Saturday, March 03, 2001
Fayetteville, once 1-19, wins sectional
By Carey Hoffman
Enquirer contributor
The beauty of every basketball tournament lies in the unexpected. There may not be a team left alive in Ohio basketball right now that appreciates that fact more than Fayetteville.
They may have been 1-19 in the regular season, but on Friday night, the Rockets earned the right to be called sectional champions. Fayetteville defeated Seven Hills 48-46 to claim the Cincinnati Division IV lower bracket sectional title. It is the first boys basketball championship of any kind won in school history.
“This is why you play the tournament,” said Fayetteville coach Mike Call, who was wildly pumping his fist at midcourt amid his players right after the game, then wiping away tears a few minutes later. “We've just been playing our hearts out.”
The hero on Friday was senior Billy White, who swished a pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining to win the game. White had been fouled while battling for a rebound after a missed Seven Hills jumper.
“I just had to clear my mind,” White said of his free throws. “I had to make them. This is the first time we've ever been able to hang a banner for basketball.”
Fayetteville, now 4-19, advances to meet the winner of today's Anna-Botkins game in the district finals on March 9 at 7:45 p.m. at University of Dayton Arena.
Fayetteville beat Williamsburg in its tournament opener, then edged Harmony Community School on a shot in the final five seconds on Wednesday to earn a spot in the sectional finals.
Seven Hills (12-11) saw its string of five straight sectional titles snapped.
Seven Hills opened a double-digit lead early in the second quarter, but Fayetteville battled back to trim it to five at halftime.
“Give those guys credit, they play scrappy,” first-year Seven Hills coach Richard Derkson said. “We quit hitting shots and that helped allow them back into the game.”
Fayetteville has benefitted from improved free-throw shooting its last six games, up in the 75 percent range after sitting in the low 50s for most of the year.
“We've been focused the last two weeks,” Call said. “I give all the credit in the world to our kids.”
David Pertuset led Fayetteville with 13 points. Daniel Lin had 11 points to pace Seven Hills.
Fayetteville was bolstered by a boisterous crowd that only figures to get larger now that they are headed to UD Arena.
“We're just working together as a team now,” Pertuset said of the difference in Fayetteville's team. “Once we got that first win, we knew we could win the rest of the (sectional). We came in thinking we just had to put our season behind us.”
FAYETTEVILLE (48) — Carlier 2 3 7, Cook 2 0 5, Maloney 2 0 5, Pertuset 5 1 13, Iles 3 0 6, Smith 1 2 4, White 1 2 4, Murray 2 0 4. Totals: 18 8 48.
SEVEN HILLS (46) — Burke 3 0 7, Rohde 2 0 6, Lenobel 2 5 10, Sittenfeld 1 1 3, Derkson 3 2 9, Lin 5 1 11. Totals: 16 9 46.
Fayetteville ....... 13 11 12 12—48
Seven Hills ....... 12 17 8 9—46
3-point goals: F - Cook, Maloney, Pertuset 2; 7H - Burke, Rohde 2, Lenobel, Derkson. Records: F 4-19, 7H 12-11.
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Fayetteville, once 1-19, wins sectional
