South Webster High School boys basketball head coach Norm Persin (center) provides instructions to his Jeeps during last Friday night’s Division IV Region 15 championship game against Hiland.

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

ATHENS — This time, a mere three days difference inside Ohio University’s Convocation Center last Friday night, the South Webster Jeeps were on the wrong end of a 48-45 score.

But, this stunning defeat certainly had to hurt more than most.

That’s because the Jeeps, in leading the Division IV Region 15 regular Hiland Hawks 29-14 midway through the third quarter, were doubled up 20-10 in the fourth —and eventually fell 48-45 in overtime in the Region 15 championship tilt.

Only three nights prior, South Webster defeated Fairfield in the regional semifinal —by an exact same count of 48-45.

It was South Webster’s first regional championship appearance since 2013 —when the Jeeps faced Fairfield Christian at Ohio Dominican University.

But back in The Convo, as legendary South Webster first-year head coach Norm Persin has been part of many a regional final, the Jeeps went first-half full throttle —building a seemingly commanding 23-7 lead with 5:40 remaining in the second stanza.

Key word being “seemingly”.

For the final 21 minutes and 40 seconds of regulation, and including the four-minute overtime canto, the Hawks outscored the Jeeps 41-22 —totally wiping out the South Webster 16-point first-half and 15-point second-half leads.

The now 22-6 Hawks, taking advantage of 21 South Webster turnovers and some missed Jeep shots late, won the fourth frame 20-10 —and forced the game’s first tie at 41-41.

In the overtime, the Hawks took their first lead only 27 seconds in, and despite two ties and the Jeeps scoring their four points in a matter of 30 seconds for a 45-43 edge, Hiland had one last charge —for the final five points of the game.

Sam Wengard scored twice for a 47-45 Hawks’ advantage, and after Eli Roberts’ underneath-the-bucket scoop shot short-circuited, the Hawks’ Alex Miller muscled the rebound —and split a pair of free throws with nine seconds remaining.

Miller made the first and missed the second, and although Roberts got another good look at the basket for a buzzer-beating game-tying three-pointer, it rimmed out —and the Jeeps were left shell-shocked as the Hawks had amazingly repeated as Region 15 champions.

In his postgame media interview, the 73-year-old Persin —Ohio’s active leader in career coaching wins with 801 (226 career losses) in 45 total seasons —said turnovers told the tale.

South Webster was guilty of 21, while Hiland had just nine —the same amount the Jeeps had in the entire first half.

South Webster’s Owen Mault (4)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

“You just can’t turn the ball over 21 times against a good team,” said Persin. “We were our own worst enemy tonight.”

The Jeeps shot 46-percent on 15-of-33, but in the first half were on fire —at 69-percent on 9-of-13.

They did misfire on some second-half point-blank shots, which Persin pointed out as well.

“Missed layups, I know we missed three uncontested layups,” said the coach. “And nobody is even guarding us.”

The six-foot and seven-inch junior standout Roberts, the Southeast District Division IV Player of the Year as bestowed by the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association, poured in 24 points to pace all scorers —on 6-of-11 shooting, which included a pair of three-pointers and 10-of-12 free throws.

South Webster’s Eli Roberts (1)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

He had both of the Jeeps’ two treys, and accounted for a dozen first-half points —part of his 24 and the Jeeps’ 23.

He made his first eight foul shots, and his two in overtime to make it 45-43 South Webster, but he unfortunately missed a pair — that loomed large later with 3:56 remaining in regulation.

The Jeeps also held a 27-20 rebounding advantage, and although the Hawks shot a frigid 5-of-22 (23-percent) from the first-half field including only 1-of-11 from three-point territory, the East District Division IV champions of the past nine years never felt like they were out of contention.

With Hiland trailing 23-7, Sammy Detweiler scored with 3:47 to play in the second —then Nick Wigton went deep to beat the first-half buzzer.

That started the Hawks’ uptick in made three-pointers, which ended up being five —three by Wigton and two by Detweiler.

“I don’t think we could have done anything differently. They started hitting some threes on us, so that takes away us trying to zone (defense) them,” said Persin. “Just things that happen and they made plays down the stretch where we couldn’t buy a basket down the stretch.”

South Webster’s Hunter Barnard (5)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

Only four Hawks scored — but the quartet consisted of at least nine points apiece, spearheaded by Detweiler’s 16.

Wigton added 13 and Miller another 10, as his four field goals and 2-of-3 free throws all occurred in the fourth quarter and overtime.

Wengard netted nine —on four field goals and a split of second-stanza foul shots.

The Hawks shot 40-percent on 20-of-50, but attacked the basket and made second-chance shots —pitching a 9-0 shutout in second-chance points.

Indeed, as Persin explained, it was a game of runs —as South Webster scored seven straight in the second quarter, and Hiland had nine in a row in the last.

Still, South Webster was nearly doubled up (41-22) over the final 25:40.

“It’s a game of spurts. We shot the ball well early and made a run, then they made a run,” said Persin.

And, this season has been quite the run for Persin and the Jeeps —all the way to the regional title bout and a stellar 23-4 final record.

They graduate three solid seniors — 6-foot-3 inch anchor Tyler Sommer, 6-foot-3 inch foreign exchange student from Scotland Jack Timothy, and 6-1 defensive specialist Brock Campbell.

Sommer was the most steady presence, averaging almost 16 points per game —and earning all-Southeast District Division IV first-team honors with Roberts.

South Webster senior Tyler Sommer (14)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

“We had three good kids this year that we got a lot out of and we’re going to miss,” said Persin. “Tyler (Sommer) just does a lot of good things for us, he’s going to be tough to replace. Jack (Timothy) coming in to a brand new system that he’s not used to, we got some huge minutes from him. Then Brock (Campbell) played a lot because of his defensive presence.”

South Webster senior Brock Campbell (12)

Ed Litteral | Daily Times

Persin was honored by the OPSWA as its Southeast District Division IV Coach of the Year —an honor he has won numerous times, whether it be at Chesapeake for 21 years or at Oak Hill for two stints.

He guided the Oaks to the 2009 Division IV state championship —and was hoping for a return trip to this weekend’s state tournament.

A decade-and-a-half later, he said he still “enjoys coaching”.

“Things happen for a certain reason you know. I just enjoy coaching, I love coaching,” said Persin. “It’s what it is.”

It just would have been nice had the Jeeps captured the Region 15 championship —like they last did in 2006, when they won the Division IV state crown.

“Like I told the kids in there, it doesn’t matter how it starts, it matters how it ends. This has got to hurt, because there were so many different times where we could have had the game under control,” said Persin. “So many different times, then we turn it over and they come down and hit a three. We turn it over, and they come down and hit a three. You can’t turn the ball over 21 times.”

* * *

South Webster 12 11 8 10 4 — 45

Hiland 6 6 9 20 7— 48

SOUTH WEBSTER 45 (23-4)

Eli Roberts 6 10-12 24, Dylan Shupert 2 0-1 4, Christian White 1 3-4 5, Owen Mault 1 0-0 2, Hunter Barnard 1 0-0 2, Brock Campbell 0 0-0 0, Jack Timothy 1 0-0 2, Tyler Sommer 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 15 13-17 45; Three-point goals: 2 (Eli Roberts 2)

HILAND 48 (22-6)

Logan Bershberger 0 0-0 0, Sammy Detweiler 7 0-0 16, Christian Yoder 0 0-0 0, Sam Wengard 4 1-2 9, Zeke Bodiker 0 0-0 0, Alex Miller 4 2-3 10, Nick Wigton 5 0-0 13, Caleb Mishler 0 0-0 0; TOTALS 20 3-5 48; Three-point goals: 5 (Nick Wigton 3, Sammy Detweiler 2)

Reach Paul Boggs at (740) 353-3101 ext. 1926, by email at [email protected], or on X @paulboggssports © 2024 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved