Seneca comes up big late, slips past Marquette for TCC Tourney title

GRANVILLE – There’s a big difference between typical and boring.

Seneca’s back-and-forth 39-36 victory in Friday night’s championship game of the 98th annual Tri-County Conference Tournament was very much a familiar sort of conflict.

However, it sure managed to keep all the fans in Putnam County’s RM Germano Gym on the edge of their seats.

With the game tied at 36 and the ball in Marquette’s possession, the Fighting Irish’s Paxton Giertz took a chance and reached around the Crusaders’ Griffin Dobberstein near midcourt and poked the ball away to teammate Brady Sheedy.

That defensive gem just seconds later turned into a layup by a quick-cutting Giertz with just 1 minute, 3 seconds remaining, giving the No. 1-seeded Irish the edge they needed to come away with their second straight league tourney title game victory over the Crusaders.

Those points were the last of a game-best 20 by Giertz, clinching his berth on the All-Tournament Team along with Sheedy as Seneca rolled to its 21st win in 25 contests this season.

For Cinderella No. 6-seeded Marquette, it was a tough pill to swallow, coming so close to TCC Tourney history on its way to dropping to 12-12, despite 12 points from Alec Novotney, six points and six rebounds from Lucas Craig and five points by Dobberstein. All three Crusaders were also tabbed All-Tourney as the rivalry added another thrilling chapter.

“Marquette is not a 6 seed,” Seneca coach Russ Witte said. “There wasn’t any doubt in our minds that we were going to play Marquette for the championship. It wouldn’t be a Tri-County Tournament without a Marquette-Seneca game and they have been getting better and better and better … I’m just glad that the rims were covered for both teams.

“That is probably the worst shooting we have had in a while. The last few games, we’ve been around 40-45% from the 3-point line and I’d say tonight we were in single digits … But credit the kids down the stretch. They made some defensive plays, they didn’t panic when Marquette got the lead, we ran a great play to get Pax the layup and we got a stop.

“We polished a turd enough to make it good enough for a win. That’s really what it was.”

It ended up Giertz’s night, but it didn’t start that way. The senior all-stater went an uncharacteristic 0 for 7 from the arc in the first period alone, but still the Irish were able to cling to the lead as large as seven points in the second period.

Marquette stayed within striking distance with its rebounding until it finally tied it at 26 on a trey by Matt Graham in the third quarter and took its first lead on a 3-ball by Dobberstein to start the fourth.

But there was just too much Giertz down the stretch. After a Novotney steal and 3-point play had the Cru lead at 36-34 with 2:21 left, Giertz cashed in a layup to tie it, then generated his own game-winner with the big steal at 1:22.

“I knew they were going to hold the ball as long as they could and we couldn’t risk having them hold it any longer,” Giertz said. “So I went for the steal and happened to get the ball. We got the ball and ended up getting that layup … I don’t know how long this rivalry has been going on, but ever since I’ve lived in Seneca, it’s been intense and a lot of fun.”

A Sheedy toss made the Irish lead three points, but Dobberstein and Novotney both missed treys in the final 10 seconds to let it stand.

“It’s a great experience for our young team to play in a game like this,” Marquette coach Todd Hopkins said. “It was a great game, especially if you like tough play at the defensive end. Both teams played hard, but Seneca was able to finish at the end ... Experience was probably a factor for them.

“We got four good looks at the end of the game, two at the end and two before that, but they just didn’t fall for us … But I’m just so proud of my guys. We were at a weird place, had lost eight in a row, but we fought back and we’re playing our best basketball right now. We have to keep that going through a tough stretch coming up and be playing our best for the regional.”

Also named to the All-Tournament Team were Woodland’s Nick Plesko and Connor Dodge, Dwight’s Luke Gallet and Joey Starks, Lowpoint-Washburn’s Kody Knecht and Roanoke-Benson’s Jack Leman.