Article Contributed on: 3/11/2009 4:10:10 PM
The Evergreen Cougars won the Green Mountain 6th Grade Boys Recreation Division B championship with a dramatic 29-27 double overtime victory over the Evergreen Eagles on Feb. 27. Luke Camp netted the game-winner from about 18-feet out in the opening seconds of the sudden death second overtime to seal the championship for his squad.
Camp's bucket capped a tremendous last-minute rally staged by the Cougars, coached by Al Camp and assisted by Chaz Hudd. The Eagles, coached by Tm Daly and assistant coach Jeff Ausman, led 20-15 with about 1:20 to go in regulation before Camp & Co. staged their late surge.
Luke Camp closed the gap to 20-15 with a jumpshot from the corner, and Sam Hudd sank a pair of free throws with under a minute to go to pull the Cougars within 20-19. The Eagles were unable to convert on their next possession, setting the stage for a thrilling finish. The Cougars pushed the ball upcourt and Camp banked in a three-pointer from the top of the key to put his team in the lead 22-20 with under :15 on the clock.
The Eagles worked the ball downcourt, where it was knocked out of bounds with just 1.1 seconds remaining. The ball was inbounded to Eagles' big man Robert Schouten, who fired up a shot at the buzzer. The shot missed, but a foul was called, leaving Schouten at the foul line for two shots with the championship game in the balance. With ice water in his veins, Schouten coolly sank both shots to force overtime.
The Eagles again took the lead, and had a 27-25 advantage as time ran down in the first overtime session. Donny Fineberg saved the day for the Cougars, converting an offensive rebound with 4.5 seconds to go, forcing a second OT. Rules call for sudden death in the second overtime, meaning first basket wins.
The Cougars controlled the opening jump ball, with Brenden Corfee smartly stepping in front of an Eagles' player to take possession. Corfee passed the ball ahead to a streaking Camp, who pulled up and drained the winning jumpshot from just beyond the foul line, sending teammates, family members and fans into a frenzy.
Camp topped Cougars' scorers with ten points, Fineberg added seven, James Morrato and Corfee scored five apiece and Sam Hudd two points. Schouten and Chalen Gordon-McGlore paced the Eagles with seven points apiece, Liam Canty, Alec Moens and Mark Ellerbroek netted four each and Liam Daly scored one point.
The victorious Cougars roster is composed of Luke Camp, Brenden Corfee, James Morrato, Tommy Babb, Donny Fineberg, Jonathan Wampler, Trevor Roche and Sam Hudd. The Eagles squad is made up of Robert Schouten, Alec Moens, Chalen Gordon-McGlore, Liam Daly, Liam Canty, Mark Ellerbroek, Eli Ausman and Adam Dodge.
The two squads split four games throughout the course of the season. The Eagles, who finished in second place in the regular season with a 9-3 record, won both regular season contests. The Cougars defeated the Eagles en route to the pre-season and post-season championships.
Chaz Hudd is a sports writer and the father of Sam Hudd.