Finneran sparks SMCC to 61-56 win at Huron

HURON — Blake Finneran, the smallest guy on the basketball court, carried St. Mary Central Catholic in the fourth quarter. The Panthers needed the spark. Finneran helped SMCC break a tie with six minutes to play and led the Panthers to a 61-56 Sandusky Bay Conference crossover win over Huron on Tuesday. "We obviously knew they'd come out with a ton of energy because this is our coach's alma mater," said Finneran, a senior listed at 5 feet, 7 inches. "We knew we had to come out with more physicality and more energy. We kinda figured this was the way the game was going to go. "I can't remember the last time we beat Huron here. It's been a long time." The Panthers last won in Huron on Jan. 16, 2015 — a 58-51 decision. Finneran will remember the last five minutes of this game, and a win that raised SMCC's record to 11-1. After Huron tied the game at 46 on a Nixon Dike basket with six minutes to play, Finneran made things happen. First, he followed in his own miss on a baseline drive to give the Panthers a lead they would not lose. He made it 50-46 when he double pumped on a drive in the lane and converted. After a Caleb Staley 3-pointer, Finneran made a pair of free throws. With 1:57 to play, Finneran made a nice pass in traffic to Cullen Dillard, who laid one in for a 54-50 SMCC lead. "I wanted to bring the energy and I knew we needed some points," Finneran said. "I just figured driving to the hoop and seeing what I could get was the best way to do it." With SMCC up 54-51, Finneran made the biggest play of the final period, stealing a pass near midcourt. After dribbling out a few seconds, he was fouled and made two free throws to give the Panthers a 56-51 lead with 31 seconds to play. "You gotta be ready for anything to come your way," he said. "When I saw the ball, I went right at it and knew that I could get it." Cayden Wikel added five free throws in the final 19 seconds to assure SMCC would drive back to Sandusky in a great mood. "He was huge in that second half," said SMCC coach Kyle Hammond of Finneran. "He got in foul trouble in the first half and had to sit. He made big plays on offense and had a huge steal late in the game and made some big free throws. We have great senior leadership and Blake is definitely one of the keys to that." Wikel led SMCC with 13 points and Finneran added 12. Huron led 13-8 late in the first quarter on a 3 from Grant Periat, but the Panthers turned it around and led 27-22 on a Leo Will jumper late in the first half. SMCC went on a 9-0 run late in the third quarter before Huron tied it on a Dike 3-pointer, an off-balance basket by Periat and Dike's layup off a turnover. It was a physical game as the teams combined to attempt 52 free throws. It also was SMCC's only game this season against a Division V opponent. The Panthers play in Division VII. "That's just a classic Huron-St. Mary's game," Hammond said. "This is a rivalry that goes back a long time. I thought it was a great game by both teams and we were lucky to come out a couple plays ahead of them." Huron senior forward Parker Schafer led all scorers with 19 points, attacking the basket and making 9 of 12 free throws. Periat had 14 points — 11 in the first half as Huron led 29-27 at the break. Huron played without its leading scorer, senior guard Quentin Conway, who is on the injured list. "He's out indefinitely. We don't know when he's gonna be back," Huron coach Toby Miller said. "We got that news this weekend. It's unfortunate. We're looking for other guys to step up. "Guys who got extended minutes did step up. Grant Periat and Parker Shaffer played great games for us." Caleb Staley added nine points and seven rebounds for Huron and Dike finished with nine boards. "They made more plays down the stretch that us," Miller said. "Been saying that a lot this year. It's a hurdle we need to get over. St. Mary's just kind of spread attacked and willed their way to victory. "Both teams battled some adversity with the weather, weren't allowed to practice (Monday). It was good for both teams and it's why you put it on the schedule." Huron faces a tough assignment Friday at home against state-ranked Margaretta before hitting the road for three straight games. SMCC returns to SBC River Division action Thursday at Fremont St. Joseph. "This is a great group of kids," Hammond said. "They're unselfish, they work incredibly hard and stay focused on the moment. I'm excited for the second half of the season to see where we finish it up." SMCC (11-1) Jack Davis 4 0-2 9, Cayden Wikel 3 5-6 13, Blake Finneran 4 4-6 12, Leo Will 2 0-2 5, Gabe Burch 2 1-3 5, Bryan Gibson 0 4-4 4, Jackson Grimm 2 3-4 7, Cullen Dillard 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 20 17-27 61 HURON (5-9) Caleb Staley 2 4-6 9, Nixon Dike 2 0-0 5, Jack Raglow 3 0-3 7, Parker Schafer 5 9-12 19, Grant Periat 5 3-4 14, Braden Hall 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 18 16-25 56 SMCC 11 16 19 15 — 61 Huron 13 16 13 14 — 56 Three-point goals: SMCC 4 (Wikel 2, Davis, Will); Huron 4 (Staley, Dike, Raglow, Periat)