‘Trying to be in the moment’: Aspen basketball season ends in overtime
Ray K. Erku/The Aspen Times
Less than two seconds remained in the fourth quarter.
Timnath junior Jack Hemme, who eventually ended the game with 18 points, had just hit an allotted two free throws after getting fouled driving the baseline, putting the Cubs up 48-46. What seemed like a nanosecond later, Aspen junior Kristo Klavins took a miraculous inbound pass and drained what ostensibly was the game-winning 3-pointer.
Pandemonium ensued. Skiers and fans rushed the court. But, according to the referees, the game wasn’t over. Klavins had stepped on the line.
Game tied, 48-48, overtime.
After that, once the final second struck on Saturday at home, the third-seeded Skiers lost to No. 19 Timnath 58-55 in the second round of the Class 4A boys basketball regionals. The Cubs now move on to play in the Great Eight against none other than No. 6 Coal Ridge, who beat DSST: Green Valley Ranch, 46-43, on Saturday.
“Honestly, I put up a prayer, and I’m glad it went in,” Klavins said of his fourth-quarter buzzer-beater. “I thought I won it, but it’s alright. Obviously, we’re graduating a lot of guys, so the loss really sucks for us, but I’m excited to come back next year … most of our team doesn’t get another shot to do this.”
Aspen basketball ends its season at 21-4 overall. Losses include the likes of 12 seniors, including Josh Ford, Giovanni Seeman, Henry Hurd, and the Skiers’ top scorer, Tommy Franceschi, who ended the final game of his high school career with 18 points.
“I never thought it would come, to be honest. Being a freshman on varsity, I thought it was so far away, and I thought I’d never see the end of it,” he said. “Just those last seconds ticking down, it was tough, and it just hit me all at the same time.
“My high school basketball career is over, and to be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever play competitive basketball again.”
Saturday’s game was one for the ages. The two teams went tit-for-tat all day. Franceschi, scoring six points in the first quarter, drove the lane and netted a hard-fought layup to tie the game 9-9. In typical Hemme fashion, however, he’d score a two-point bucket to send his team up 11-9 into the second quarter.
Aspen senior Luke Holloway drained a 3-pointer at 2:35 in the second quarter to tie the game 16 apiece. Timnath, however, would answer back and go into halftime up 21-19.
After a back-and-forth third quarter, Klavins hit two big free throws to send the game into the fourth quarter tied, 33-33.
Perhaps one of the most subtle but critical plays of the game came not on a big shot but on a big mishap. With 2:06 remaining, Cubs junior Reece Woch hit one of two free throws after getting fouled, giving his team a tenuous 46-44 lead. Aspen, however, was unable to answer back, giving Timnath a chance to milk the clock and head into the next round.
With less than a minute left, Timnath was called for an over-and-back violation. This led to a game-tying two-pointer by Seeman, and eventually, Klavins buzzer-beater to send it to overtime.
For Aspen coach Cory Parker, Saturday’s game reminded him of last year, when the Skiers lost 67-65 to DSST: Montview in the Sweet 16.
“I think our consistency in those moments helped us kind of maintain a little bit and then move our emotions from it,” Parker said. “We’ve been in situations like this. Our last state tournament game was very, very similar in overtime, so we’re building from that experience.”
With 7.3 seconds left in overtime, Franceschi hit two free throws to pull the Skiers within a point, 56-55. Cubs’ junior Luke Jacobson, however, hit a couple insurance free throws to put Aspen away for the season.
“It’s such a terrific group of kids, all around, just well-rounded kids in the classroom,” Parker said of his seniors. “How they carried themselves off the court, how they bought in on the court, the camaraderie, the chemistry those 12 players have … that’s what we’re celebrating.
“We’re trying to be in the moment.”
Also playing Saturday in 3A regional finals were both Roaring Fork teams. It didn’t end well for either, as the No. 15 boys lost to No. 2 Windsor Charter Academy, 70-40. The No. 9 girls lost a heart-breaker at No. 8 Strasburg, falling 59-57.
Ray K. Erku can be reached at (970) 429-9120 or rerku@aspentimes.com.
‘Trying to be in the moment’: Aspen basketball season ends in overtime
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