BOYS DIVISION III Springfield pulls upset over Ursuline

The Tigers' 46-43 win puts them in Friday's championship game with Rootstown.
SALEM -- The Springfield High boys basketball team has been flying under the radar all season.
The Tigers didn't dominate the field in the Inter-County League. They didn't play as brutal a schedule as some did. And, as the fourth seed in the Division III Salem district tournament, no one expected them to do too much damage.
No one that is, except themselves.
Springfield controlled the boards and played strong defense en route to a stunning 46-43 victory over top-seeded Ursuline in a district semifinal Wednesday night.
"We talked about having a will to win and we had that tonight," said Springfield coach Grant Spaite with tears in his eyes. "No one gave us a chance to win these last two games. But the kids believed in each other and didn't listen. They just played hard and I'm so proud of them."
The Tigers advance to Friday's district final against second-seeded Rootstown, which knocked off No. 3 Waterloo 39-34 in the other semifinal.
Disappointing loss
For Ursuline coach Keith Gunther, the loss was a tough one to swallow. After a 17-3 regular season, he had high hopes for his team in the postseason.
He was as stunned as anyone after falling to Springfield.
"This is the most disappointing loss of my whole life," he said. "I expected great things this season and I thought we'd go much deeper than this in the tournament.
"Springfield played an excellent game and they beat us on the boards and to every loose ball. They played defense and we decided that offense was more important than defense and that's why we lost."
Actually, it was Ursuline's 2-3 matchup zone that forced Springfield to make some offensive changes.
Changed offense
Struggling to get the ball inside, Springfield went to a smaller lineup, bringing 6-3, 240-pound forward Luke Summers to the top of the offense and inserting Andrew Schuler at guard.
The adjustment was just what the Tigers needed. With Ursuline ahead 20-13 in the second quarter, Springfield battled back with its new look offense to trail just 26-22 at the half.
"I do a lot of ball handling in practice," said Summers. "We call that offense the 'chin' and I'm the one post on that. I play outside a lot on that, so I'm comfortable there.
"We have a lot of guys who can play multiple positions and we have three big guys so that if one is struggling, the other two can step it up."
Springfield's big guns -- Summers, Aaron Wood and Zach DeJane -- controlled the lane at both ends, combining for 26 points. The Tigers grabbed 30 rebounds as a team, including 25 on the defensive end.
"We knew we had to rebound and limit their possessions," said Spaite. "Our big guys just kept attacking, we boxed out and played defense."
Wild finish
After a back-and-fourth second half, the contest came down to the final minute.
Ursuline's last lead came at 39-37 on a Terry Vidale basket with 2:51 remaining.
Three ties later, DeJane scored the biggest basket of his career -- a layup with nine seconds remaining.
Ursuline's Carey Palermo misfired on a 3-pointer at the top of the key and Wood grabbed the rebound. With 2.5 seconds left, he drained a free throw to seal the win.
"We just decided not to play defense," said Gunther. "When you're giving up layups at the end then you aren't playing defense. We just expected to walk out on the court and win.
"Springfield just proved that the seed you are doesn't matter. You still have to show up and play. Tonight, they did and we didn't."