Try following that shot in the game of H-O-R-S-E.
Michael White’s off-balance, going-to-the-floor layup with three
seconds left sent the Bradford High boys basketball team into the
PIAA Class AAA second round with a 45-43 win over Trinity on
Friday.
The raucous crowd of 921 at the Pitt-Bradford Sport &
Fitness Center exploded after Michael White received the pass from
Pug Fuhrman, drove the right side of the lane and launched a scoop
shot with his right hand that kissed off the glass and tickled the
twine.
Prior to the game-winner, Bradford called its last timeout and
then Trinity head coach Joe Dunn also requested his final T.O.
“I called a timeout to see how they (Owls) were going to set
up,” Dunn said. “We knew what they were going to run by what set
they were in and that would determine whether we had a guy on the
ball or off the ball. We were just unsuccessful keeping him
(Michael White) out of the paint and helping at the end.”
As it turned out, the drive by Michael White wasn’t exactly what
the Bradford brain trust had mapped out in the huddle.
“We set up a box play where we were bringing Pug (Fuhrman) off a
triple stagger screen and then bringing Evan (Kline) off a single
screen on the baseline,” said Dave Fuhrman, Bradford head coach.
“So we had two options to get a good look, but they (Hillers) did a
good job of taking those away. We got it into Mike (White), and he
took the ball to the basket and made a great play. You’d never lose
a game if everything worked like you drew it up on the clipboard.
It comes down to players making plays and Mike made a big play to
win the game.”
If this was a hockey game, Michael White would be awarded the
First Star as the 5-11 senior led all scorers with 15 points and
held Trinity’s Josh Valentic (23 points per game) to just 12
points.
“If you’re going to give a Player of the Game it would go to
Mike White,” coach Fuhrman declared. “He had a heck of a game and
to even have the energy to make that last shot after chasing
Valentic all night. Valentic is by far the best offensive player
we’ve seen all year.”
Trinity (15-6), which traveled 200 miles and is the fifth seed
out of District 7, took its only lead of the night at 3-2 on a
traditional three-point play by Valentic at the 7:11 mark.
Michael White answered with a three-pointer from the top of the
key, and then putbacks by Jimmy Grove and Ryan Mackey guided
Bradford, which bussed about a mile as the owl flies, to an 11-6
advantage after one.
“With their (Hillers) size I thought we would have to shoot the
ball well,” coach Fuhrman surmised. “But we did get some offensive
rebounds.”
It was 13-10 Bradford when a triple from Michael White, a
13-footer by Mackey and a putback from Cody Faucher opened a 20-10
bulge with 4:07 left in the half.
An 18-footer by Kline presented the Owls with their biggest lead
of the evening at 22-11 with 2:22 showing.
The Washington-based school then registered layups by Valentic
and Ben Rudman, but the Hillers still had a small one to climb down
22-15 at the intermission.
“We did not box out well early in the first half and that hurt
us,” Dunn admitted. “The adjustment at halftime was to box out. We
knew what we were getting into when we came here and we got exactly
what we thought we were going to get. It was tough, hard-nosed
basketball and aggressive defense.”
In the third quarter, the Owls’ lead wavered between three and
seven points before a driving layin by Tony Edwards cut the Trinity
deficit to 30-29 with 1:54 remaining.
Faucher put a stamp on the third period with a bucket and Kline
commenced the fourth stanza with another for a 34-29 margin at the
7:45 juncture.
After a layup by Brad Martin shaved the Hillers’ disparity to
34-33, the Owls’ leading scorer, Pug Fuhrman, tallied his only
points of the contest on a trifecta from the top of the key for a
37-33 advantage.
“Pug (Fuhrman) would be the first to tell you he didn’t have a
very good game,” coach Fuhrman said of his son. “They (Hillers) did
a great job of taking him out of the game. They didn’t give him
many open looks, and when they did, he was rushing his shot a
little bit. We had other guys step up and that’s the mark of a good
team.”
Michael White made two great defensive plays when he forced a
turnover and then a held ball in which the arrow pointed in
Bradford’s direction. The defensive gems led to three foul shots
and a 40-33 lead.
Just when the Owls thought it was safe to go back into the water
with a 43-38 advantage, Valentic drained a three-pointer and Evan
Chambers stole the ball at midcourt and laid it in to knot the
affair at 43-all with 40 seconds left.
“That was an excellent effort on our guys part,” Dunn recalled.
“We played exceptionally well in the second half and got the ball
inside more.”
Then it was Michael White’s turn to play exceptionally well and
propel the Owls (22-2) into Tuesday’s game against 7-4 West Mifflin
(15-8), who defeated Oliver 81-69 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Hillers
end a historic season at 15-6.
“I’m so proud of our guys and especially our seniors for
accomplishing more than any team in Trinity history,” Dunn
exclaimed. “We were seconds away from making our legacy even
greater.”
TRINITY (43)
Chambers 4-3-4-11, Edwards 2-0-0-4, Rudman 2-0-0-4, Songer
4-1-1-9, McCaffrey 0-1-2-1, Martin 1-0-0-2, Valentic 4-3-3-12,
Totals 17-8-10-43
BRADFORD (45)
Matthew White 1-1-2-1, Michael White 6-1-2-15, Mackey 4-2-4-10,
Kline 4-0-0-8, Faucher 3-0-0-6, Fuhrman 1-0-0-3, Grove 1-0-1-2,
Totals 19-4-9-45
By Quarters
Trinity 6 9 14 14—43
Bradford 11 11 10 13—45
Three-point FGs: Trinity (1) — Valentic; Bradford (3) — Michael
White 2, Fuhrman
