Posted Thursday, January 15, 2009 by Mike Johnston

It may not have been basketball at its finest, but it sure was entertaining and dripping with drama at every turn.

And when the final horn sounded on Corning West’s 48-47 overtime victory over Corning East, it marked the end of what is becoming a typical game for the Vikings defensively.

For the second straight game, the Vikings limited their opponent to less than 50 points in a game that went to overtime. West’s final game in the Coaches vs. Cancer Holiday tournament was a 48-45 OT loss to Horseheads.

However, this time around, the Vikings prevailed with less than 50 themselves.

“Our defense came up real big for us once again and was up to the challenge,” West head coach Mike Johnston said. “I thought that both teams came out real tight. But now that we’re in the second half of the season, we want to put ourselves in a position to make a nice run.”

Junior Kevin Childs buried a pair of free throws with 29.4 seconds left in overtime, which enabled West to go up by two at the time and hold on for its first STAC West win of the season.

The Trojans cut the deficit to one by making one of two free throws with 9.5 seconds left. After West missed on the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity with 7.9 seconds left, the Trojans had one last chance, but turned the ball over with 1.5 seconds left.

Childs then sealed the victory by catching Austin Rose’s long inbound pass and running out the clock.

The Vikings improved to 3-7 overall and 1-4 in the STAC West with the win. Although West managed just 48 points in the win, the Vikings spread the wealth offensively as four different players scored at least nine points.

Caleb McCaig buried a pair of 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 11 points, while Childs chipped in with 10 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line.

Nick Dobson added nine points and seven rebounds for the Vikings, while teammate Austin Rose finished with nine points and four rebounds. Nate Whitehead had a big game off the bench for West, picking up six points and six rebounds in the win.

“Nate and Jon Whitehead gave us some real good minutes off the bench,” Johnston said.

One offensive oddity that came out of the Vikings’ win was the fact they converted a pair of key four-point plays.

At the 4:51 mark of the third quarter, Rose turned a two-point deficit into a two-point lead after drilling a 3 while being fouled.

With the score knotted at 38-38 in the fourth quarter, McCaig drained a 3 from the left corner and converted the four-point play at the line to put West up by four with 3:24 left.

But the scrappy Trojans forced three West turnovers over the final two minutes and tied the score at 42-42 when Nick Jakobson knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Neither team managed a point over the final 1:30 of the fourth quarter, which led to the extra four-minute period.

“We’ve had two real close games and I really thought that would help us,” East head coach Rick Gallant said. “But West has had close games just about every time out.”

Dobson got West started in overtime by hitting a tough 12-foot jumper with a hand in his face.
But East countered when freshman Brandon Griffin sliced through the West defense and hit a layup.

Griffin buried a pair of 3-pointers and finished with 12 points to lead all East scorers. Justin Patterson also dropped in two from long distance and poured in 11 points. Phil Manuel came off the bench and scored seven of his eight points in the fourth quarter to help the Trojans force overtime.

“Phil Manuel played an excellent game off the bench,” Gallant said.

East (2-5, 0-4) will host Ithaca at 7:45 p.m. Friday. West (3-7, 1-4) will host Union-Endicott at 7:45 p.m. Friday.



Boys Basketball
STAC West
Corning West 48, Corning East 47 (OT)
East (2-5, 0-4)
George Baity 2 1-3 5, Nick Jakobson 2 0-0 5, Justin Patterson 3 3-5 11, Brandon Griffin 5 0-0 12, Drey Simpson 2 2-4 6, Phil Manuel 2 3-5 8. Totals 16 9-17 47.
West (3-7, 1-4)
Ross Sidebottom 1 0-0 3, Nick Dobson 4 1-2 9, Austin Rose 3 2-3 9, Caleb McCaig 3 3-4 11, Nate Whitehead 3 0-0 6, Kevin Childs 3 4-4 10.
East        9 9 13 11 5 – 47
West    7 13 13 9 6 – 48
3-point goals: East 6 (Jakobson, Patterson 2, Griffin 2, Manuel), West 4 (Sidebottom, Rose, McCaig 2).