Emerald Ridge 56, Olympia 54: Tevin McClain’s late bucket lifts Jaguars

It was back-and-forth action late in the fourth quater, and Casson Rouse gave Olympia its first lead, 49-48, with two minutes, 12 seconds remaining.

Olympia erased an 11-point deficit Emerald Ridge built earlier in the half, but the Jaguars survived to win, 56-54, at Emerald Ridge High School.

“We fought and we came back,” said Rouse, who led the Bears in scoring with 17 points. “We played hard and we had it. We just didn’t execute at the end.”

As Rouse pulled Olympia back into the game, Emerald Ridge senior Jason Cassens held the Bears off.

“I knew we were short-handed and we were missing some guys tonight,” Cassens said. “I knew it was a big game and I needed to show up. Coach Pat Mullen) said I had the green light, and I could shoot anything I wanted to, so I tried to be aggressive a little bit, and tried to be a playmaker off of that.”

Cassens led all scorers with 27 points, including hitting a 3-pointer that gave the Jaguars the lead, 51-49, seconds after Rouse’s 3-point play that put Olympia in front.

Cassens’ hot hand caused Olympia to force double-teams on the Jaguars forward, often leaving other Emerald Ridge players open.

After Emerald Ridge forced a turnover on Olympia’s next possession, Cassens found a crease through two defenders to find Daniel Gregory (13 points) wide open on the wing. Gregory made the basket, giving the Jaguars a 54-49 lead with 1:20 left.

“You can’t spot a great team,” Olympia coach John Kiley said, about his team trailing 15-7 after the first. “There were a few things we could have controlled but we didn’t, so it was it was kind of a focal point after the game. We played well for three quarters, but it took four quarters tonight.”

Rouse hit a jumper from the corner to pull Olympia within three with 52.2 seconds left to play.

After pulling down a rebound on the defensive end, Hunter Sipe (10 points) was able to draw a foul on a layup with 12.4 seconds remaining.

Sipe hit the first free throw, but after after he missed the second, Toran Effland grabbed the offensive board, and kicked it back out to Rouse who hit a game-tying shot with 9.2 seconds remaining.

“At the end of the game, you would like to execute a little better, as you never want to give up a rebound on a missed free throw,” Emerald Ridge coach Pat Mullen said. “But the kids didn’t panic, and we got the ball in Jason’s hands and he made a play.”

Olympia used a full-court press, but after the ball crossed mid court and found its way into Cassens’ hands, the Jaguars senior spun around Rouse.

“Me and Marcus Miller came to trap and No. 22 (Cassens) on their team just made just great move. A little spin move,” said Rouse, who tried to swipe Cassens on the dribble. “I thought I had it, but it was a great move.”

The move gave Cassens an open passing lane to Tevin McClain, who found himself alone under the hoop, and McClain hit the game-winning shot with 1.2 seconds left on the clock.

“At the end there, they were really focused on Jason,” McClain said. “My guy went for Jason, and I cut the basket wide open.”

Dayne Shafer attempted an in-bounds pass down the court, but the combo of Emerald Ridge guards Gregory and Mathew Benjamin knocked the ball loose to prevent any last-second heroics.

“One, they’re seasoned. They are warriors out there and Mullen does such a great job,” Kiley said. “There was a lot in our control tonight, but we didn’t finish shots and we didn’t get the stops we needed.”

“Kudos to Emerald Ridge and their guys hitting big shots, and shots with guys in their face. They definitely earned it late in the game.”

Each of Olympia’s three losses in 4A SPSL play have come on the road against the three teams in front of them (Emerald Ridge, Curtis and Bellarmine Prep).

Olympia gets their first crack at revenge against their loss to Curtis when they host the Vikings on Tuesday.

“I honestly think we are up there every team in the league,” Rouse said. “And we get them (Emerald Ridge) next week at our place. We can definitely make it a different outcome. We have all of them at home.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2017 at 1:02 PM with the headline "Emerald Ridge 56, Olympia 54: Tevin McClain’s late bucket lifts Jaguars."