Lyons has season end in heart-breaking fashion

By PAUL GOTHAM

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – In a second half that contained two ties and 10 lead changes, the final swing of momentum came as the final horn sounded.

Jackson Crisman connected on his third 3-pointer of the game as time expired, and Cooperstown (26-0) advanced to the NYS Class C championship game with a 66-64 victory over Lyons (24-3).

The loss brought an end to the season for Lyons which was making its seventh state semifinal appearance in program history.

“We had a great year,” said Lyons head coach, Zac Young. “It’s tough, tough, tough to lose like that.”

With 4.4 seconds left on the clock, Cooperstown had the ball out of bounds near the half court line.

Miles Nelen, who led all scorers in the game with 26 points, inbounded the ball 40 feet from the basket. Crisman cut across the floor from the opposite low block and caught the ball beyond the arc. Crisman attempted to return the ball to a cutting Nelen, but Jah Jah Smith denied the return.

With time running out and the first option not available, Crisman pivoted and let go of an off-balanced shot.

“We did a good job of not having Nelen get the last shot,” Young said. “You could tell they wanted to go to him. He just threw up a prayer, and that’s March Madness. That’s why we love it, and that’s why, that’s why we hate it.”

Seconds earlier it appeared Stephen LeBrecht would wear the game’s hero cape. With Lyons trailing 63-60, LeBrecht drew context on a 3-point shot. After he converted from the stripe, Lyons led 64-63 with 8.8 seconds.

With fouls to give, Lyons used the infractions to force Cooperstown to take time off the clock. After two whistles, the Hawkeyes had the ball out-of-bounds one more time.

“We executed twice to get the ball out-of-bounds,” Young said.

A Kaywon Butler three gave Lyons a 25-19 lead midway through the second quarter, but the Lions trailed 28-27 heading into halftime.

“I didn’t think we played our best basketball, Young said of the first half. “We rushed a little bit offensively. We were taking some bad shots. 
We talked about in the second half, kind of getting back to what got us here. And, you know, just trying to take better shots.”

JJ Johnson led Lyons with 18 points and 18 rebounds. LeBrecht scored 13. Contrell Parker Jr. and Butler had 12 apiece.

Crisman finished with 16.

The Hawkeyes will play Berne-Knox-Westerlo (21-6) in the championship game on Sunday.