MIDDLETOWN — Once more for the Middletown Mustangs it will be a matter of wait until next year.
But first the North Central League I champions will need a little time to get over this year. It will be a hard one to forget considering how close they came to winning the school”s first North Coast Section Division IV playoff game.
The Mustangs learned that the best things in life are not free (throws). Had they just made four more of the seven of 13 that they missed in their 45-42 loss to visiting Piedmont … or if shooting guard Luke Humphrey”s 3-point effort with 30 seconds remaining had not gone awry, or Ben Pike”s try for a trey — Middletown”s last desperate shot — hadn”t bounced off the left side of the rim with seven seconds left … well, the night was replete with wouldas, shouldas and couldas.
“It was a tough game. We got our looks at the end, but we needed to hit our free throws down the line,” said Middletown coach G.J. Rockwell.
“I thought we played very good defense,” he added. “We were getting our stops, but we weren”t converting on the other end.”
For both the Mustangs and the Highlanders it was a bumptious game with Piedmont failing from the charity stripe as well. “Down the stretch we missed two one-and-ones and a deuce,” Highlander coach Chris Lavdiotis noted.
Ragged to rugged and vice versa was the way game started. Middletown was despairingly dismal in a first quarter during which the Mustangs had the ungodly total of 10 turnovers as the Highlanders built an 18-9 lead. But the tables turned in the second quarter when the Mustangs held the East Bay team to a single field goal and two points overall while scoring 11 en route to a 20-20 halftime tie. The last three points for Middletown came courtesy of the second of Humphrey”s two three-pointers with 40 seconds left.
With the Middletown gym reverberating from a boisterous cheering section, the Mustangs matched Piedmont point for point, pulling even twice in the last 90 seconds at 39 and 42. Post man Blaine Amos kept the Mustangs in the game with a five-point spree — a field goal and three free throws, two of them with 51 seconds left. But at that point, 6-foot-5 Mack Elliott banged in the go-ahead basket and the Highlanders captured the momentum they needed to win.
In a defensive imbroglio no one stood out in the scoring. Piedmont, which likes to employ a three-guard offense, got 19 points from point guard Matt Ching, which was high for the game. Nick Dellia”s 12 was high for the Mustangs. It was a heroic effort, given that Dellia was a questionable starter right up to game time after injuring his left ankle in practice three days earlier — and he was receiving treatment on each of those days.
Middletown”s nine-game win streak ended with the loss. But the Mustangs concluded the season with an admirable 19-7 record. Piedmont, which tied for third in its league to get into the postseason, upped its record to 23-6.
“It was a great game,” said Lavdiotis. “A little ragged, but these guys have worked so hard this year. Making the free throws would have been nice, but they”re going on … beautiful!”
The Highlanders are making their first appearance in three years in the Division IV tournament.
Rockwell could only recall what might have been. But then again, he also has back-to-back league championships to look back on.
“They”ve been really great kids to coach,” he said. “I love them all.”
