By Tom Fox
MINERSVILLE – Brendon Brobst calmly stepped up to the foul line.
The MMI Prep senior had just missed the first free throw with six seconds left, and needed to connect on one of them to make it a two-possession game.
Head coach Joe Flanagan was going to call a timeout, but instead, opted to trust his senior.
It was the right call.
Brobst hit the second free throw, and the Preppers held on for a 39-35 win over High Point Baptist on Tuesday in the second round of the PIAA Class 1A boys basketball playoffs.
The District 2 runner-up, MMI (16-10) moves on to Friday’s state quarterfinals to face off with District 3 champion Linville Hill, an 83-57 winner over Bethlehem Christian on Tuesday.
“Our schedule is a gauntlet for a single-A team,” Flanagan said. “We are prepared for everything. That team is very good with a lot of young players. They are going to be a handful in the future. But I told our guys that I was proud because we just kept punching. We didn’t play real well in the third quarter, but we kept fighting.”
Maybe it’s the underdog status the team has grown into.
Maybe it’s the sheer will of six seniors not wanting a magical season to end.
Brobst throwing the team on his back didn’t hurt, either.
The senior scored 23 of the team’s 39 points — including back-to-back jumpers to give the Preppers a 38-35 lead with 3:05 left.
“It’s a team effort. Everyone chipped in and did their job,” Brobst said. “When you know it’s your night, and you have to get it done, you just step up. I was feeling it. My teammates were able to get me to some of my shots, and they went down.”
It wasn’t easy.
High Point’s Nick Harris caught fire in the third quarter with his team down 19-17 at halftime. He scored 11 of his team-high 13 in the quarter as a 9-0 run gave the Eagles a 27-21 lead early in the quarter, and a 33-30 lead heading into the final eight minutes.
But two major things happened at the end of the third.
Junior Nick Pantages stole a pass and went the length of the court in transition for the uncontested layup with two seconds left.
If he doesn’t do that, the Preppers are down five entering the fourth.
“That steal was huge,” Flanagan said. “The lead never got over five or six, so I felt that we were still all right. You are never happy being down, but you know that you are still in the game. My assistants kept telling me we were fine, and not to panic. We have been preaching finishing since October, and we are finishing here in the postseason.”
Secondly, MMI went to a zone defense that flustered High Point (19-8), the third-place team from District 3, right at the end of the third quarter. The Eagles shot just 1-of-10 from the floor in the fourth quarter and went 0-for-5 from the beyond the arc.
And it allowed the Preppers to get back into it.
Pantages’ layup cut it to 35-34 with 5:16 left, and following an Edgar Rodriguez offensive rebound, Brobst knocked down a high-arcing jumper just inside the 3-point line to give MMI the lead for good.
“Our coaches preach emotional toughness all year,” Brobst said. “Fighting through that third-quarter run they went on, it’s crucial.”
That’s when the defense took over.
In the final two minutes, clinging to a three-point lead, MMI relied on its defense – forcing two key turnovers and blocking a shot at the rim with 68 seconds left.
“When we switched to that zone, I think they only scored two points the entire fourth quarter,” Pantages said. “I feel like we played together for so long, that it just worked out for us.”
Brobst led all scorers with 23, while Ryan Sones and Pantages combined for 15.
“Brendon really turned it up a level after the new year,” Flanagan said. “He just came back ready to go. He’s been playing really well.”