Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

A roller-coaster night of small school basketball ended in overtime with a classic scenario that plays out daily in driveways across America.

In this case, Joy Christian senior guard Parker Smith caught the inbound pass with about five seconds remaining and his team trailing Glendale Prep 53-52 on its floor.

Smith dribbled up and released a 12-foot pull-up jumper that swished through the net at .5 seconds on the clock to give Joy Christian basketball (5-4, 3-1 regular season) its biggest win in years.

"I think my coaches have enough confidence in me to get the ball in my hands. I've been practicing that shot my entire life," Smith said. "I'm just glad we got the win."

Entering overtime, things looked grim for the visitors. Glendale Prep (7-3, 5-2) erased 14-point fourth quarter deficit with a swarming press and a handful of timely three-point shots.

Freshman Johnathan Krause and senior Pearce Nally drained back-to-back treys to cut the Eagles' lead to 42-37. After a Smith bucket, the Griffins' other freshman, Gavin Aikins, hit his own triple.

A steal set up a good look for Nally, who was fouled and made both free throws. Senior guard Connor Von Aspen scored to tie it at 46 with 28 seconds left.

Freshman guard Cayden Collins put the Eagles on top with a pair of free throws. But Von Aspen cut to the baseline, caught a pass and made a short bank shot at the buzzer to force an extra period.

"I hope that our young men understand that you can't compete the last four or six minutes, you have to compete for 32. If they walked away from tonight knowing that, we'll be a better team. It's a long season," Glendale Prep assistant coach Steve Drake said

Smith scored first in overtime and junior forward Gary Spears added a layup for a 52-48 Joy Christian lead. Sophomore Matt Hawkins made a pair of free throws, then Von Aspen scored again to tie.

Hawkins made the second of two free throws to give the Griffins the lead before the final shot.

"We haven't been in that situation too much in the last two years. We've got to work on losing games when we're up that much but it's still sweet to get that win," Joy Christian Coach Geoff House said. "Those are the type of games we lost last year."

The visitors trailed 24-17 at halftime, as Smith scored 7 of 8 Eagles points to tie it at 10 after one quarter. But the veteran picked up his third foul with nearly seven minutes left in the half and the offense sputtered.

Collins changes the tone of the game by scoring the first eight points of the second half on a pair of threes and by forcing a steal near midcoast and making a layup.

Joy Christian dominated the rest of the third quarter, limiting the Griffins to a pair of Nally free throws. Smith drained a three at the buzzer to boost the lead to 34-26.

Then Collins started the fourth with two more swishes from downtown.

"He's a streaky shooter and the percentage isn't there, so far. But he can shoot," House said. "He's a good freshman player that helps us a lot."

Eventually the Griffins snapped out of it, regaining their energy on defense and ball and player movement on offense.

"What we look for is consistency and we didn't have it. We played a good team that was coached well and executed well. It came down to great D and a great shot," Drake said.

House said this was a big win for the program's present and future. Joy Christian starts three freshmen — Collins, guard Owen Arthurs and guard Ray J. Roman.

Smith is the leader and bridge between two eras of Joy Christian basketball. He's a three-year varsity player and Spears is the only teammate of Smith's in all three seasons.

The school's mission and student body changed significantly after the 2015-16 year.

"I think it's big. We've been working hard the last couple years and it's tough because we haven't had a solid team," Smith said. "This year, even though we've got some young guys, they like to compete. I know someday they'e going to be leaders on the team.

Glendale Prep's Pearce Nally (#21) drives to the basket against Joy Christian Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017 at Glendale Prep in Peoria. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]JOY CHRISTIAN 54, GLENDALE PREP 53 (OT)

Score by Quarters

Joy Christian – 10 7 17 14 6 – 54

Glendale Prep – 10 14 2 22 5 – 53

Top Performers

Joy Christian — Cayden Collins, 23 points, 5 second-half 3-pointers; Parker Smith, 16 points, 3 blocks; Gary Spears, 7 points, 5 rebounds.

Glendale Prep — Connor Von Asper, 16 points; Pearce Nally, 12 points; Christopher Nally, 5 points, 7 rebounds.