Poor free-throw shooting dooms Findlay Prep in national tourney
It’s pretty simple to figure out why Findlay Prep lost Friday in the semifinals of the Dick’s High School Nationals Tournament in New York. Missed free throws. The Pilots were 14-for-35 from the free-throw line — including two misses with 5.8 seconds left that could have given the team the lead — in a 54-52 loss to La Lumiere (Indiana) in the tourney at Christ the King High School in Queens.
“We beat them statistically in every category except free throws,” Findlay Prep coach Paul Washington said. “Even at the end, we had a kid step up for two shots, this is our chance to win the game. So it comes down to fundamentals.”
La Lumiere (28-1) plays Montverde Academy (Florida) in the final at 9 a.m. Saturday. The Lakers had missed only two free throws until the final minute, when they missed the front end of three one-and-one opportunities to help the Pilots (34-4) rally.
After the third failed one-and-one, Findlay Prep’s Justin Roberts was fouled and made both shots to make the score 53-52 with 19.1 seconds to go.
La Lumiere advanced the ball against the Pilots’ press, and Jordan Poole made an ill-advised cross-court pass. Roberts got a hand on the pass, and Findlay Prep took control. Tony Goodwin, who had just come into the game, was fouled with 5.8 seconds to play.
He missed both free throws, and La Lumiere’s Grant Beucler made 1 of 2 free throws with 4.3 seconds for the final score.
Findlay Prep led 25-20 at halftime, but the Lakers opened the third quarter with a 15-0 run and led by as many as 15 points in the second half.
“They did a good job of countering our defense,” Washington said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to them. They’re one of the top teams in the country for a reason.”
P.J. Washington, the coach’s son, had 13 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots. But the Kentucky-bound forward looked tired after playing in the McDonald’s All American game Wednesday in Chicago before heading to New York for Thursday’s quarterfinals.
He made 5 of 13 shots, including 2-for-10 in the first three quarters, and finished 3-for-14 in free throws.
“I can’t say the last time P.J. went 3-for-14 from the free-throwline,” Paul Washington said. “A lot of travel, playing in the McDonald’s game caught up to him. It’s hard to make free throws when you don’t have legs.” Contact prep sports editor Damon Seiters at dseiters@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4587. Follow @ DamonSeiters on Twitter.