With five seconds remaining, Manitou boys basketball coach Brian Vecchio called timeout to set up a play to get the ball the length of the floor and get a shot off. The Mustangs were tied with Middle Park in the first round of the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament and if there was a chance to win in regulation, Vecchio wanted to take it.
Ethan Boren screened for John Maynard, who took the inbound pass around midcourt, turned and fired to it Lairden Rogge. From the moment the ball left his hand, it was good.
The shot fell and Manitou advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 54-51 win on March 4.
“I had a feeling when (the shot) left my hand,” Rogge said. “I heard someone in the crowd yell ‘that’s money’ or something like that. I had a feeling it was good and then it went in.”
It was by far the best win of the season for the Mustangs (14-10) and the emotion shown on the court was evident of that.
The team wasn’t as lucky the next day. Despite being up 20-6 on Resurrection Christian after the first quarter, the Mustangs lost the game 53-42. Maynard led with 12 points, but once the Cougars caught fire, they were tough to slow down.
Still, finishing where they did was quite the accomplishment for the Mustangs. They scored just 17 points in the season opener against Peyton, lost Caleb Allen to a torn ACL and suffered some bad losses toward the end of the season.
But getting to the Sweet 16 was an indication that the fight in this team couldn’t be measured.
“This is a team that got better and better throughout the year, both individually and collectively,” Vecchio said. “I am beyond proud of each one of them and their efforts this year.\
“To make the Sweet 16 after losing the seniors we did and only having one player shoot above 30 percent from the 3-point line is a credit to how hard they worked every day. We are already looking forward to this off-season and getting ready for next winter.”
The Mustangs will get three starters — Andrew Rhodes, Rogge and Maynard — back next season. They’ll see additional contributions from Nate Gentzel, who provided valuable minutes toward the end of the season.