Cherryville falls in double OT

CHERRYVILLE — Bishop McGuinness coach Josh Thompson could only think of one word to sum up the play of senior guard Aaron Toomey, and the adjective “unbelievable” perhaps did not do him justice.

In a remarkable display of poise and shooting skill in a hostile environment, Toomey hit nine of his last field goal attempts and scored 51 points to lift the Villains to a 101-98 double-overtime win over Cherryville Friday night in a memorable state 1A sectional final.

“What more can you say than that he (Toomey) is an unbelievable player,” Thompson said amid Bishop McGuinness’ post-game celebration. “It’s what he did tonight and what he has been doing all year.”

Toomey poured in 29 points in the fourth quarter and the two extra periods to almost will his team to the win. And the 6-foot-2 playmaker missed nearly five minutes of the second quarter when he hit the floor hard in a collision with Cherryville’s Thomas Bess.

For the second straight year, Cherryville (24-3) saw its season end with a heartbreaking playoff loss to Bishop McGuinness. In the 2009 Western Regional final at Winston-Salem, the Villains edged Cherryville 73-71 and went on to defeat Trinity for the state 1A championship.

In a game of dizzying momentum switches, one play stood out.

Trailing 100-98, Cherryville senior guard Darius Howell attempted to inbound the ball under his own basket with 4.4 seconds left in the second OT. But Howell could not find a passing lane against the Villains’ tight defense, and he signaled for an illegal timeout.

The timeout violation drew a technical foul, and Toomey hit one of two free throws to make it 101-98.

The Villains inbounded the ball to Toomey and he dribbled out the final seconds, flinging the ball the length of the court as time expired.

“I thought Cherryville was the best team in the state coming into the game, and we knew we would have to play a near perfect game to win,” Thompson said. “Our role players shot the ball better than they have all year.”

To reinforce that point, Bishop McGuinness got productive minutes from a freshman guard who spelled Toomey while he applied ice to a back injury on the bench. Toomey went out with 7:16 to play in the second quarter, and when he returned at the 1:54 mark the game was tied at 30-30.

Another role player, sophomore Trey Tatum, hit both ends of a one-and-one with 15.5 seconds left in the second OT to break a 98-98 deadlock.

“As much as I feel elation for my team, I feel just as bad for Coach (Scott) Harrill and Cherryville’s guys. It was a very tough loss for them,” Thompson said.

Terry Whisnant led the Ironmen with 25 points, followed by Bess with 24 and Howell with 17. Brandon Tuft gave Cherryville a lift off the bench with a big presence on the offensive boards and 12 points on 6-for-7 shooting.

The Ironmen were forced to play out the game’s pivotal minutes without Bess, who fouled out with Cherryville ahead 83-81 at the 3:01 mark of the first overtime.

“It was very heartbreaking for the kids,” Cherryville’s Harrill said. “We played hard but we didn’t shoot the ball well early. You let an excellent team like that stick around and they make plays. They had many people step up, and it is a real tribute to them how well they played tonight.”