Thriller gives Rockets second regional title

Winning a second straight regional title even with a better team than the previous season carried a higher difficulty level for the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School boys’ basketball team.

Carter Schmitz drained two free throws with 5.8 seconds left, making Dominican’s last-second three-pointer a footnote in an 81-79 escape for the Rockets last Saturday in Cedar Grove.

The Rockets secured their second Division 4 regional title.

Junior Griffin Knight made his first free throw with 11.1 seconds left to push the Rockets’ lead to 79-76. The second one bounced out, but senior Thomas Wiesner jumped and stretched his arm and fingers high into the air, tapping the ball backward.

It came right to Schmitz, who was quickly fouled.

“Once it got into my hands, I was like, I’m ending this game,” he said.

When he stepped to the free-throw line, Schmitz’s thoughts traveled back in time.

“All I was thinking about is I’ve been dreaming of this since I was 5 years old. I just took a deep breath,” he said.

Wiesner described why he went so hard for the tip.

“Usually I’m the one with the fouls, but this time I only had two so I had one to give. Might as well go for it and try stealing a win away when we can,” he said.

The free throws weren’t the only huge shots Schmitz hit. The senior completed a four-point play with three and a half minutes left, swishing a three-pointer from the right corner, then making the free throw. Thirty-five seconds later, he nailed another three-pointer from the same spot, stretching the Rockets’ lead to 70-63 on the fast-closing Knights.

“That’s him. I always joke Captain Carter, Captain Clutch,” coach Jake Hock said. “His two threes down there — that was a huge moment because it felt like we were slipping a bit. For him to just go back-to-back possessions, bang bang, in the corner right in front of the bench and the students, that got all the life back we needed.”

Senior and leading scorer Owen Gulke had 28 points on 11-for-22 shooting along with seven rebounds. His points normally come vai quiet mid-range jumpers, but on Saturday he was driving to the hoop like a man on a mission.

“It’s March. We’ve got to keep on rolling. This is it for us. This is the last time we get to play together. I just think the chemistry we have right now is just out of the roof. I’ve never been part of a team like this. It’s amazing. This is such a great feeling,” Gulke said.

“All year I’ve been like a quiet 20 again,” Hock said. “These were loud, big moments. When you have a two-time unanimous first-team all conference guy, that’s the big moment, big players-type situation. He took just took over in parts where he was just awesome.”

Schmitz had 23 points on 6-for-14 shooting, along with 11 rebounds. Knight had 15 points on 7-for-7 shooting, 12 rebounds and three assists. Wiesner had 13 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

The Rockets shot 30-for-57 (52.6%) from the field.

The Rockets jumped out to a big first-half advantage and led, 38-30, at the break.

“We had to get up early because they always like to come around late in games like that,” Knight said. “Everything was clicking. Our defense led to our offense.”

The Rockets extended the lead to 51-35 with 14 minutes left, but the Knights’ 1-3-1 press started to force turnovers and easy buckets. The lead hovered between three and seven points most of the rest of the game as it seemed the Rockets were trying to keep the Knights from exploding. They got to within 77-76 before Schmitz went 1-for-2 on free throws with 23 seconds left.

“In these games you’ve got to have experience. We lost our composure for a little bit, but we fought through like we have many times this year and got the win,” Schmitz said.

“They were so poised,” Hock said. “When they would make a mistake and we’d have a turnover, they were on each other, picking each other’s heads up. That to me was the biggest thing, the mental aspect of it.”

Gulke said, “We’ve got a lot of old players who know the game and play the right way. I think that’s the reason that we can close out a close game like that.”

Last season, the Rockets won, 72-58, at Reedsville for the regional title before losing in the sectional final.

On Thursday, March 12, the Rockets, 21-5, face Milwaukee Juneau, 24-1, at Milwaukee Lutheran. The winner advances to the sectional final on Saturday, March 14, in Hartford.

The Rockets last Friday beat Heritage Christian, 77-50, at home in a regional semifinal. Schmitz had 23 points, Gulke had 22 and Wiesner had 10, along with 10 rebounds. Knight had eight points and 11 rebounds.