HAGERSTOWN – Leo Sklencar entered Friday’s game for the second time with :06.8 showing on the clock.
That was OK, though. He only needed one of them to become unforgettable.
Before he could get his bearings, Sklencar buried a 20-foot shot from the right wing on the final buzzer to give host South Hagerstown a 57-55 win over Smithsburg in a tight, highly contested game.
“I was just sitting out there getting ready to shoot the ball. I was just waiting on the wing,” he said quietly while his Rebel teammates gathered around to watch and tape his next moment of fame – a postgame interview.
“I was trying to be ready to shoot and hoped it goes in,” he said, before telling what was his first reaction to his success. “Game time … That’s it.”
It sure was.
The beginning of the end started after each team called a timeout with 9.8 seconds remaining after Avery Cosley scored on driving scoop layup to give South a 54-52 lead.
The final 6.8 seconds proved to be the fitting end to the frantic final minute where the Rebels and Leopards traded the lead three times before forging the seventh tie of the game.
Nazir Mitchell fouled Smithburg’s Jacob Tyler at halfcourt as he started to drive to the basket. It sent Tyler to the line for a one-and-one foul shooting situation at the :06.8 mark. The foul was Mitchell’s fifth, which disqualified him from the game.
Enter Sklencar.
Tyler initiated the final sequence by stepping to the line and canning a pair of pressure-packed free throws, his 10th and 11th connections in 14 foul tries of the game, to tie the game at 54.
“There was no one we would rather have at the line, obviously, than Jake,” said Smithsburg coach Eric Gerber. “We ride him. We were happy to see him at the line there.”
With the game tied and the few measly seconds remaining, Cosley got ball and made a beeline to the basket. With the Leopards shut down the path to the hoop, Cosley passed ball out of the lane to the waiting Sklencar.
He thanked Cosley for the delivery in the best possible way with the basket.
“I was very surprised it came out to me,” said Sklencar, who finished with six points on a pair of 3-pointers. “Avery passed it. I thought he was going to go all the way (to the basket) but I was ready just in case he did. He did swing it… And it went in.
“I just thank Avery for putting trust in me and getting me the pass to knock the shot down to win the game.”
South coach Shane Santell agreed.
“Leo is a backup point guard for us … a sophomore,” Santell said. “He’s been working with us all summer. Our starting point guard fouls out with six seconds – I thought it was clean – and Leo steps up. The big thing was the trust … the trust of his teammates to throw him the ball in that situation.”
The Rebels made sure to thank Sklencar back. The Rebels swarmed him at halfcourt under the roar of the excited crowd.
“I always tell the guys to be critical of yourself,” Gerber said. “I should have communicated better to Jake of what we wanted to do defensively. I got everyone else back. Everyone kind of knew what we were going to do and Jake was up there pressing the ball. I would have rather had him back.
“I said “Guys we make mistakes I made a mistake there and we paid.’ We stopped Cosley which was good … We made him give up the ball and the kid hit a nice shot.”
The celebration was the aftermath of a game which had seven ties and 10 lead changes. Leads were mostly small and precious.
The game featured slashing power drives to the hoop by the Rebels, while Smithsburg moved the ball to openings.
But in the long run, the game was a bit of redemption for the Rebels.
“We have had a bunch of close games this year, but we had a rough one on Tuesday night (70-40 loss to Oakdale). They put it on us,” Santell said. “It kind of embarrassed us and we had to get back to Square One.
“On Wednesday and Thursday, we had a couple of internal issues to take care of. But the nine guys we had tonight … they stayed in the fight the whole time. They could have got down seven or nine (points) but they kept on battling, kept grinding, fighting through everything. The just believed in each other. They were good teammates tonight.”
Cosley, who didn’t play the first half, made up quickly for the missing playing time with seven points in the third quarter and eight in the fourth to tie Nygil Jefferies with a team-high 15. Cosley also had four assists
Cosley led the Rebels on a six-minute rally to come back from a 39-30 deficit in the third quarter to take a 46-45 lead with 5:52 remaining to set up the final showdown.
Tyler led all scorers with 23 points, along with seven rebounds and four assists, while James Hare added 13 with some tough inside play. Gavin Blumenauer didn’t score but topped the Leopards with seven rebounds.
