Stingel's three-pointer at the buzzer stings VASJ

By Mike Parris

March 14, 2008, 10:19AM

Chase Stingel's three pointer from the corner with 0.5 seconds left gave Garaway a 50-47 victory over Villa Angela-St. Joseph in a Division III State Semifinal Friday morning in Columbus.

In a back-and-forth affair pitting the co-Ohio Division III Players of the Year, VASJ's Nate Barnes and Garaway's Tyler Gerber, it was Stingel who stole the show. The senior guard finished with a game-high 16 points (6-8 FG, 4-6 3pt).

With 5:30 to play in the game, VASJ took their first lead since early in the second quarter on a three-point play by senior guard Brian Jenkins at 45-44. The pace then slowed to a crawl, as each team went scoreless over the next four minutes.

Barnes' two free throws extended the VASJ lead to 47-44 with 1:33 remaining, but Stingel's deep three pointer on the ensuing possession hit nothing but net, deadlocking the game at 47 a piece heading into the final minute and foreshadowing things to come.

VASJ Head Coach Dave Wojciechowski decided to hold the ball for the final shot, but senior forward Ashen Ward lost his dribble out of bounds with 13.4 seconds left, turning the ball back over to Garaway for the final memorable possession.

The teams traded buckets throughout most of the opening quarter thanks to some ferocious offensive rebounding. VASJ pulled down five on the offensive glass in the first four minutes while Garaway responded with three offensive boards.

The offense picked up in the final two minutes of the first stanza. After Tyler Gerber and Ashen Ward traded 3-pointers, Stingel nailed a trey from the left wing to give Garaway a 12-9 lead. But VASJ responded quickly, as Ward dished to 6-foot-7 center Klein Harper, who flushed home a two-handed dunk to cut into the Pirates' lead as the first quarter ended.

The Vikings regained the lead 17-14 on two consecutive slams by Harper to open the second quarter. The lead didn't last long, however, as Gerber nailed a three-pointer and was fouled on the shot. His free throw completed the four-point play and the Pirates were back on top 20-17 with 4:38 to play in the first half.

Gerber staked the Pirates to a 30-25 advantage with 1:47 left with his third three-pointer of the half. An impressive drive to the basket by Garaway's 6-8 freshman Paul Honigford tacked on two more.

Ashen Ward closed out a furious final two minutes of play with his second three-pointer of the first half, cutting the VASJ deficit to 32-28 at the half.

Garaway couldn't shake VASJ, who continued to hang around thanks to Ward's stellar play. He drilled a three and hit a pull-up jumper from the right baseline to trim Garaway's lead to 38-37 midway through the third.

Junior David Gerber, younger brother of Tyler, sank a layup to push the Garaway lead to 42-39 with under 30 seconds remaining in the third. But VASJ tied the game heading to the fourth on a deep three-pointer by Barnes right before the horn sounded.

VASJ, who was making their eleventh state tournament appearance in school history, entered the game ranked seventh in the state. They close their season with a 21-5 record.

Third-ranked Garaway (24-3) will take on the winner of the Anna-Ottawa Glandorf semifinal matchup on Saturday for the Division III State Championship.