AN INSTANT CLASSIC

By Joe Scalzo

Last-second 3 lifts YCS past Kennedy

Caleb Yanno hit the game-winner in a regional semifinal.

CANTON —With the score tied at 46 and less than 10 seconds remaining in the biggest game in school history, Youngstown Christian junior Torriell Grier dribbled upcourt, surveyed the defense and whipped a pass to his left, where classmate Caleb Yanno stood alone behind the 3-point line.

Here’s a little background on Yanno. First, he hadn’t made a shot all night. Second, he hadn’t made a game-winning shot in his career. Third, if you injected YCS coach Dolph Carroll with truth serum, he’d admit Yanno probably wouldn’t make the top five in a list of players he’d pick (at least on Tuesday) to take the last shot — and he’d almost certainly be behind his older brother, Dante.

But in a game where unsung players kept stepping up for YCS, Yanno didn’t hesitate, burying the shot with 1.5 seconds left to set off a mad celebration in front of the team’s bench.

The clock read 0:00, but Warren JFK coach Bruce Timko had called a timeout. But Kennedy was forced to go the length of the floor and JFK sophomore Carl Broadbent could only throw up a prayer behind the half-court line that went wide right, giving Youngstown Christian a 49-46 win in Tuesday’s Division IV regional semifinal at the Canton Fieldhouse.

“I wasn’t shooting very well for the whole game, but I felt real good about the last one,” said Yanno. “I felt like I could hit it. When it left my hands, I knew it was going in.

“Thank God it did.”

A few days after winning its first district title — in any sport — YCS is one win away from a trip to Columbus. Youngstown Christian (21-3) will meet Lutheran East in the regional final at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“It’s just unbelievable,” said Carroll, a former assistant coach at YSU in just his second season with YCS. “Just a good basketball game all around.

“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but hey. ...”

YCS buried JFK in their first meeting this season, 81-67, on Feb. 7 and it looked like it might happen again, as Youngstown Christian used a 12-0 run midway through the first quarter to grab a 15-7 lead. But YCS got in foul trouble and with six minutes left in the second quarter, its three best players — senior Olonzo Johnson, junior John Pecchia and sophomore Anthony Walker — were shackled to the bench with two fouls.

JFK took advantage, scoring the final 17 points of the quarter to grab a 31-25 halftime lead. As YCS’s foul trouble continued — Pecchia fouled out with six minutes left, while Johnson (who had just two points, 17 below his average) and Walker each played with four fouls — Kennedy managed to hold the lead for 90 percent of the second half. But thanks to terrific defense and good ball control (YCS forced seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and only committed one in the second half), along with five 3-pointers in the fourth quarter (including two huge ones from junior Victor Shaw), Youngstown Christian hung around.

“It says a lot about our team,” said Yanno. “Our team is obviously a team. Not one or two players that take over every time.

“We can’t always count on our star players. Everybody has bad games. Other people have to step up and make big shots.”

Kennedy’s best player, 6-7 senior Nick Brown, was tremendous, scoring 26 points — including 18 in the first half — to go with 11 rebounds and five steals. His last bucket — a twisting, soaring layup with Johnson all but inside his shirt — tied the game with 10 seconds left.

But it wasn’t enough for JFK, which was in the regional for the first time since 1985.

“One thing I told our kids before game was, ‘Don’t let up, don’t let Youngstown Christian play harder than you,’ and they didn’t,” said Timko. “They left it all on the court and as a coach that’s all you can ask for.

scalzo@vindy.com