A huge crowd roared as Sullivan County forward Sharif Welton approached the foul line with 10.8 seconds remaining Wednesday. St. John Neumann desperately needed Welton to miss if it was to complete another comeback and the fans did all they could to distract him.
Welton just looked at coach Glenn Vaughan and made him a guarantee. He then capped a huge night by sinking both shots and clinching a hard-fought 54-49 overtime win at the Catholic Community Center in a showdown of District 4 Class A heavyweights. Welton scored a game-high 28 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and played tough defense on Mike Wenner as the Griffins recorded a huge win and all but secured the top seed for districts.
"Once I missed the first free throws (earlier in overtime) I got mad because I'm a captain and a leader and I'm supposed to hit those shots and keep my team going," Welton said. "I knew once I went to the line again I was going to knock them down. I looked at my coach and I told him, 'these are going in.'"
Sullivan (16-3, 9-3 HAC-III) opened a two-game lead over Neumann and can clinch that top spot, which might include a bye into states with one more win. How the Griffins put themselves in that position could be more important than earning that berth.
After squandering three leads in three tough road games earlier this season, Sullivan delivered the signature road win it had been searching for, doing so against an outstanding team in a tough environment. Welton, Kelby Mullen, Derek Wilkins, Conner Wylie and Zach Meyer all made huge plays in overtime and the team may have reached a pivotal turning point.
"Tonight finally in the second half we responded to the adversity and got together and showed some leadership on the floor. If you're going to get the job done in the postseason that's something that has to be there," Vaughan said. "It has to be the whole team getting it done and that's what we saw in overtime."
"We knew they would be tough competition but we knew we'd get the job done when it counted," said Mullen, who made a huge steal and layup that put Sullivan up 50-44 in overtime. "Neumann played really well tonight and we came through in the hostile environment and got the job done."
Neumann put Sullivan through the crucible with a valiant effort after overcoming an early 15-2 deficit. The Knights, who lost by 25 at Sullivan, tied the game by halftime and the lead went back and forth throughout the second half. Sullivan led by three with seven seconds remaining, but Jordan Cole sank a clutch 3-pointer in the corner, forcing overtime.
Wilkins hit a foul-line jumper, Mullen fed Wylie, then made his steal and layup before Welton hit two foul shots as Sullivan took a 52-44 with 34 seconds remaining. It seemed like Neumann was done, but again it refused to surrender and made it a one-possession game after Wenner (19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks) hit an off-balance 3-pointer, Conor Flynn forced a turnover and Pat Roman scored on a putback. The Knights junior varsity had forced three overtimes after having only four players and overcoming a four-point deficit in the final five seconds, but Welton made sure there was no repeat this time.
"I give my kids all the credit. Up there we got down and quit and here we didn't do that. That's a huge turning point for us," Neumann coach Paul Petcavage said. "To be down that much and dig in and play hard, I can't ask for anything more. I wish we would have won, but they gave it all they had."
Alize Johnson played an outstanding game, scoring 17 points and making some great passes while helping Neumann rally when it looked like Sullivan might win in a rout early. The Knights suffered a blow, though, when Johnson fouled out in overtime and strong rebounder Tyree Vidal was lost late in regulation. Ryan Reid, though, helped fill the void off the bench, igniting the team with his hustle while making three steals and adding two assists.
Neumann had the momentum entering overtime, but Sullivan played some of its best basketball, efficiently running its offense while hitting all three of its shots and not turning the ball over. Mullen had two of his eight assists during that time while Wilkins (9 points, 7 rebounds) and Meyer grabbed some huge rebounds that produced last-minute foul shots.
"We went in with the right mind, we did what our coaches wanted us to do and we got the win," Welton said. "This is a big road win for us."
Welton was unstoppable early, scoring 10 points in the game's first four minutes as Sullivan built its 13-point lead. The hard-working senior never tired despite having to guard Wenner, one of the area's best players. Wenner played another strong game, but Welton made him earn everything he got.
"It was a great game," Petcavage said. "You couldn't ask for anything more from both games."
SULLIVAN (54)
Sharif Welton 11 4-8 28, Kelby Mullen 3 1-3 7, Zach Meyer 2 0-2 6, Derek Wilkins 3 2-4 9, Dalton Molyneaux 1 0-1 2, Conner Wylie 1 0-1 2, Lucas Hatton 0 0-0 0, Calen Wylie 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 7-19 54.
NEUMANN (49)
Mike Wenner 7 4-8 19, Tyree Vidal 0 2-2 2, Alize Johnson 7 0-0 17, Jordan Cole 2 0-0 6, Conor Flynn 0 0-0 0, Noah Beiter 0 0-0 0, Pat Roman 1 0-0 2, Ryan Reid 1 1-4 3. Totals 18 7-14 49.
Sullivan17 6 10 11 10-54
Neumann8 15 9 12 5-49
3-pointers: Sullivan 5 (Welton 2, Meyer 2, Wilkins); Neumann 6 (Johnson 3, Cole 2, Wenner).
Records: Sullivan 16-3, 9-3 HAC-III. Neumann 14-5, 8-4.
JV Score: Sullivan 62-57, 3 OT
