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Anatomy of an upset
I sent the first e-mail to my boss at the start of the fourth quarter. It was just a subject line, really, and it said, “Trotwood tied 32-32, start of fourth.”
From there, Trotwood-Madison pulled off the upset of the state boys basketball tournament on Friday. Moeller came into the game 21-1 with a single loss to the country’s No. 3-ranked team, a school from New Jersey. Moeller itself was highly rated, both No. 1 in Ohio and No. 8 nationally.
But Trotwood, as the players said afterward, tried not to look at the name on the jersey but instead stay patient on defense. That kept the Rams tied going into the fourth quarter, and here’s how it happened from there:
Moeller, known for its Greater Catholic League-style of time-draining offensive possessions, turned the ball over on its first three possessions of the fourth. Greg Gainey, the Trotwood sophomore who looks like he’s going to be the next very good one from the school, grabbed a rebound on a Brad Cubbie miss and passed quickly underneath to Aaron Robinson for an easy layup and a 35-32 lead with six minutes left.
As Moeller’s Mike Stamper knocked down two free throws with 5:34 left to make it 35-34, Trotwood forward Domonick Britt (also the quarterback headed to Jackson State) had to leave the floor with blood on his right leg. Although Britt missed some action there and plenty of the first half with foul trouble, he and Cubbie, the point guard, personified the confidence that helped Trotwood to the upset.
Perhaps most important in the quarter, Trotwood made its free throws — two from Robinson and two from Gainey to give the Rams a 39-36 lead with 4:07 left. The one major Trotwood mistake in the quarter came with 3:03 left (after coming out of a timeout to a roaring crowd on both sides), when an inbounds lob to a cutting Gainey completely missed the Rams sophomore and went into Moeller’s hands. Moeller, trailing now just 39-38, missed a 3-point shot. Cubbie calmly dribbled to the right and passed to Gainey, who quickly found Robinson in the right corner for a 3-pointer.
Another e-mail to my boss: “Trotwood 42-38, 1:35 left. This really could happen.”
Meanwhile, Moeller kept missed 3-pointers and Trotwood kept converting, getting four more consecutive points to go up 46-38 with 58 seconds left. The Rams held off the Moeller rally for a 48-45 win, sending them into Wednesday’s regional semifinal in Columbus.
Consider the numbers: Trotwood was outrebounded 34-22 but shot 41 percent and caused 15 Moeller turnovers. Robinson led all scorers with 16 points, and Cubbie had 10, but offense wasn’t the story. Trotwood played tough, disciplined man-to-man defense necessary to beat the schools like Moeller or St. Xavier or Elder.
It was the upset of the tournament, even though few of us were expecting it.
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