Keith’s John Pettway scored 41 points Tuesday night, but he made the biggest play of the game from his knees.

With the Bears down one in the closing seconds, Pettway fell after crossing half court, but managed to grab the ball and find Jimmie Powell under the basket. Powell finished the play — and the game — with a two-handed dunk that beat the buzzer and helped Keith rally for a hard-fought 69-68 victory over rival Ellwood Christian.

“I told them before the game that we were going to have to play every second,” said Keith head coach Tommy Tisdale. “Before we left out of at halftime, my exact words were ‘Whatever it takes, this is an area game that puts us comfortably where we need to be — we need to win this game by any means necessary.’”

The Bears (11-8) were up to the challenge, rallying from an early 26-9 deficit behind an incredible performance from Pettway. Once Keith pulled even in the third quarter, the lead changed hands at a rapid pace.

Jalen Furlow’s layup with 1:33 left to play gave Ellwood (5-10) a 65-61 lead, but Pettway drained a deep jumper and tied it seconds later on a hard drive to the goal.

C.J. Grimes, who led the Eagles with 24 points, made a free throw to give Ellwood a 66-65 lead with 31.4 seconds left. Pettway answered again, getting fouled after rebounding his own miss with 22 seconds left.

He made both free throws, giving the Bears a 67-66 lead.

Grimes was fouled with 12.6 seconds left and made both free throws as Ellwood seized the lead back.

Tisdale warned his team during his final timeout that they might be in a situation where they were down in the final seconds. He told them to put the ball in Pettway’s hands and let him make a play.

“I said when you get if you get it, I want you to put the ball in your strong hand, sprint full speed down court, go hard to the basket and something good will happen,” Tisdale said he told Pettway.

Something good did happen, although it wasn’t the way player or coach pictured it taking place.

“I saw one of my boys become a fan [on the final play],” Ellwood coach Darrell Walker said. “It was preconceived that when Pettway lost the ball, the game was over with. The good player that Pettway is made a play and then when they dunked it, my boys tried to call a timeout but there weren’t any timeouts.”

Pettway’s bounce pass found Powell wide open and he dunked it to send the Bears’ bench into celebration. Tisdale said after a slow start his team matched Ellwood’s intensity down the stretch.

“I told my guys, ‘Let me give you the recipe for a loss — going into Ellwood and it’s the biggest game of the season for them and not you,” Tisdale said. “I said, ‘If it’s not you’re biggest game, we’ll lose.”

Ellwood came out firing on all cylinders. Behind three-pointers from Grimes and Jalen Furlow, took a 15-point first half lead. Thanks to some great plays by Pettway and President Hasberry, Keith managed to close the gap to 29-23 at the end of the second quarter.

The third and fourth quarters were physical, which each team playing as if their season rode on the final result.

Luckily for both, the season wasn’t riding on Tuesday’s game, although it could go a long way in determining where the class 1A, area 5 tournament is played. After the win, Keith is 4-0 in area play with only games against Akron and Sunshine remaining. Ellwood is now 0-2 in area.

Keith will face Southside in Orrville Friday night in the third meeting of the year between the two teams. Ellwood will play its third consecutive home game Friday against Marengo.

 

Keith 65, Ellwood 32 (Girls)

Keith showed Tuesday that it has a fairly strong bench too.

Minus several starters against Ellwood Christian, the Lady Bears jumped out to a 17-2 lead and controlled throughout during a 65-32 win over the Eagles.

“I told [several starters] earlier in the day that they weren’t going to play, because it gives my other girls a chance to get some experience,” Keith coach Cecil Williams said.

Although the game was a blowout, the result was a far cry from Keith’s 98-5 win the last time the two sides met.

The win keeps Keith in control of the class 1A, area 5 race, moving them to 3-1 with games against Sunshine and Akron remaining.

“We play them Jan. 22 and we’ve got to beat them,” Williams said of the upcoming Sunshine matchup, which will likely decide the area.

Shatavia Moore led the way for the Lady Bears with 18 points in the game.