WHIPPETS from page A1
Brennan Lewis, Issaiah Ramsey, Amareon Russell and Eli Schwemley are the eight seniors to lead this year’s historic squad.
Shelby head coach, Greg Gallaway spoke about the seniors. “It is hard for me to even put in words,” he said.
“These guys provided the leadership to become the best basketball team in Shelby boys history,” Gallaway said. “It is because of these two guys (Lantz and Bruskotter who were sitting beside Gallaway) and their teammates that we were so successful.”
“The things that come to mind are the countless hours that they put in the gym when no one is watching. Seeing them transform when I had them in my first year as sophomores to now is actually incredible to think about.”
Gallaway added, “They put so much into this program, community and school district. The best part is they have been selfless throughout the entire process. That is what makes this even more meaningful. We aren’t here without them. When they entered this program to the way they are leaving, it is way better and in better hands and that’s all I could ask for as a coach.”
Against Maysville, Bruskotter tied a Division state semifinal record with 34 points, matching Trotwood Madison’s Torrey Patton’s mark set in 2017.
Maysville coach Dave Brown said, “The Bruskotter kid, wow, I mean, my goodness, hit some tough shots.”
But Bruskotter would give some of those points back to be playing on Sunday, the date of the championship.
Fighting back tears, Bruskotter said, “I would rather have had a bad game and won. It feels good to go out with a bang. I feel very blessed to be in this situation and play in this atmosphere. It was amazing to see our community come together as one this week. It was special and to cap it all off with the way they showed up was memorable.” Lantz also spoke about the unity with his team.
“The connections we made growing up playing ball together and even off the court have made us build a tight bond,” Lantz said. It stinks to end this way, but we wouldn’t have been here without that bond we built. We don’t want it to end this way, but we are connected forever.”
A back-and-forth affair, with 6,874 fans in attendance at the University of Dayton Arena and thousands more watching from home, saw Maysville break a 59-59 tie after a made layup with 2:17 to go. Then Alex Bobb stole the inbounds pass and scored a bucket and free three (a twopoint basket followed by a successful free throw) to put the Panthers up 64-59.
Bruskotter nailed a three-pointer to cut the lead to 64-62 but Shelby was forced to foul with 34 seconds left. Ramsey banked in a baseline three-pointer to trim the lead to 66-65 with 20 seconds remaining, but again Shelby was forced to foul.
Maysville hit one of two free throws to make the score 67-65. Shelby then was fouled on a layup attempt but missed the first free throw with 3.9 seconds remaining. The Whippets missed the second free throw on purpose to try to snag the rebound, but Maysville was fouled. The Panthers made one of two free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining, but a desperation pass was batted away to end the game.
“Give credit to Maysville, that is an incredible basketball team and they are here for a reason,” Gallaway said. “They do what they do very well. They have multiple guys who take efficient shots.”
That was a heck of a basketball game and I am so proud of the way our guys kept battling,” he said. “When people come down to the state Final Four, I am sure they expect games like this. It felt like when they made runs, we made a timely shot to stop them. The game felt like a one possession game from the first quarter to the end and unfortunately we didn’t execute at the end.”
The game was one of the best, most exciting semifinal contests in recent years, many old-timers in attendance said. It featured 15 ties, 10 lead changes, and no team led by more than five points. The game was tied 18-18 after the first quarter and the Whippets led 36-33 at halftime. Maysville battled back to tie the score at 50 to end the third quarter.
Lantz followed Bruskotter in the scoring column with 12 points. Lantz was also a monster on the glass, grabbing 13 rebounds. Ramsey scored nine and hounded Maysville’s leading scorer, Alex Bobb, the entire game.
Baker and Karsen Homan each scored four. Brayden Devito scored two.
The Whippets shot 24-44 from the field compared to the Panthers’ 23-49. But Maysville knocked down nine three-pointers compared to Shelby’s six and made 13-15 free throws. Shelby was 11-14 from the line.
Bruskotter ends his career as the second leading scorer in Shelby history with 1,689 points, trailing only legendary Larry Siegfried. The five-time NBA champion has the mark with 1,788 points. Bruskotter was also named northwest district player of the year and was a finalist for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball.
Bruskotter summed up the season.
“Playing as a kid, this is all I wanted to do was play on this stage with my teammates,” he said. “What a great season, and it is hard to see it come to an end, but I wouldn’t have traded any of this for anything. I am happy to have this great last season with my guys.”