Boys Basketball: Waubonsie Valley edges Metea Valley in OT

Updated: January 11, 2012 10:21PM

All eyes were on Waubonsie Valley standout Jared Brownridge coming off a screen with three seconds remaining in overtime, so Tyler Yanisch was able to find wide-open Brandon Malby coming down the left side of the lane.

The 6-foot-1 right-handed senior made the left-handed layup to beat the buzzer and the host Warriors handed fifth-ranked Metea Valley its first loss of the season 62-61 in the Upstate Eight Valley.

“That was the play just as the coaches drew it up,” said Yanisch.

It ended a see-saw affair between the District 204 rivals and created a logjam atop the league standings. Waubonsie Valley climbs to 11-4 and 4-1, while Metea fell to 14-1, 5-1. Lake Park also has just one league loss.

“We held our composure down the stretch and I knew that was gonna be the key,” said Waubonsie Valley coach Steve Weemer. “I knew Brandon (Malby, 14 points) was due and we knew Jared was gonna draw a lot of attention, which he did all game.

“We didn’t beat a buster team. We beat a team that was undefeated and dang good.”

The Mustangs, who got 19 points from Sean Davis and 15 from Kenny Obendorf, shot just 38 percent (20 of 52), considerably lower than their season percentage of .550.

“Teams are gonna get after us, we know that,” said Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza.

“Obviously, our focus was on Brownridge there at the end. We were switching all screens there. Yanisch did a great job of selling it to Brownridge and then Malby slipped through. Great play by their coaches.”

The visiting Mustangs led 17-15 after one quarter, 28-27 at the half and 40-38 after three quarters in front of a packed house between the neighborhood rivals on the far east side of Aurora.

The Warriors had an 8-0 run capped by a Brownridge three-pointer with 5:02 remaining to take the largest lead of the night at 51-43.

Metea, though, took advantage of a technical foul called on Demitrius Gray (11 points) and came up with a five-point play after Obendorf hit two free throws and LaShawn Cargo (six points) followed with the first of two clutch treys.

Ryan Solomon hit a pair of free throws with 45 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 56-all and the Mustangs’ defense held as Brownridge dished to sophomore Jack Cordes, whose baseline jumper for the win was off the mark.

Cargo’s second three-pointer with 47 seconds remaining gave Metea its short-lived 61-60 lead.

“Down eight in the fourth quarter, heads could’ve gone down and we could have quit and lost by 10 but, as we always do, the kids battled back,” said Vozza. “They battled back and had some huge defensive plays at the end to send it to overtime.”

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