by Reid Murray ’22
February 13, 2022
“We’re the best team in the district; we just have to show that.”
Those were the words of point guard Josh Scretchen ‘22 following USN’s January 5 win over Webb (Bell Buckle). On February 12, Scretchen’s Tigers beat Webb once again, this time for a district championship.
“It feels good. I knew we could do this from the start,” Scretchen said after the championship game. “We just had to play as a team, and you saw the results.”
The district title didn’t come easily, though. Webb, who split its regular season series with USN, and had the same district record as USN, proved to be a formidable opponent, switching leads and being inches from victory in the game’s final seconds.
USN began the game down 7-0, as the Feet used physicality in the paint to score early points. After a storm of USN three-pointers, the Tigers were able to climb out of the early hole and lead 19-16 heading into the second quarter.
The second half, like most of the game, was filled with exciting back-and-forth action where both teams looked strong on offense. However, USN also looked impressive on defense, keeping 6’7” Webb junior Stephen Olowoniyi at bay. Although Olowoniyi was able to use his size to his advantage on some scoring plays, Russ Petty ‘22, Adam Miller ‘22, and Collin France ‘23 out-fought the Feet star for several rebounds, and made some key blocks at the rim.
“We played man [defense] on the two guys up top for the most part, and we had the guys on the bottom step up and trap Stephen [Olowoniyi] if he got the ball,” France said. “He had a couple alley oops, and that’s just gonna happen when you have an athlete like him in the paint, but we were able to stop him pretty well.”
One of the most exciting moments of the game took place at the end of the first half. Following a short run of points for Webb, Petty scored an off-balance three-point shot at the buzzer, which increased USN’s lead from 33-32 to 36-32 heading into halftime.
Webb didn’t give in after Petty’s momentous buzzer-beater, and its press defense forced turnovers left and right in the Tigers’ backcourt, allowing the Feet to enter the final frame tied 47-47.
In the fourth quarter, Scretchen’s rebounding, driving toward the hoop, and ability to set up teammates’ scoring opportunities were crucial for the Tigers to hold on in the game’s late minutes.
“Late in the game, I was just trying to do what I had to do to lead my team to the victory,” Scretchen said. “I didn’t really care about points … I was just trying to make winning plays.”
One particular winning play that stood out was France’s clutch three-pointer with 1:52 left in regulation. With a 60-58 lead, Scretchen was trapped on the baseline by Webb defenders Jax Howard and Evan Eursher. He turned around and found France open behind the three-point line.
France, whose shooting had been on the mark all evening, capitalized on the chance to give his team a 63-58 lead.
“ I [have] kind of had a rough shooting season … I think part of [it] has just been confidence, but it’s been building over the season,” France said. “I think I’ve been able to show that it’s improving, and in the last couple games, I felt like myself again, and I was knocking them down. I just stepped up at the right time.”
Eursher responded with a long-range three-pointer, pulling Webb back within two points.
After both teams turned the ball over to one another in the next minute, Webb intentionally fouled Scretchen and France, who each missed their 1-and-1 free throws.
Things began to look grim for USN when Webb came away with the rebound of France’s free throw with 15.4 seconds left in regulation. However, as Webb was holding out for the last shot, Webb’s Arnett Hayes made a pass to Eursher, which Adrian Samuels ’22 intercepted. He was then fouled with 2.1 seconds left, and scored both of his free throws, securing a 65-61 win for USN.
“After I missed that free throw at the end, I was a little bit scared, but Adrian stepped up and made that big play,” France said.
Scretchen, who typically leads the team in scoring, was happy to see a variety of teammates fill up the scoresheet in the big win over Webb.
“[I feel] really proud, especially [of] my teammates on and off the court,” he said. “They gave me energy on the bench, and then you saw on the court, Adam — district tournament MVP. Adrian scoring buckets, Russ scoring buckets, making tough plays, Collin, everybody. I could name them all.”
In addition to Scretchen’s selection to the all-district and all-tournament teams, Samuels was selected to the all-district team, and Miller was named district tournament MVP. Miller finished the tournament with a total of 58 points through three games, with 21 coming in the championship game.
USN’s next game will be in round one of the regional tournament on Wednesday, February 16. The Tigers will be facing the Nashville Christian Eagles in Sperling Gymnasium.
After being crowned district champions, Scretchen hopes to carry his team’s game-by-game mentality into the future.
“We won three games straight, so we just gotta win six more to win State,” Scretchen said. “Our goal right now is [to beat] Nashville Christian.”
While the focus is primarily on the future, fans and players can relive the monumental victory by watching the full game on the Tournaments at Providence Christian Academy Youtube channel.
“I’ve loved basketball since I was a little kid … just to be here in this moment is unbelievable,” France said.
