Sunday, March 21, 1999
Alter beats McNick in OT for title
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
DAYTON — Every trick in the book has been tried in the dozens of meetings between Jerry Doerger and Joe Petrocelli's teams. So why did a 1-3-1 trapping zone defense applied by Alter so dramatically derail McNicholas' state tournament hopes Saturday?
That's what Doerger was still struggling with in the wake of McNick's 63-60 overtime loss to Alter in the Division II regional title game at UD Arena.
“I just could not believe we weren't able to settle down a little bit,” Doerger said. “I tried three different times asking, "Let's run this,' and we just didn't do it.”
McNick scored 13 of the game's first 15 points, lead 29-19 at halftime and 37-23 with 4:47 left in the third.
“We should have been in the driver's seat,” Doerger said. “and they took the driver's seat away from us.”
Alter was playing without suspended 6-foot-8 sophomore Adam Waleskowski, who averaged 12.5 points in the previous two meetings with McNick. But the Knights did have Mark Borland, a junior guard.
Borland (24 points) followed Adam Berardo's three-pointer with one of his own, cutting McNick's lead to 42-37. It was Borland who sank two free throws for the final points of regulation — 53-53.
McNick held for a final shot, but Brad Cupito's three-pointer was long.
With Alter ahead 61-60 with 24.5 seconds left, Borland was fouled and made both free throws. McNick had three attempts at game-tying three-pointers, but missed all three.
“(Borland's) a very gutsy kid, a very gutsy player,” Doerger said.
McNick could point to several areas that killed its chances: 1-of-17 three-point attempts, 20 turnovers, Alter shooting 66 percent in the second half.
The win was the third for Alter in four regional title matchups with McNick. It also sends Petrocelli to the state Final Four for the sixth time.
ALTER (63) — Borland 6-8 9-10 24, Berardo 2-4 1-2 7, Staub 2- 81-2 5, Waleskowski 6-12 3-4 15, Goings 1-1 0-0 2, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Swanson 1-4 5-6 8, Carter 1-1 0-2 2. Totals: 19-38 19-26 63.
McNICHOLAS (60) — Ogletree 3-7 5-7 11, Cupito 4-15 3-6 11, Schmidt 0-5 1-2 1, Moore 4-5 5-6 13, Caldwell 9-17 3-5 22, Brinck 0-1 0-0 0, Fullarton 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 21-52 17-26 60.
Alter ....... 10 9 12 22 10—63
McNicholas ....... 15 14 10 14 7—60
Three-point goals: A (6-14) - Borland 3-4, Berardo 2-3, Staub 0-3, Waleskowski 0-2, Swanson 1-2; M - Ogletree 0-2, Cupito 0-6, Schmidt 0-4, Caldwell 1-5. Records: A 18-6, M 19-6.
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