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SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio–Decisions had to be made with six seconds left Monday afternoon.
After a missed free throw from Spire’s Keynan Davis leading by two, Shaker head coach Danny Young decided not to call a timeout, not giving the defense an opportunity to switch things up.
That led to a Daniel Young open 3-point attempt that fell just short, giving Spire Academy a 59-57 win during the first game of the inaugural Terry Rozier Invitational.
“I was perfectly fine with that shot,” Young said. “Normally when you call a timeout with 6.5 seconds left, you’re probably going to change the defense up. So some coaches will call a timeout, I believe you play and I’m fully happy with the shot. It looked like it was going in but fell just short.”
Tip my hat off to Spire, they play well….We didn’t string enough stops together.”
FINAL: Spire defeats Shaker 59-57.
Daniel Young with a nice look but couldn’t get the shot to fall. @SportsKee1 pic.twitter.com/dKMqDaM2DF— Michael Trivisonno (@MichaelTriv_) February 21, 2022
Spire Academy led by double digits at the break. They ended the final six minutes of the first half on a 12-5 run to head into halftime with a 34-22 lead.
They maintained that lead for the start of the third quarter then players like Daniel Young and Jonas Burge started to cut the deficit in a hurry. In fact, Burge scored 10 of his 12 points in the third quarter, helping the Raiders close out the final three minutes of the third quarter on a 14-6 run to have the game tied at 45 entering the fourth quarter.
“They just came out with more effort,” Spire guard Roderick Coffee III said. “We didn’t match their energy. As soon as we matched their energy, we came back.”
The trio of Coffee, Trey Thomas and Keynan Davis was just too much to stop for the Raiders. Both teams traded taking the lead late in the fourth quarter, with the Raiders even taking a four-point lead following a pair of free throws from Daniel Young with just over five minutes left in the game.
Then Spire was able to inch back and regain their lead following complete possessions and baskets near the rim. Trey Thomas’s layup gave Spire a 68-65 lead with one minute left. They were able to close out the game strong, pressuring the Raiders into not getting near the rim.
Daniel Young connected on two free throws, but couldn’t hit the game-ending 3-point attempt as the comeback attempt fell just short.
“Just coming together as a team, playing as one,” Coffee said was the difference in his team being able to close out the game. “Playing together, moving the ball, that’s what made us come together at the end of the game.”
For Spire, Thomas and Davis finished with a team-high 18 points each along with 17 points from Coffee. The three of them scored 55 of the team’s 59 points during the win.
As for Shaker, Daniel Young finished with a game-high 23 points. Burge had 12 points along with nine points from Jalen Brown.
“This doesn’t tarnish anything we’ve accomplished,” Young said following the loss to end regular season play. “We won the league and now we start the tournament Wednesday… It’s a good test, tournament-level basketball, fell a little short but I like the toughness they showed.”
