Boys basketball: Troyer Carlson game winner with 3.3 seconds left rallies Kaneland past Plano in Classic final

PLANO – Troyer Carlson pumped one fist in the air, turned toward the opposing student section and hopped down the court in euphoria.

Carlson, Kaneland’s senior guard, has enjoyed a decorated high school career across two sports that few can match. A two-time All-State quarterback, he threw for 90 career touchdowns, top 10 in state history, and threw for almost 3,000 yards in his sophomore year alone. A four-year varsity player in both football and basketball, he was part of Kaneland’s basketball conference title last season.

[ Photos: Kaneland vs. Plano in 60th Plano Christmas Classic final ]

This moment might have topped it all.

Carlson’s step-back 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left was the exclamation mark on his personal 9-0 run to end Saturday’s game.

It rallied top-seeded Kaneland to a thrilling 55-53 win over unseeded Plano in the championship of the 60th annual Plano Christmas Classic in front of a jam-packed Reaper Gym.

The game-winning shot was the only time Kaneland led all night. And it sent the Knights (13-3) to their fourth Classic title, first since 2009.

“It’s amazing, surreal,” Carlson said. “Coach put us in the best position to win the game and we finally got the energy. It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done. I don’t know how we won the game, but we did it.”

Carlson and Brad Franck scored 17 points and tournament MVP Freddy Hassan had 15 points and seven rebounds for Kaneland. AJ Johnson and Isaiah Martinez each scored 12 points for Plano (8-8), which has never won its tournament and was playing in its first Classic final since 1980.

Kaneland, which trailed by as many as 11 (20-9) in the second quarter and 28-24 at halftime, twice tied it in the second half.

But the Knights trailed 53-46 with 2:40 left after a Johnson basket for Plano.

Carlson, however, followed a miss, then made a tough reverse layup over the 6-foot-10 Martinez. After a Plano offensive foul, another Carlson reverse layup with 48 seconds left closed the gap to 53-52.

Plano’s Davione Stamps missed a shot at the other end as the shot clock bled down, and in a mad scramble near halfcourt Kaneland was awarded a timeout with 10.7 seconds left.

It set the stage for Carlson.

Taking the ball 40 feet from the basket, he got a screen from Hassan, dribbled right, and popped back for the game-winner.

“We drew up a play, help side, Freddy told me he was setting a screen,” Carlson said. “I was going to do what I was going to do. I’m a leader. Freddy got me the ball, I shot it.”

Franck, who keyed Kaneland’s comeback with 11 of his 17 in the third quarter, could only shake his head at his fellow senior’s heroics.

“Oh, my goodness, it was just surreal,” Franck said. “Everybody in the gym knew he was going to shoot it, I knew he was going to shoot it and then it went in.”

Plano, in its sixth Classic final – first in 43 years – had knocked off two-time defending champion Burlington Central in the second round and 2022 finalist Marmion in the semifinals.

That improbable wave rolled right into Saturday against Kaneland, a team that had beaten Plano 79-68 on Dec. 15. Even as Kaneland surged in the second half, Plano answered.

Christ Keleba, recently returning from injury, scored all three of his baskets in the fourth quarter including a soaring putback to put the Reapers in position to close.

“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” Plano coach Kyle Kee said. “This team beat us pretty good a couple weeks ago. It just shows how far we have come. It’s been an unbelievable week.”

Kee has witnessed many a thrilling Classic final from the balcony of Reaper Gym in his 11 years as head coach, but never from the sidelines.

To do so, even watching Kaneland celebrate at center court, left him emotional.

“I told the kids I always go up there, been watching the championship game and I see this gym packed and I didn’t know if it would ever happen with us here – and honestly I didn’t think it would,” Kee said. “To see it, and then that last possession, that’s an all-timer there, heck of a shot by Carlson. Somebody has to lose these games. Broken hearted for my guys but I can’t be prouder.”

Kaneland, in joining Newark and Seneca as the only four-time Classic winners, did so by rallying from a halftime deficit for the second straight night.

“We have been there before – pretty much every game this week we were down early. Just find a way to win,” Franck said. “We just had to stay calm. Basketball is a game of runs, it ain’t over until it’s over. This is such a historic tournament. To be here right now is unbelievable.”