.

Myers said the team is improving towards having five guys on the floor who can put pressure on the rim offensively, but they are still working towards that.

After Eric Brenner made those two free throws, Maumee went down the floor and tied the game up with a three with 32 seconds left.

Even after a Franklin Monroe turnover gave the ball back to Maumee, the Jets defense held on to send the game into overtime.

The Jets had some chances to seal this game from the free throw line. They were 9 for 14 from the free throw line. They made most of their chances, but just needed one more to get that win.

Maumee scored the first five points of overtime. But like he has all game, Eric Brenner made a three with under a minute left to tie the game at 52-52.

The Hawks ran down the clock to 14.1 seconds left and called a timeout. Out of the timeout, they were able to score with about 4 seconds left. Senior Christian Majors was able to get the layup in for the lead.

Franklin Monroe called a timeout and drew up a play to give Fall the ball, despite him not having a made field goal in the game. Myers said with all of the work Fall has put in, there wasn’t a second thought to give him a chance to make a play or make the shot.

“I’m alright with that ball in his hands. He puts in an extraordinary amount of time to his game. You surrender the outcome when you put it in someone’s hands that you’ve spent enough time in the gym with, you trust. I wouldn’t take it back,” Myers said.

The shot just bounced off the rim as Maumee came away with the win and the tournament trophy.

Myers said he hopes this experience will teach his team that every possession is magnified in a game like this. To prepare for these moments, every rep in practice has to try and emulate that feeling.

“What we need to learn from this is every two-point game, those possession are so magnified you cannot give grace to any possession because you think it doesn’t matter. Or any rep in practice because you think it doesn’t matter. At the end when you need discipline and you need to get a stop or you need to get a bucket, you better have practiced that and you better be locked in,” Myers said.

Myers is confident his team will bounce back from this loss and learn from it. All season long, Myers have raved about the team’s drive to put in the extra work and wanting to get better.

Eric Brenner finished with 27 points and a spot on the all-tournament team. Majors was named the tournament MVP.

Fall and Lucas Brenner each had eight points in the game. Senior Gage Wackler was the only other Jet to make a three-point shot. The Jets finished 20 for 26 from the free throw line.

Franklin Monroe is now 7-2 on the season with a 3-1 conference record. They won’t have a game until Jan. 5 when they host Bradford. Myers said the extra time off will help get this team healthy as they were missing some guys in this game. They mainly played six players in this game.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]