Chelsea falls in overtime heartbreaker

Chelsea players and coaches were blaming themselves after a heartbreaking, 59-56 loss to Center Point in overtime in a Class 6A Northeast Regional semifinal on Monday afternoon in Pete Mathews Coliseum at Jacksonville State University.

“A little bit disappointed in our loss. We played well enough to win,” Chelsea head coach Nick Baumbaugh said. “Looking at the stats, we gave up 21 offensive rebounds. You’re not going to win games giving up 21.”

Baumbaugh pointed to the two offensive boards that allowed Center Point’s Caleb Crooks to corral a loose ball, run to the corner, and launch a game-tying three-pointer with less than a second remaining in regulation.

“The three-pointer to tie it came off of multiple offensive possessions. Some of it had to with our foul trouble,” Baumbaugh said.

Chelsea’s primary post players, Ben Haskins and Josh Hanna, each fouled out in the second half, leaving the Hornets decimated down low. Center Point wound up with as many offensive rebounds in the game as Chelsea (21 each), and outrebounded the Hornets overall, 43-24.

The shot completed a comeback from nine points down with less than two minutes left, and sent the game to overtime.

The extra period was played evenly amongst the two teams, until Devin Russell hit the game-winning three for the Eagles. Chelsea’s three-point attempt went begging at the end.

“Never underestimate a person’s heart and will,” Center Point head coach Rodney Chatman said.

Chelsea had all the momentum late in the fourth quarter, as Joseph Lanzi blocked a jump shot, dribbled ahead, and delivered a nice bounce pass to Aaron Washington for the layup.

Center Point’s Darius Curry was called for consecutive charges on the next two possessions, and Chelsea’s Josh Hanna scored to give Chelsea a 49-40 lead with 2:13 to play. But Curry scored the next six points to help set up the final sequence in regulation.

Washington was incredible in his final game for Chelsea (13-18), scoring 29 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, and hit five of ten attempts from beyond the three-point arc.

“He’s a gamer,” Baumbaugh said. “He knows how to hit shots. He knows when to take them. The improvement I’ve seen in his game the last couple years has been unbelievable.”

Lanzi, who scored 14 points and has five assists for the Hornets, had great things to say about Washington as well.

“I love him like a brother. He’s always there for me. I caught the flu last week, and he was always texting me, checking up on me, making sure I could come to practice and stuff. I just love him,” he said.

Despite the great game, Washington wasn’t feeling it before the game started.

“Actually, I don’t even remember hitting a shot in warmups,” he said. “But I had to shoot the ball as a responsibility to my team. I just thank God for allowing me to make the shots.”

Darius Curry was Center Point’s steadying force all game long, and he finished with a double-double of 29 points and 11 rebounds. Each time Chelsea began to pull away, Curry kept the Eagles in the game with timely buckets.

Curry’s first six points came early, as Center Point got out a to an 8-2 lead. Chelsea responded with a 12-0 run to bridge the first and second quarters, as Washington hit a pair of threes in the burst.

The first two of Russell’s three makes from deep in the game came in the second quarter, as the Eagles responded with a 10-0 run. Russell finished the game with nine points on three makes from beyond the arc.

“Devin’s three-point shot, we hadn’t seen that since Christmas. It was nice to see it come back,” Chatman said of the player who would hit the game-winner in overtime.

After Center Point’s run, Lanzi made a string of great plays near the end of the half. He converted the basket plus the foul, hit a three the next time down the floor, and delivered a sweet backdoor pass to Washington for a layup. Curry would get the last four points of the frame, as Center Point took a 23-22 lead at halftime.

In what was a tremendous atmosphere all game long, the third quarter started with more fireworks. Two more threes from Washington sparked an 8-0 run, and Chelsea took a three-point lead into the fourth quarter.

Chelsea finished the season on a high note, and hopes to continue building the program in the future.

“Chelsea’s not really well-known for basketball, and we’re trying to change that,” Baumbaugh said. This is our second year in a row at regionals. The first two times in the history of Chelsea basketball that we’ve been able to do this. We hope this is something that continues.”

The final mark will read 13-18, but the Hornets will be remembered as a team that hit its stride, and was playing by far its best basketball of the season at the end.

“Yeah, it was tough, but it was just a matter of us coming together because we all haven’t played together for a long period of time,” Lanzi said. “It was a matter of us gelling and I was proud that we could do that at a crucial time at the end of the year.”