NORTH EASTON, Mass. - Oliver Ames head coach Don Byron knew his team was going to have to give something to get something.
The Tigers chose to limit Whitman-Hanson’s barrage of three pointers, giving up some points in the paint in exchange.
The trade off worked.
Oliver Ames allowed the Panthers to connect on just five three pointers, built a lead in the third quarter and rallied from a deficit with less than two minutes to play to take down Whitman-Hanson, 73-69.
The Tigers return to the D2 South Semifinals for the first time since 2012.
“Our attempt was to take away the three so we pushed out on the three point shooters and didn’t offer much help and it did hurt us to a degree with the dribble penetration but we had to choose how we were going about it,” Oliver Ames head coach Don Byron said. “We never made that big stop we were looking for but we had to give something to get something. They typically shoot about 35 [three’s] so it was a choice we made.”
The majority of the Panthers points came through penetration in the paint as Oliver Ames limited Whitman-Hanson to just 23% shooting from beyond the arc. In the final quarter, Whitman-Hanson went 2-11 from downtown.
It was a back-and-forth game for the entire 32 minutes of the game. The largest lead - by either team - was eight points, when OA went up by that margin with less than a minute to play in the third.
Oliver Ames seized a 19-17 lead at the end of the first quarter, a period that saw six lead changes. At halftime, Whitman-Hanson had a 37-36 lead with another five lead changes happening in the second quarter.
In such a close game, it was Oliver Ames’ third quarter that finally same some separation, albeit a single digit cushion.
The Tigers instantly took the lead on a three from Rael Handy but the quarter belonged to senior Ryan Carney. Carney broke a 39-39 tie with two free throws and then again hit two free throws to bring OA within one at 45-44 with 3:51 left in the third quarter. Both trips to the line were a result of Carney attacking the basket.
“It was something we emphasized,” Byron said of taking the ball to the basket. “We thought we could get to the rim as well and we did a pretty could job of that. And we did a good job of sharing the ball once we got the rim. I don’t know what the assist total was but it seemed like we were getting everyone involved. We got to the foul line a lot because we attacked the rim more.”
After a defensive stop, Carney brought it to the basket again, converting while getting fouled and hitting the free throw to give OA a 47-45 lead. With the Tigers up 49-48, Carney drilled a three with just over two minutes left in the third. Carney came down and missed a three, but Brendan Welch (nine points, 11 rebounds) gathered the offensive board and quickly fed Carney as he drove to the basket for two. The Tigers then built the biggest lead of the game - 56-48 - after Chris Kyne concerted underneath on a pass from Carney.
Carney finished with 12 of his game-high 31 points coming in the third quarter, a period where OA outscore the Panthers 20-13.
The fourth quarter was another battle. The Panthers hit their first three to start the quarter to get within three and then Mitchell Kinney converted in the paint to make it a two point game with OA up 57-55.
A free throw from Kyne (14 points, six rebounds) was matched by one from Kinney to keep the difference at two. Handy (17 points) hit two free throws before Kinney answered with two more. Two more points from Carney were once again answered by Whitman-Hanson, this time two free throws from Brenndan Rogers (18 points) to make it 62-60, OA.
Kinney tied the game, only to have Kyne score right away on the other end. Welch converted on the other end on an assist from Carney to make it 66-62, but the Panthers refused to go away.
“We never got to a comfortable separation at any point,” Byron said. “It was a lot of five and seven point leads but they came right back at us countless times. It would turn into a one possession game and it felt like we were in that position all night. I thought [Whitman-Hanson] was terrific.”
Cole Manning brought the Panthers within two and after the teams traded empty trips, Nick Smith drained a three with 1:46 left to give Whitman-Hanson a 67-66 lead. On the other end, Handy missed a shot, got his rebound but missed his outback but Welch grabbed the rebound and was fouled. Welch sank both free throws with 1:20 to put the Tigers on top.
Whitman-Hanson launched a three on the other end with the rebound going out of bounds, On Oliver Ames’ ensuing possession, Welch used a nifty bounce pass to find Carney alone underneath for an easy two to make it 70-67.
Smith tried to hit another three, but instead Carney came up with a block of the shot. Welch grabbed the loose ball and got the ball to Handy. Handy was fouled and drained both free throws to make it 72-67. After another missed three, Carney corralled the rebound and hit a free throw of his own to get to 73.
Oliver Ames improved its record to 20-3 and will take on #2 Sandwich on a date and time to be announced.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.