By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
DIAMOND — Never count out the Ash Grove Pirates.
Sophomore Brady Nicholson hit the go-ahead shot with .4 seconds to play, capping off a wild fourth-quarter comeback and lifting the Pirates to their first district championship since 2014.
Ash Grove trailed Diamond, the Class 3 District 12 tournament hosts, by six with three minutes to go, but rallied for a 44-43 victory in an instant classic that featured three lead changes in the final 12 seconds. Nicholson finished with a game-high 27 points, none bigger than his final two.
“We never give up,” Nicholson said. “That’s what I love about this team.”
Ash Grove cruised to a 23-point regular-season victory over Diamond on January 11, which marked the beginning of a 13-game win streak. But the Pirates had trouble getting shots to fall all night and trailed the rematch 39-33 when they called a timeout with 3:11 left in regulation.
Senior Sam Moreland scored four in a row to make it 39-37 with 2:23 remaining, then Nicholson intercepted a pass, was fouled immediately and hit both free-throws to tie things up with 1:47 left.
The score remained even until Diamond senior Hunter Shallenburger scored with 22.4 seconds to play, but Nicholson was just getting started. He converted an and-one to put the Pirates up 42-41 with 11.9 seconds left — which was an eternity, given how the last three minutes had unfolded.
Sure enough, Shallenburger hit a floater through quadruple coverage to put Diamond back on top with 5.5 to go, but Nicholson delivered yet again. He scored on a virtually identical move to his last go-ahead shot and drew yet another foul. This time he intentionally missed the free-throw and Diamond never got another shot off, closing the book on Ash Grove’s comeback.
“Brady has been a rock for us throughout the season,” Pirates coach Grant Williamson said. “He’s been one of our best scorers and in games like tonight where it’s a struggle, he’s really a guy that just doesn’t want to lose. You saw it tonight. He just made the plays when they needed to be made.”
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Nicholson’s last-second heroics allowed the Pirates to overcome a dismal first half in which they scored just 13 points. But they held Diamond to 17 and trailed by just four points at halftime.
“Diamond guarded really well,” Williamson said. “They contested everything and it was hard to get good shots. And then when we did get some good shots, we just didn’t make them. That’s sometimes how it goes. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t. Fortunately, toward the end of the game, they started to go in. Just kind of a lull. Credit to our guys for sticking with it.”
The win allowed Ash Grove’s storybook season to continue for at least a few more days.
After going 16-58 in the past three seasons, the Pirates are 23-3 as they head into the state tournament. They’ve already won more games than any season since at least 2009, clinched their first outright conference title since 1985 and have now added a district win to their resume.
“I think all that losing really drove us through the season,” Nicholson said. “It’s pushed us forward. Last year, we lost a bunch of games. We’re picking the teams out that beat us last year and we’re going to try to beat them this year. It’s worked out great for us all season.”
Having Nicholson has helped, too.
“Brady is a stud,” said Moreland, who finished with 12 points. “He’s come in and he’s really helped us turn this program around. That shot was one of the biggest shots I’ve ever seen.”
Ash Grove has a chance to earn the school’s best finish since placing second in the state in 2003, but they first must go through Strafford in their sectional round.
Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m. Wednesday at Willard High School.
Currently ranked fifth in the state, the Indians (20-8) defeated Sparta to win the District 11 title on Friday. The Indians had finished second in their district in each of the past five seasons.
“It’s going to be a tall order for us to compete with them,” Williamson said. “I say a lot about our guys. If there’s one thing that’s true about them, it’s that they’ll never stop surprising us. They just find ways to get it done. I wouldn’t be surprised next week if they just find a way to compete.”
Diamond finished 15-13, painfully close to what would have been its first district title since 2001.
“The lead changes were a crazy, crazy end to the game,” Wildcats coach Bryan Adams said. “But we were .4 seconds away from a district championship. It can flip just like that. You have to be able to power through. They make a shot, we have to stay focused and stay ready to go down. Even in short-time situations, we have to keep our composure because they’re going to hit a shot. That’s a really good basketball team and they’re going to hit shots late. We needed to be able to keep our composure through all of that mess and try to battle back.”
Shallenburger finished with 18 points in his final high school game. He played a major role in helping the Wildcats secure their winningest season since the 2013 team finished 19-6.
“I’m proud to be with this group of kids,” Adams said. “Looking back in the past couple years, we wouldn’t have been in this fight. We wouldn’t have been in this championship game. We wouldn’t be in a battle like we were tonight. We have to be proud with the way we played.”
Thanks to Nicholson, the Pirates can be proud too.
“We really like those close ones – the nail-biters you have to pull out at the last minute to win,” Williamson said. “I’m really proud of our guys. It was a great atmosphere. Both teams played their hearts out. We were fortunate that we came out on top.”
