By BILLY HEYEN
HILTON, N.Y. — Everyone in the gym knew who was getting the ball for Hilton with the shot clock off and the game tied in overtime. Tahjae Hill won a game at the buzzer a season ago. He was called on for the game-winning attempt at the end of regulation Saturday. His coach thinks he’s the best player in Rochester. With the Cadets hosting their holiday tournament and trying to win it for the second-straight year, there was only one thing left for Hill to do: Make the shot.
A crossover dribble left-to-right followed by two attack dribbles toward the right elbow were defended well by Eastridge. Hill was forced to stop, pivot and fadeaway off his left leg.
No problem. Swish.
“It felt good,” Hill said of the final shot. “It looked a little high, so I thought I was gonna airball it. But that’s probably just because I was falling down. It came off perfect. I felt it kind of a little short. But hey, it went in.”
TAHJAE HILL BALL GAME. @PickinSplinters @Hiltonhoops @HiltonCadets @iamtahjaehill @jml5798 pic.twitter.com/vGjSjZmMYm
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) December 29, 2019
Hill’s buzzer-beater meant he finished Saturday’s game with 49 points for Hilton in the Cadets’ 81-79 overtime win over Eastridge. Hill made all four of Hilton’s field goals in overtime, including the one that tied the game before hitting the winner. With a relatively young Cadets team still trying to fit all the pieces together, Hill proved that as long as they have him, they’re in every ball game.
“We stayed true, we believed in ourselves and we came out with a win,” Hill said.
The hype for Saturday’s game existed before it even tipped off. Former Gates-Chili star Keith Slack was in attendance and said pregame that he was there to see “Tahj versus Tony.” Senior guards Hill and Eastridge’s Tony Arnold — who finished with 26 points — are “close friends,” Hill said. Both wear No. 0. Both are their team’s unquestioned top dog.
Hill scored seven quick points to take an early lead. Arnold had six of his own shortly after. A Hill pull-up jumper from the right side of the floor took an eight-point lead in the second quarter, but the margin wouldn’t be that wide the rest of the night.
Cramps threatened to derail Hill’s evening. He’s dealt with them before, but he’d never felt his hips, hamstrings and calves “locking up” like they were Saturday, he said. Multiple times, Hill stayed on the ground after a play, needing to have a leg stretched upward by a trainer. The issue sent him to the bench for a couple short stretches.
“I had to sacrifice, and it wasn’t nothing that was gonna take me out,” Hill said. “I just had to fight through it. Just got it done. Got it in my mind, don’t quit, don’t stop.”
Hilton coach Troy Prince said that each time Hill came out with the cramps, he was almost immediately begging to go back in the game. “I’m not gonna say no to him,” Prince added.
For his part, Hill continued to push through the cramps with a variety of moves to score. There was a eurostep layup in transition, a floater in the lane, a hopstep for an and-1, and pull-up jumpers on both sides of the floor. Hill’s scoring onslaught came on a night when he was the only Hilton player in double figures.
By the end of regulation, Hilton was inbounding from the sideline with 1.6 seconds on the clock. The Cadets attempted a pass to Hill as he cut toward the corner, but a deflection forced a rushed heave that didn’t fall. There’d be four extra minutes of the back-and-forth contest.
When Hill’s first attack of overtime resulted in a charge call, it looked like things might go Eastridge’s way. But then Arnold fouled out, and the stage was set for Hill. Steal for a layup. Floater in the lane. Lefty layup to tie the game.
Hill ties it at 79 in overtime. @PickinSplinters pic.twitter.com/xjUToBePTq
— Billy Heyen (@BillyHeyen) December 29, 2019
Prince knew in his final huddle that Hill needed to end overtime with the ball in his hands. But facing Eastridge’s full-court press, the question was, ‘How?’ Hilton inbounded to Preston Prince, who drove down the floor as Hill cut back toward him. The coach’s son pitched the ball to Hill and followed his dad’s final instruction to him: “Then, get out of the way.”
Hill wasn’t feeling his cramps at that moment, but as he rose up and landed on the game’s final shot, he felt the pain again. It forced him to the ground. When he saw the ball drop through the basket, though, adrenaline wiped the pain away.
The senior sprung off the ground, sprinted toward the stands and was mobbed by his teammates. He’d made the shot everyone knew he’d be taking. It was exactly where he wanted to be.
“Times like this, I pray for times like this,” Hill said. “Not too many people get these times. You’ve just got to enjoy it while it lasts and just go out with a bang.”
Leave a Reply