Wissahickon bests Abington in triple overtime thriller

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LOWER GWYNEDD >> It took every bit of 44 minutes, but Wissahickon knocked off Abington.

The Trojans handed the Ghosts their first Suburban One League American Conference loss since joining the league in 2018, 86-83 in triple overtime, Tuesday night at Wissahickon High School.

Wissahickon went 4-for-7 from the free-throw line in the first overtime and 2-for-8 in the second to allow Abington to hang around and hit buzzer-beaters in each frame to extend the game. In the third extra session, the Trojans hit 7-of-8 foul shots and celebrated the win when the Ghosts last-second three clanked off the rim.

“These guys are a good team they just have to figure out how to close,” Wiss coach Kyle Wilson said. “When they went into the final overtime, some of those shots — they’re strumming guitars. I’m like, ‘Oh, you’re feeling like that already?’ It was good to see them with that confidence. Usually I’m telling them to stop, but at this point I want to let them go, let them play, they have to find a way to get this done. It was nice to see them get a win. I’m just so happy for these boys.”

Matt Compas had the biggest turnaround from the free-throw line. He was 2-for-5 in the first OT and 1-for-4 in the second before going 4-for-4 in the third. He hit a pair with 1:47 on the clock in the final frame to extend an 80-78 lead to 82-78 and another pair to go from down 83-82 to up 84-83 with 12.3 seconds left.

“I took the wrist tape off because I thought it was bringing me down a little bit,” Compas said. “I just knew we had to win it. I calmed down, cleared my head and hit the shots.”

Harrison Williams hit two free throws with three seconds left to extend the lead to three, 86-83.

“Wissahickon made some big shots and turned us over at the right times,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said, referencing his team’s 19 turnovers. “We made some mental errors and they capitalized. That’s what good teams do — they play hard. Coach Wilson gets the most out of his guys every year. That’s what we told the guys.

“We’ve been saying it’s a learning experience. We’ve been saying it over and over, but I told the guys you have to learn from it and stop saying, ‘we’re learning, we’re learning.’ It’s game 10. We should know better than to make some of the mistakes that we made.”

Compas scored a game-high 32 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter or later.

The Trojans (5-8, 3-2 SOL American) found themselves facing a seven-point deficit, 54-47, in the middle of the fourth quarter. Jackson Intrieri hit a three-pointer, Williams hit a pair from beyond the arc and Compas delivered from downtown to tie the game at 59 with 16.4 seconds left.

The Ghosts (5-5, 4-1 SOL American) had a chance to win at the buzzer but a three-ball came up short.

In the first overtime, Wissahickon’s D’Shan Love grabbed a couple of hustle rebounds to help the Trojans build a 65-61 lead. Abington’s Robert Bell, who scored a team-high 28 points, completed a three-point play to get within one, 65-64, with 58.5 to go. Compas split two sets of free throws to give Wiss a 67-64 edge with 14.1 remaining. Abington’s Joey Brusha hit an acrobatic corner three at the buzzer to send the game to double overtime, 67-67.

“When that happens, you’re just like, ‘How?’” Compas said. “(Abington) played a great game. I can’t even down it. It was a dogfight. We just came out victorious.”

In the second overtime, Wiss went 2-for-6 from the free-throw line over their final possessions, turning a 71-all tie into a 73-71 lead. Abington, inbounding from its own free-throw line, made a pair of passes in 1.4 seconds to get Sam McFarland free for a game-tying two as time expired.

“They listened, they executed,” Grasty said of drawing up four final-second plays for the end of regulation and all three overtimes. “We were able to get some shots off. They kept battling, that’s the good part.”

The Ghosts weren’t the only ones hitting buzzer beaters. Compas had 0.9 seconds to catch-and-shoot at the end of the third quarter and delivered a basket to tie the game at 44.

Manir Waller had a hot start to the fourth for the Ghosts. He had two points, two assists and a rebound as his side opened the supposed final frame with a 6-0 run. Waller, who totalled 17 points and 15 rebounds, had six points, five rebounds and two assists in the fourth.

The SOL American rivals played a back-and-forth first quarter. Williams hit a three to give the Trojans a 10-7 lead, which was the largest lead for either side of the quarter, and 10-7 stood as the score at the end of the opening frame.

The teams traded baskets in the second until the Trojans used a 10-0 run to take a 25-18 lead. Compas capped off the run with a steal and slam through contact.

The game went to half with Wiss ahead, 27-21.

Wiss’ Williams and Intrieri joined Compas in double figures with 19 and 16 points, respectively.

Oreck Frazier had 11 points for Abington and Brusha added nine on three three-pointers.

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Ed Morlock

Ed Morlock
Ed Morlock is a sports reporter for The Times Herald in Norristown.

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