By RYAN WALKER
Norwell escaped in dramatic fashion over Homestead Friday night on Luke McBride’s pair of free throws with 0.8 seconds left for a 48-46 victory.
“(This win) It’s going to give us a ton of confidence,” head coach Mike McBride said after the game. “There’s a lot of confidence because, you know, that’s a great basketball team, and they’re going to compete at the 4A sectional and potentially regional here coming up.”
The win by the Knight’s (20-3) over a Fort Wayne power club came after Norwell’s first real speed bump of the season. Norwell had narrowly defeated Jay County on the road by one point and lost to Concordia by 10 at home.
In those two games, a team that specializes in shooting from beyond the arc, shot eight of 40 (20 percent). Surprisingly enough, the team struggled to find a scoring rhythm, but that narrative changed quickly Friday night.
Despite missing five straight shots to start the game, the Knights got on the board with a triple from Luke McBride to tie it at four. A minute later, Jake Parker nailed a three to take the lead.
What happened in the last three minutes of the first quarter was a three-point clinic. Norwell got four straight that started with McBride, who hit two in a row. Ashton Federspiel made the third one at 1:03, and Cohen Bailey set the roof off with a corner triple on the next possession.
By the end of the first quarter, Norwell had a commanding 19-6 lead.
“We got off to a really good start defensively No. 1 because we held them down to start the game, and then offensively, we took good shots, and we were able to knock their shots in,” McBride said.
Unfortunately, the Knights’ six threes ended up being only six of their seven for the night, allowing for Homestead to slowly but surely inch closer.
To begin the third, Luke McBride was just three points away from breaking the all-time scoring record in Norwell school history and Wells County.
At the 7:06 mark, he tied Darin Archbold with 1,811 points, and just under two minutes later, the senior drove toward the lane, went near baseline on the other side of the court, and nailed a mid-range jump shot to take the 35-year-old record.
“It means a lot,” Luke said. “To be the top Norwell scorer and especially with the great players that we’ve had here in this program over the years. I just tried to work on my game the best that I could, and I was really determined to be the best player that I could be, and it just means a lot.”
Norwell had an 11-point lead when he hit the shot, but there was still a hungry Homestead bunch that was ready to spoil the party.
John Parent hit a three a minute later, followed by another by Jake Sermersheim to cut into the lead. The Spartans held the ball for the final shot in the third quarter, which paid off by a made and one by Kyron Kaopuiki. The lead was down to seven points heading into the final period.
Homestead continued its slow march back to get within striking distance. The clock read 28 seconds remaining when Alex Graber hit his only shot in the game, but a big one that tied the Spartans with the AP Class 3A Knights.
Norwell elected not to use a timeout and let the offense roll for a potential game-winner. McBride, at the top of the key, drove past his man and went towards the basket with four seconds left, avoiding two swiping hands just past the free-throw line. By the time he went up for a shot near the left block, three Spartan defenders crashed in and prevented a made bucket, but a foul with 0.8 remaining gave the Knights a chance to seal the game.
McBride hit the pair of free throws under intense pressure. Trying not to put a damper on a record-breaking night at home, Senior Night, and a 13-year drought since Norwell last beat Homestead was on the line.
“Luke made a really good play,” Mike McBride said. “He went like he was going to take the shot, but they kind of lifted up, so he hesitated, and off the hesitation, he was able to punch through a seam, and as he went up, you can see he got hit on the arm, and that got him to the free throw line.”
The Spartans’ final heave down the court was deflected by Parker, and the Knights finished off the regular season on a high note. With the sectional looming, the real work begins now.
“What’s key is that we’ve got an experienced group of guys that can recognize ‘OK, this isn’t the end. We’ve got more work to do. Now the postseason work starts,’” he said.
Norwell’s first-round matchup at Peru High School starts at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, against Northwestern.
Homestead won the junior varsity game 50-42. Kaedyn Quintanilla scored 15 points to lead the Knights and Adam McBride added 10.
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NORWELL 48, HOMESTEAD 46,
At Norwell High School
HOMESTEAD (17-7): Will Jamison 9-17 4-8 23, John PArent 4-7 0-2 10, Jake Sermersheim 2-5 0-0 6, Kyron Kaopuiki 1-5 0-0 3, Grant Leeper 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Graber 1-3 0-0 2, Tucker Day 0-0 0-0 0, Nic Gallagher 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 18-38 4-11 46.
NORWELL (20-3): Luke McBride 6-12 9-10 24, Cohen Bailey 3-4 0-0 7, Ashton Federspiel 2-3 0-0 5, Jake Parker 1-5 1-2 4, Gavin Hoeppner 1-1 0-0 3, Luke Grft 1-3 1-3 3, Lleyton Bailey 0-4 2-2 2, Brody Bolyn 0-1 0-2 0. TOTALS: 14-33 13-19 48.
Homestead 6 8 16 16 –– 46
Norwell 19 10 8 11 –– 48
Three-point FG: Homestead 4-11 (Parent 2-5, Sermersheim 2-5, Kaopuiki 1-4, Jamison 1-6, Graber 0-1), Norwell 7-14 (McBride 3-6, Hoeppner 1-1, Parker 1-1, C. Bailey 1-1, Federspiel 1-1, L. Bailey 0-3). Rebounds: Homestead 13 (Leeper 3, Sermersheim 3, Day 2, Jamison 1, Kaopuiki 1, PAremt 1, Graber 1), Norwell 24 (McBride 8, Graft 6, Parker 4, C. Bailey 3, L. Bailey 2, Bolyn 1). Turnovers: Homestead 5, Norwell 10. Fouls: Homestead 18, Norwell 16. Fouled Out: None. Technicals: None.
