Wednesday, March 11th, 2020
Division IV Boys Basketball Regional Semifinals
Picture Perfect
Parkway holds on to beat Tiffin Calvert, advances to regional championship game
By Colin Foster
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Jason Luth (23) and Gavin Stober (5) celebrates with Caleb Kinney (40) after defeating Tiffin Calvert, 44-42, in the Division IV regional semifinals on Tuesday at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green.
BOWLING GREEN - Parkway coach Doug Hughes stood next to players Caleb Kinney and Nick Hawk in the media room of the Stroh Center on the campus of Bowling Green State University late Tuesday night.
After getting one step closer to state, the Panthers were trying to figure out the first step of the post-game press conference.
"Parkway's never been here before. What do we do?" Hughes joked. "Coach me here."
The Panthers will know the drill when they return on Friday.
Parkway won a nail-biter in its first-ever appearance in the Division IV regional semifinal, defeating Tiffin Calvert 44-42 in a game that was entertaining and physical from opening tip to the final horn.
"We knew it'd be tough coming in," Hawk said. "But we just stuck with it the entire game and didn't give up on each other."
A pair of free throws by Hawk vaulted the Panthers ahead by one point with 29 seconds left. The Senecas missed a pair of tries for the go-ahead bucket, and Hawk was fouled again. He sunk the first of two freebies with 3.1 seconds on the clock but missed the second.
Then came what had to feel like the longest 3.1 seconds in Parkway basketball history.
Nick Seifert rebounded Hawk's miss and heaved a high-arcing shot from three-quarter court. The shot drew front iron, bounced off the backboard and fell to the floor.
"I thought it was in," Seifert said.
Hawk had been waiting for a chance at the winning free throws all year. The senior even had a response prepared when he was asked what was going through his mind.
"I knew what I was going to say to this," Hawk replied. "Everyday when we're shooting free throws, coach (Zach) Bates always comes up behind me and tells me 'These shots are for a big game.' I dream that up. I picture it."
And Parkway's picture-perfect season continues.
On Friday, Parkway (19-7) will return to Bowling Green to meet top-ranked Columbus Grove (26-0) in the regional final at 7 p.m. Grove defeated No. 2 Antwerp 55-50 in the opening semifinal.
Calvert led Parkway for more than 18 minutes. Calvert's largest lead was nine and Parkway's was six. The game had four ties and seven lead changes. Through all of that, Parkway remained resilient and tough like it has been all season.
"Calvert's a heckuva team," said Hughes, "and it was a heckuva team win for us, especially after getting down early."
The Panthers got off to a rocky start, falling behind 4-0 as Mitch Nielsen scored four points in under a minute. After a pair of free throws by Dylan Hughes and an inside hoop by Kinney tied it, Calvert went on a 6-0 run over the next three minutes. Seifert scored six in the frame for Calvert.
The Senecas' lead grew to nine early in the second quarter, then Parkway's Caden Slusher heated up. The sophomore sharpshooter buried the first of his two second quarter 3-pointers with just over six minutes remaining in the half. After a defensive stop at the other end, Corey Walls collected a Kinney miss for two points. Hawk later battled his way for a basket and then Slusher sunk his second 3 with 2:45 to play. The score was 19-17 Calvert after Parkway closed the half with a 10-3 run.
Parkway finished the half shooting 6-of-13 from the field. Calvert cooled down in the second quarter after hitting nearly 50% of its shot attempts in the first, ending the half making 9-of-24 shots.
Kinney gave Parkway its first lead of the night to start the second half. He split a pair of free throws after getting fouled on the opening possession before scoring off an offensive rebound the next trip down. The lead changed hands three times throughout the quarter. The Panthers held a three-point advantage late in the frame, but a trey by Blake Ronski just before the horn leveled the game at 30-apiece.
The first hoop of the fourth quarter went to Kinney. A Garrett Spaun triple returned the lead to Calvert. A Kinney free throw tied it. A Kinney 3 began a 6-0 Parkway run. After a missed shot by Calvert, Kinney dove on the floor, took a hit, secured the ball and passed to Dylan Hughes. The ball found its way from Hughes to wide-open Slusher in the corner for a 3 and a six-point lead.
But Calvert kept coming.
A 3-point play by Seifert cut Parkway's lead to 41-40 with 2:13 to play. Seconds later, a steal allowed Seifert to score the go-ahead layup. Dylan Hughes then had a 3-point try rim in and out. Calvert missed a chance at the other end, though, as Jack Shultz failed to hit the front end of a 1-and-1 with 40 seconds remaining. Hawk drew a foul driving to the hoop with 29 seconds to go and sunk what ended up being the game-winning free throws.
Seifert corralled an offensive rebound after a missed shot by his teammate with 10 seconds left. Following a Calvert timeout, Ronski drove and couldn't convert a layup while being defended by Hawk, who snatched the rebound and was fouled.
"Nick did a great job getting that rebound, being extremely strong and making some big free throws for us down the stretch," coach Hughes said.
"It may have looked like we were rattled at times, but I never felt like we were rattled or we were out of the game," he added. "I thought we stayed composed and stayed confident and played well together. Even though we were up six and down late, I had a good feeling that we would make the right play and we did. We made just enough plays and enough free throws to win."
Kinney led Parkway with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Dylan Hughes and Slusher each pitched in nine points. Hawk added eight.
Seifert had 14 points and 11 boards for Calvert.
Parkway fans gave their team a standing ovation at the game's conclusion. The Parkway players, coaches and cheerleaders posed for a group picture with the student section.
"If you look up (in the stands), it's unreal," Kinney said. "I mean we sold out Wapak last week. It's just great support. Everyone's coming out. It's an 8 o'clock game on a Tuesday in Bowling Green. You see the stands. You see everything we got. We love it. We thank everyone for coming out."
"It's been a lot of fun. All three communities - Willshire, Rockford, Mendon - are fully supporting the Panthers," coach Hughes added.
It may be the last time this team plays in front of the entire fanbase, as the OHSAA announced Tuesday it would limit fan attendance to games in response to coronavirus concerns.
Even if fans dressed in black and gold aren't in the stands on Friday, the basketball team is ready to see this thing through - for them.
"We know they'll be supporting us from home even if they can't come," Hawk said. "So we're going to go out there and play for them."
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Nick Hawk (32) drives inside for a basket against Tiffin Calvert's Nolan Beeker (22) in the second half.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Dylan Hughes (20) gets doubled team by Tiffin Calvert's Nolan Beeker (22) and Tiffin Calvert's Mitch Nielsen (42).
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Corey Walls (10) saves the ball from going out of bounds in the first quarter against Tiffin Calvert on Tuesday night at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Parkway's Caleb Kinney (40) hits a 3-pointer against Tiffin Calvert in the first quarter Tuesday night at the Stroh Center.
