Left to Chanse: Creekmur’s shot sends MHS to state
By MARK PAWLAK, TIMES-REPUBLICAN
POSTED: February 27, 2008
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Fact Box
Marshalltown 51, Ames 50At Ankeny
MARSHALLTOWN (19-4) — Ben Brennecke 2 3-4 8, Tyler Peschong 4 4-4 12, Cole Danielson 5 1-2 12, Chanse Creekmur 4 0-0 8, Michael Appel 5 0-0 11. TOTALS 20 8-10 51.
AMES (20-3) — Jordan Burgason 4 2-3 12, Bubu Palo 2 3-4 6, Harrison Barnes 7 3-3 18, Jesse Pritchard 3 0-1 6, Ben Cotton 2 0-0 4, Sam Bird 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 20 7-11 50
MHS 8 18 10 15 — 51
Ames 13 11 20 6 — 50
3-Point Goals — MHS 3 (Brennecke, Danielson, Appel); Ames 3 (Burgason 2, Barnes).
Team down one, the ball in your hands, clock running down.
The jumper Creekmur drained Tuesday night was not just some shot at the Y in a pick-up game with his friends this time.
Creekmur’s shot with nine-tenths of a second left sent Marshalltown to the boys’ state basketball tournament as the ninth-ranked Bobcats upset fourth-ranked Ames 51-50 in the Class 4A Substate 2 final at Ankeny High School.
“The play was for me to go off Ben’s (Brennecke) screen and I rolled off and they switched,” Creekmur said. “I looked around for an open guy, but there was no one open so I just shot it.”
“I knew it was good right when I let it go,” he added.
Tuesday’s meeting was another memorable one in the storied Ames-Marshalltown rivalry. The Bobcats won two of three from Ames this winter.
“I don’t want to take away anything from Ames because they are one talented group of basketball players and they run a fine program, but tonight it must have been the Bobcats’ night,” said Marshalltown head coach Ron Ginapp.
The Little Cyclones (20-3) looked to be putting an end to Marshalltown’s season as the fourth quarter rolled around.
Ames outscored MHS 20-10 in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead, 44-36, going to the fourth.
The Bobcats (19-4) still trailed by eight with five minutes to go. Marshalltown mounted a 9-2 rally to set up a wild final minute between the two bitter rivals.
After two Tyler Peschong free throws moved the Bobcats within 48-47, the Little Cyclones broke the MHS press and had a layup opportunity. Marshalltown recovered just in time to block away the shot and come back down court.
Brennecke was fouled with 26.8 seconds left and sank both free throws to put the Bobcats ahead 49-48.
Ames took a timeout and sophomore Harrison Barnes continued his second-half dominance as he drove to the basket and his lay-in with 10 seconds left gave the lead back to Ames, 50-49.
Barnes scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds.Marshalltown has an outstanding sophomore of its own and put the ball in his hands at the end.
After a timeout, Creekmur brought the ball upcourt and went off a screen from Brennecke at the top of the key. Creekmur drove to the right wing and hit a mid-range jumper with a hand in his face to send the Bobcats back to state for the first time since 2004.
“Ben set a nice screen at the top of the key and Chanse got open and made a little move there to hit that mid-range jumpshot,” Ginapp said.
The Little Cyclones called a timeout and Jordan Burgason’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Marshalltown also won at the buzzer in the substate semifinals as Tyler Peschong’s tip-in gave the Bobcats a two-point win over Urbandale Friday night.
“We got the ball to Chanse and he’s made some big plays this year,” said senior Cole Danielson. “It wasn’t quite how we drew it up, kind of like last Friday night, but we got it done. He put up a shot, it looked good and it went in.”
Marshalltown used a strong second quarter led by seven points from Michael Appel and five from Danielson to outscore Ames 18-11 over the second eight minutes for a 26-24 halftime lead.
The Little Cyclones came out of the half pumped up and took it to the Bobcats in the third quarter to build an eight-point lead.
Marshalltown came out with a new fire in the fourth.
“We stepped up the defensively intensity a lot,” Danielson said. “We said we need to make a run and the only way we can do that is play defense. That’s really where it all starts for us this season, playing defense.”
The Bobcats finished the game on a 13-4 run.
“I kept telling our guys that the pressure is going to be on (Ames),” Ginapp said. “They’re the higher-rated team and a lot of people didn’t give us a chance in this game.”
“I just talked about composure and playing solid defense,” he added.
Tyler Peschong and Danielson tied for team-high honors with 12 points on the night. Appel finished with 11 points and led the way with seven rebounds. Creekmur and Brennecke had eight points apiece.
Rebounding was a key as Ames hurt MHS on the glass, 39 to 22, in the meeting in Ames won by the Little Cyclones. Marshalltown won the rebounding battle, 26-25, on Tuesday night.
The challenging CIML schedule that the Bobcats play night in night out prepares Marshalltown well for pressure-packed situations, Ginapp said.
“That goes back to the tough conference we play in,” he said. “You just have to be ready all the time. I think these kids have gone through so many experiences to keep themselves calm. It truly helped them during the course of the year to play those teams.
“It’s a unique group of guys, they played with me last year and they learned so much. Now this year it carried over to a lot of wins and they’re having a lot of fun.”
The upcoming state appearance for Marshalltown will be the 24th in school history — the most of any school in the state.
“It just feels good that we know we’ve worked hard and played as a team,” Creekmur said.
Class 4A action at the Iowa High School Boys State Tournament begins March 5 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.
“We’ve worked so hard for two years with this group and it paid off,” Danielson said. “I had a brother that was fortunate enough to go to the state tournament. I know what it’s like to be down there and I’m so excited to play in it.”
