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Williams’ foul shots lift Indians to outright AAC Blue title
By Greg Gulas
GIRARD
When practicing with his father, Girard’s Chaston Williams often found himself placed in situations with the game on the line, having to convert a bucket or free throw in order for his team to win.
On Friday against arch-rival Liberty, Williams gladly toed the line with 2.2 seconds remaining, needing to sink a free throw in order to give his team the lead with the outright, All-American Conference, Blue Tier championship on the line.
Williams’ two free throws helped lift the Indians (16-4, 10-2) to a 64-62 victory over the Leopards (4-14, 3-8) as Girard earned a second consecutive league title under head coach Craig Hannon.
“I missed two free throws about 90 seconds earlier so all I wanted to do was stay calm, block out any distractions and just sink both free throws,” Williams said. “One of our goals at the beginning of the season was to be outright league champion and tonight we accomplished that goal.”
Dylan O’Hara scored a game-high 25 points for the Indians while Williams and Mark Standohar each had nine.
Girard swept the season series. The Indians beat Liberty, 59-58, on Jan. 13.
“It was a battle the last time we played each other and another battle tonight,” O’Hara said. “This is a great rivalry game and the fact that we won the outright crown makes the win that much more special.”
The game featured seven ties and 16 lead changes as Girard raced to a 15-10 advantage after the first eight minutes of play.
O’Hara, who scored 14 of his team’s first 20 points, helped the Indians to a 20-16 lead. Nine points from Lynn Bowden in the second quarter gave the Leopards a 26-25 halftime lead.
Eight points by Liberty’s Leslie Carter and six by Tyler Kilbourn eof Girard left the game tied at 48 after three quarters.
Williams was fouled the game tied at 62 with 2.2 seconds left. He calmly made both shots as Girard improved to 8-1 at home.
Foul shooting proved to be a challenge for both teams as Liberty was just 14 of 22 from the line and Girard a meager 14 of 27.
“Free-throw shooting has been our Achilles’ heel all season long, but credit Chaston because he converted the two most important free throws of the game,” Hannon said. “When he went to the line I didn’t say a thing to him, because at that point in the game, it was up to him.”
The Leopards have lost four games this season by seven total points.
“We’ve battled all year long and battled through a lot of adversity tonight,” Liberty head coach Dan Bubon said. “Our kids hung together and I really felt like they should have won the game. We had three sophomores and two freshmen on the court at the end with a chance to beat the league champions.”