RallyNorth.net

Mon, Feb 25, 2008 07:00 PM @ St. Mary's Lynn

Team	1	2	3	4	Final
Playoff Game Division 4 North - Round 1
Ipswich	17	20	14	18	69
St. Mary's Lynn	13	14	14	27	68

Ipswich boys basketball shades St. Mary's

Monday, February, 25 By Matt Jenkins
Staff writer

LYNN | It's a moment Ipswich sophomore forward Aaron Jessen will never forget. It's also a moment that Tigers' basketball coach Doug Woodworth hopes his team can move on from as quickly as possible.

Ipswich let a 10-point lead melt away in the fourth quarter, then won in dramatic fashion when Jessen's 18-foot jump shot dropped with two seconds remaining for a 69-68 victory over St. Mary's in a Division 4 North first round affair.

"I told the kids, 'I'm not happy with the way we played, but enjoy this. Aaron, you'll always remember that shot; you can't take that away,'" Woodworth recounted. "But we need to play better if we're going to keep going. What do you say? Congratulations on the win, but I wasn't real happy about it."

Whether or not Ipswich played well in the fourth quarter didn't matter to the large contingent of Tigers fans that stormed the court after Jessen's winner. The final hoop ensured the Tigers at least one more game | Friday night (7 p.m.) at No. 2 seed Austin Prep.

Of all the players on the court, Jessen may have been the least likely to come through in the clutch. Seniors Peter Karas and Myles Layman are known for their deft outside touch, while classmate Alex Lampropoulos was a slashing threat all night. But when Jessen's defender left him to double the ball, the sophomore knew he had to be ready to shoot from just beyond the left elbow.

"I wasn't really thinking about if it would go in or if it would miss, I just let it go," Jessen said. "I was aware (of the time) and knew we needed a shot. I had the open look, so I took it."

Jessen's heroics spoiled what was an inspired fourth quarter comeback by St. Mary's.

The Spartans cut the 10-point deficit to three (55-52) with 5:30 to play, then watched Ipswich spurt ahead to a 12-point lead (65-53) with 3:23 to go. Increased defensive intensity and desperation allowed St. Mary's to take a 66-65 lead with 27 seconds left.

The Spartans' 11-0 run over the next 2<1/2> minutes was capped by Tade Ogunbona's lay in off a feed from Tyler Grillo.

A foul on the ensuing inbounds play sent Karas to the line. With the Spartan fans waving tee-shirts, towels, or whatever they could get their hands on, from the balcony just above the hoop, Karas calmly sank two freebies as Ipswich regained the lead.

Grillo, St. Mary's dynamite guard who scored a game-high 23 points, beat a double-team into lane and converted a left-handed layup for 68-67 with 15 seconds to go. That set up the game-winner.

"We were in somewhat of a panic mode to try to get ourselves back in it," St. Mary's coach Kevin Moran said. "We hit a couple of shots and that tends to happen in a frantic pace. There's a lot of energy in the building and the ball reversed and he (Jessen) had a good look at it. It was a nice shot by that kid."

Grillo's hoop left Ipswich with just a little too much time. "You'd like (better) clock management for these guys, but unfortunately when an opening presents itself you have to take it," Moran said. "It opened up for him there and he took it to the rim."

Steven Harper was the only other Spartan to reach double figures with 16, while Ipswich put four players in doubles. Lampropoulos led the way with 18 points, Karas had 16, Andrew Gianakakis scored 12, and Jessen contributed 10. Ipswich may have won the game, but still suffered a loss. Gianakakis headed to the hospital after the game for an X-ray of what appeared to be a broken ankle.

Gianakakis' availability for Friday is doubtful, and the Tigers need to eliminate their giving attitude before playing in the quarterfinals.

"We did everything we could to give it away," Woodworth said, "then pulled it out."