Crusaders crushed as Watkins buries buzzer-beater

The way it goes

I thought there was 3.8 seconds on the clock and all of a sudden there’s 5.2. But we had two fouls to give and I thought we did okay on that. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes,”

John Hellige, HTC boys head coach

Slipped away

I thought we had it. I thought we had that one. If we would’ve won that game it would’ve put us in a good spot in the conference.”

Layne Rung, HTC sophomore guard

WEST BURLINGTON – One of the season’s best basketball games in southeast Iowa unfolded very early in the season at West Burlington’s gym Friday night.
A buzzer beater at halftime and a buzzer beater to end the game were just part of a myriad of moments that resulted in a 59-58 Holy Trinity Catholic loss to Class 2A West Burlington at the Falcon’s gym.
Junior Mason Watkins’ 3-pointer from the right baseline as time expired put a dagger in the hearts of the Crusaders, who had scored the go-ahead bucket with 3.8 seconds remaining giving the Crusaders a 2-point lead 58-56.
But referees added 1.4 seconds to the clock during a full-out, saying they looked up the clock when West Burlington Head Coach Cody Van Fleet was calling for a timeout. During the time out the clock was reset, prompting HTC Head Coach John Hellige to plead for an answer.
West Burlington Head Coach Cody Van Fleet was jumping up and down for a timeout on the made basket after  HTC's Luke Hellige got the ball on a swing around the perimeter to the right and drove the right baseline for a pull up jumper from about four feet with two Falcons defending. The shot slipped through softly as the HTC crowd erupted.
While drawing up the final four seconds of play John Hellige hadn’t seen the time put back on the clock.
“That was exactly the play we called and it worked. I thought there was 3.8 seconds on the clock and all of a sudden there’s 5.2. But we had two fouls to give and I thought we did okay on that. Sometimes that’s just the way it goes,” he said.
After Luke Hellige’s bucket and the Falcon time out, the Crusaders pressured the inbound and three players got tied up in a scrum on the floor. The ball went out of bounds with no foul called, and play was reset to West Burlington.
The Falcons got the ball over to Watkin’s who drove to the corner of the right baseline and nailed a 3-pointer without rim with a couple HTC players on him, as the Falcon fans spilled onto the floor.
“The kids played hard, they executed. Everyone played their role and did a great job,” John Hellige said.
“This was a very physical game. We had the same crew Tuesday and that game was physical, too. There were some calls down the stretch that could’ve went either way and didn’t go ours. Probably were good calls, but any of those go the other way and it changes the momentum.”
Holy Trinity opened up a second half lead of 10 points in the third quarter when Layne Rung hit one of his six 3-pointers on the night.
Rung said not getting the win only fuels the Crusaders’ desire to win. The sophomore was 6 of 7 from beyond the arc including back-to-back bombs to open the game.
“I think this really fuels us to win as much as we possibly can,” he said following the loss.
"I thought we had it. I thought we had that one. If we would’ve won that game it would’ve put us in a good spot in the conference. I think our intensity is electric right now.”
Hellige said Rung’s confidence is showing.
“He’s an assassin. He’s a great shooter.”
The Crusaders went 5-8 in the first quarter all three pointers except for a Luke Hellige bucket inside for a 14-9 lead. At one point HTC was up 9-1 forcing Van Fleet to burn a time out early.
The Falcons settled in after the break and went on a 14-0 run behind Brady Martin and Watkins to take a 15-14 lead. The two teams would trade leads all the way to the buzzer when Rung took a pass up the floor after a Watkins miss, stepped over the half-court line, and converted in front of the Falcon fans as the horn sounded to tie things up at 29.
West Burlington had a few short leads in the third period before HTC went on a 15-5 run with Hellige and senior Conner Gehling working the inside for a 48-38 lead. The Falcons would cut the lead to seven 51-44 heading into the final period.
Holy Trinity would manage only five shots from the floor in the fourth period, while West Burlington got off 15 converting seven including Watkins’ heroics at the end to win it.
Hellige finished with 19 points to lead Holy Trinity. The junior faced alternating double teams as Van Fleet used Watkins and Martin to disrupt interior passing lanes, and then the Falcons’ athleticism to get back to guard the perimeter.
“He’s gonna see that. He’s a bigger kid so a lot of times he doesn’t get the (foul) call. Teams are going to try and stop Luke, but we have other weapons that can step up.,” John Hellige said.
Rung, who finished with 18 said the loss only motivates.
“I think this really fuels us to win as much as we possibly can,” he said.
Gehling was also in double figures with 10 points. Adam Sobczak had six points and Maddox Rung chipped in with five in the loss.
The Crusaders (2-1, 1-1 SEISC) travel to Mediapolis on Tuesday.