Friday, April 26, 2024
Aaron Sorkin himself couldn’t have written a better script for Granbury Pirate Senior Night at the James Wann Sports Center Tuesday.
Michael Withey hit a buzzer-beater – for the second time this season – darn near from half court off an inbounds play with 2.96 seconds left as the Pirates beat Burleson 77-76 to end their season.
The bench spilled onto the court, quickly followed by the student section. The celebration turned into a dogpile on top of Withey and the rest of the seniors, who had fought valiantly all year in a tough district.
“Through all the tough losses, and all the demoralizing matchups, this entire team kept practicing and stayed together,” Granbury head coach David Breazeale said. “They really loved each other and enjoyed spending time together maybe more than any team I’ve ever had at Granbury.
“It’s a coach cliche, but for me it was all about them being real special.”
Withey, a senior guard, had 28 points and 22 rebounds in his final game.
“That’s insanity,” Breazeale said.
Granbury had never used the play that freed Withey for the winning shot. Breazeale could be heard imploring inbounder McLain Golba to make sure he got the ball to Withey at the top of the key.
“When (Breazeale) called a timeout, we kind of made it up,” Withey said. “We had two guys (at the elbow) on each side, and then me in the middle, and they both came in and screened the middle.
“Then I popped up, and just hit it.”
And then?
“Pure joy,” Withey said. “I can’t even believe it happened.”
After the celebration died down, Withey was in the enviable spot of being able to decide which buzzer-beater he hit this year was his favorite.
“I think the Crowley one was cooler, because I was kind of turning in the air,” he said. “This one was cool because I was deep.”
Withey wasn’t the only one with a big game. Branden Hunt hit six threes and scored 22 points in his final appearance for Granbury. Breazeale said there were times this year when Hunt, a deadeye three-point shooter, would get frustrated as teams assigned defenders solely to shut him down.
“I told him he needed to take it as a compliment,” Breazeale said. Hunt was instant offense in spurts for Granbury and had a knack for coming up with big steals as well.
Sophomore Payton Plash hit two three-pointers off the dribble in the 30 seconds to keep the Pirates within striking distance of Burleson.
“That was interesting,” Breazeale said. “He’s kind of like Dave Kingman, who played in the major leagues – he only hit .200 for his career but had a lot of home runs.
“We’ve gotta get him more consistent. But he does have big play ability.”
The Pirates led after each of the first three quarters. Hunt buried two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game to lift Granbury to a 14-7 lead after one.
In the second quarter, both offenses picked up the pace. The Pirates led 34-25 at the half, and after some more up-and-down basketball led 56-51 heading into the fourth.
Burleson flipped that into a five-point lead of its own with 2:50 left at 67-62. The Pirates stayed in the game by fighting tooth and nail for loose rebounds and coming up with big shots -- especially Plash’s two threes.
Gage Molinari closed out his career with 10 points and five rebounds. Brady Willmeth threw his body around for hard-earned rebounds and played tough defense off the bench.
After the dogpile ended and the court cleared, the Pirates found themselves struggling for words in the locker room.
“It got pretty emotional,” Breazeale said. “All the insanity, and then I come in and they’re already in (the locker room), and everybody’s quiet. Reality hit. It kinda got me shook up.
“I talked to them for a little bit, then said, ‘Enough of that. Let’s dance.’”
STARTING ANEW
Granbury will lose three starters and three bench players to graduation. The Pirates were 3-11 in District 5-5A this season, but will be in a newer, easier district next year.
“The one good thing about (District 5-5A) is that it made those guys as good as they could possibly get,” Breazeale said. “They wouldn’t have gotten out of themselves what they got.”
Sawyer Schenewark and Nathan Wisely battled injuries throughout the year but are expected to contribute significantly in 2020-21. Golba and Plash will return from the starting lineup. Willmeth will also be back and could see more time, as Breazeale said he’s impressed with how smart Willmeth has played this year.
Breazeale said he’s still searching for JV and freshman players to bring up to the varsity for next year but said he needs to remember that “everyone will be a year older” in the fall.
“This time last year, Mikey Withey was just a guy,” Breazeale said. “A real good kid, you knew he was going to work hard.
“To come on like that ... you never know.”
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