By PAUL GOTHAM
CALEDONIA, N.Y. — The lead changed hands 13 times through the first 29 minutes of Friday’s Cal-Mum Holiday Tournament championship.
York’s Golden Knights held a four-point advantage with 2:05 left on the clock.
Wheatland-Chili’s Leighton Williams figured there needed to be one more swing of the pendulum.
And the junior guard took matters into his own hands.
Williams scored the last seven points, and the Wildcats pulled away for a 49-46 win.
“I got a team that looks up to me,” he said. “My team is really working hard to get me the ball when the defense is overplaying.”
After converting 2-of-3 from the free throw line, the 5-foot-11 guard connected on a pull-up jumper from the right side of the floor to tie the game at 46 with 31.9 seconds remaining.
“I just knew I had to take over,” Williams said. “They were playing a packline defense. We couldn’t get it in the paint, so we had to take shots from the outside and knock them down.”
After a stop on the defensive end, there was no question where the ball was going when Wheatland-Chili took possession.
The play started on the right side where Williams entered the ball to teammate Kiev Elzey. Williams cut through the lane. Elzey looked to switch sides of floor when he passed to Louden Thrush at the top of the key.
When Williams worked free on the left, Thrush fed his teammate and followed the pass with a ball screen. Williams jabbed then froze the defender with an upfake before using the pick going to his right.
“I was going to shoot right away when I hit the jab step,” he said. “I just needed a little bit more space to get it up.”
With a hand in his face, the left-hander let if fly from 20 feet.
Leighton Williams. Ballgame. Wheatland-Chili 49 York 46 pic.twitter.com/0CblvwJBmF
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 30, 2023
Leighton Williams ties the score at 46. pic.twitter.com/MdYvji29BY
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 30, 2023
Leighton Williams pulls up in the lane to start the third-quarter scoring. Wheatland trails York 25-24. pic.twitter.com/odtQxd8f2P
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 30, 2023
“Once it came off my hand it felt good. I knew it was going in.”
It was his second 3-pointer of the night. He connected from distance in the first quarter, but did his work in the lane over the next 23 minutes of the game. He finished with a game-high 26 points to earn Tournament MVP honors.
“It came off the fingertips perfectly.”
The Wildcats (5-2) needed one more stop to seal the victory.
“We just had to stay calm,” Williams said of the last possession. “Don’t let them get it to (York guard) Jake (Pangrazio). That boy can shoot the ball. Our game plan was as soon as they inbound it to foul, but they took a tough shot and it didn’t fall. We came out with the victory.”
Jaden Schwenebraten added 13 points in the win. Thrush had seven, and Jackson Semmel had three points for the Wildcats.
Pangrazio led York (8-2/No. 2 NYSSWA Class C) with 16 points. Connor Rodwell had 11 including a steal and layup for a 41-40 lead with just under four minutes to go in the game. Rodwell’s 3 gave York its last lead at 46-42. Joe Bauer contributed 11 points for the Golden Knights. Tyler Brady had eight points – all from the free throw line.
Steal and layup, Connor Rodwell, gives York a 41-40 lead. pic.twitter.com/UNYC7z3Hkx
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) December 30, 2023
Neither team led by more than five points in the game.
The 46 points was a season-low for York which averages 71.7 points per game.
“We really worked hard,” Williams said. “That was our best defensive game of the year, and they were big. They’re really big.”
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