Detweiler goes Skywalker to push Hawks past Knights

Remember that scene in “Star Wars: A New Hope” where Luke Skywalker is careening down that tiny alley while attacking the Death Star in hopes of firing off a nearly no chance shot to destroy the man-made planet?

He turns off his equipment, lets the Force take over and his shot expertly finds its mark, diving down the hole to reach its ultimate destination, mission accomplished.

“Great shot kid. That was one in a million,” Han Solo says.

Well, apparently Sammy Detweiler is Luke Skywalker.

The Hiland star pretty much turned Skywalker’s classic shot on screen into a basketball dream scenario by firing home a 75-footer at the end of the third quarter that ignited Hiland and sent it to a 47-32 win in a game that was far, far closer than the score could possibly indicate.

“We weren’t scoring; they weren’t scoring, and then that happened,” West Holmes head coach Ben Belden said. “They definitely were able to ride that momentum. It was a boost they needed but give them credit. Sam made a play and hit a shot that is rarely ever made.”

The cross-county rivalry between visiting Hiland and host West Holmes on Tuesday, Feb. 20 was turned upside down by one of the most improbable shots, one that helped swing momentum to the Hawks’ side of the ledger.

The two teams had battled through the first two periods in typical knockdown, drag-out rivalry fashion, with Hiland threatening to pull away mid-second quarter thanks to the play of Alex Miller and Nick Wigton, who gave Hiland a 23-17 lead on a score inside.

“I really thought we had a chance to put some distance between us right there and seize control, but then Collier Cline hit a huge three and got them right back in it,” Hiland coach Mark Schlabach said. “They were just relentless.”

A Nate Fair drive and Nate Sprang’s score with 56 seconds to play in the half sent both teams into the locker room tied at 23 and set the table for a truly weird third period.

Detweiler, Hiland’s most current 1,000-point scorer, hit a trey to begin the third quarter. Then the basketball gods but a lid on the rim until the 2:54 mark when Sam Sprang drove home a triple to even things.

And that was it for scoring in the period, that was until the improbable with 2.7 ticks left.

A Knights turnover with that time remaining under their own bucket saw the Hawks taking the ball out having to go the length of the floor. Wisely, Belden pulled his crew back to three-quarter court defense, not wanting to foul a last-second heave.

Hiland inbounded to Detweiler, who took one dribble and launched a shot from beyond three-quarter court.

In an anything but normal moment as time expired, Detweiler’s shot flew through the air, almost as if in slow motion, and whistled through the net cleanly, not even drawing backboard or iron.

“It was a big momentum shift for sure,” Schlabach said. “It seemed to help get us going. Anything in that game was big because we are struggling offensively right now.”

It was a missile that hurt the Knights deeply and sent the Hawks on a 10-0 run to start the final quarter, which sealed WH’s fate.

Almost to add insult to injury, Detweiler’s dart took place right in front of Belden at West Holmes’ bench, the Knights’ head coach having a perfect sightline from launch to finish.

“As soon as he let it go, I said out loud, ‘Oh please, no.’ I could tell it was right on line,” Belden said. “That shot doesn’t ever go in. I’d give anyone that shot every time because it never goes in. Only it did this time.”

That shot took a Hiland team struggling to score the past couple of games and sent a shock wave through the players. It ignited the Hawks. Wigton scored inside, and Detweiler hit a much more conventional 20-foot trey. Miller made an assist to Logan Hershberger inside, and Detweiler made a steal and set up another one of his daggers from deep. Just like that, a tied game turned into a 39-26 Hiland advantage.

Despite Fair’s and-one and Koyer Miller’s triple, the Knights couldn’t close the gap.

While Detweiler won’t remember all of his 1,000-plus points in his career, this shot on this night will certainly be one to tell the grandkids decades from now.

A good game at a good time

Both coaches said they enjoy this game at the end of the year very much, and all records aside, both said it helped prepare them for the tournament.

“That’s a dangerous team,” Schlabach said. “We tell our kids West Holmes plays in a brutal conference. They’ve got a really tough schedule, and they’ve lost a lot of close games, so you can’t look at the record. We know every year that they’re going to give everything they have, and they did, and it made it a great learning opportunity for us heading into the tournament.”

A Fair effort

Nate Fair’s night was anything but fair. It was excellent.

“He hurt us in every aspect of the game,” Schlabach said. “He got it going and scored in every way possible. He’s just a strong presence to deal with.”

Letting them play

Schlabach likes it when referees let the Hawks play loose and free defensively. That was the case in this one, and it allowed Hiland to push West Holmes nearly to half court in setting its offense.

“We know that’s how we have to play based on the size we have,” Schlabach said. “I thought Logan and Sammy played outstanding defense out front.”

“Hiland does that in a way that I don’t think anyone on our schedule ever does,” Belden said about the half-court defense. “That made execution difficult for us, and I think it was a great learning experience for us.”

Knights de-Clined

Much of the chore of stopping Detweiler fell on the capable shoulders of feisty Knights guard Lynn Cline.

So when Cline found himself in foul trouble early, it hurt West Holmes, forcing Belden to alter his plans.

“We played zone early on, but in man it was Lynn’s job, and he does such a great job with little accolades. Detweiler’s a great player and can make plays seemingly at will, so when we lost Lynn for much of the second half, it definitely hurt us.”

Statistically speaking

Fair paced the Knights with 16 points while Collier Cline added eight. The Hawks got a game-high 17 from Detweiler, 13 from Wigton and six from Miller.