OLMSTED TWP. — It couldn’t have worked out better for the Southwestern Conference — two backyard rivals playing for the outright league title on the final night of the regular season.
The end result wasn’t too shabby, either.
In front of a packed gymnasium at Olmsted Falls High School on Friday night, Falls and North Olmsted produced an ideal finish to one of the most entertaining SWC seasons in recent memory, battling to the wire before the Bulldogs prevailed, 74-71.
It was the 12th league title in 13 years for the perennial conference heavyweight, but this one held extra significance, with few picking Falls, the defending champ, to repeat, and the Bulldogs owning a sub-.500 record at the midway point of the regular season.
“I don’t know if it is the most special (title), but it’s right there with it,” said longtime Bulldog coach Pat Donahue, as he wiped tears from his eyes. “No one thought we would win it. People were saying, ‘This is an off year for Olmsted Falls.’ We were 5-7 and it looked like we were dead and buried.
“But they stayed together and kept coming.”
North Olmsted, the consensus preseason SWC favorite, was denied its first conference title since 1973 — and it hurt.
“It’s a devastating loss,” said Eagles coach Tim Schmotzer. “I thought our guys put their whole heart into it. We played on (Olmsted Falls’) floor and we were certainly in a position to win the game. I’m very proud of our guys. It’s just a shame we couldn’t take that next step and win a conference championship.”
Both teams entered the fray with identical 11-2 conference records and riding seven-game winning streaks.
They mirrored each other in the final head-to-head matchup as well, with the game featuring 15 lead changes and nine ties, and neither team owning more than a six-point lead. The lead changed twice and was tied three times in the final quarter — a far cry from the outcome of the first meeting, which Falls won by 17 points at North Olmsted.
“It was very exciting,” said Donahue, whose team ended the regular season 13-7 overall, with the Eagles finishing at 15-5. “You couldn’t ask for a closer score or a closer game.”
Both teams were forced to play without their leading scorers during the opening half — Olmsted Falls, without Pat Pellerite, who drew his second offensive foul with 4:38 left in the opening quarter and did not return for the rest of the half — and North Olmsted without Chris Arlinghaus and Kevin Kilbane, both getting whistled for their second fouls as well.
“That game could have been over very easily with Pat on the bench,” said Donahue of his senior forward who entered the night as one of the area’s leading scorers at 21.5 points per game. “The good thing is that we’ve been in that situation before. These guys hold down the fort until Pat’s able to come back.”
No one protected the turf better than the Bulldogs’ senior guard Jim Brabenec, who scored nine of his game-high 25 points in the first 16 minutes. Brabenec and junior guard Scott Kimmey, who also scored nine first-half points, helped Falls keep it close before heading to the locker room trailing 29-28.
Pellerite returned to score 19 of his 21 points, but the Eagles didn’t get their usual production from Kilbane and Arlinghaus, double-digit scorers who combined for just 17 points. Arlinghaus didn’t attempt a shot in the opening half, scoring six points on a pair of second-half 3-pointers, while Kilbane scored just two points before intermission.
But like Falls, North Olmsted had reinforcements — none bigger than pivotman Pat Hanrahan.
The senior, who looks more like a football player in the trenches, was at home on the hardwood, scoring 16 points (well above his average), while controlling the paint with a whopping 22 rebounds that helped the Eagles to a 41-24 edge on the boards.
“That was his best game of the season,” Schmotzer said. “The guy hasn’t looked to score as much as we’d like, but he just came to play for us. I was very proud of a senior like that coming through like he did.”
It appeared it might be a feel-good story for North Olmsted when Arlinghaus opened the final quarter with a 3-pointer that put the Eagles up 52-50. A 3-pointer from Dave Hall, followed by a steal and layup from Matt Roman left North in front 60-55 with 4:31 to play.
But Falls, not surprisingly, came back again, catching the Eagles at 65 on a 3-pointer from Kimmey with 2:24 left.
What followed was a microcosm of the entire night, with the two teams going back and forth before the Bulldogs forged ahead for good at 68-67 on Pellerite’s old-fashioned three-point play with 1:37 to play.
A pair of free throws from Kimmey put Falls up 70-67 with 54 seconds remaining, with Roman missing a layup but getting fouled and splitting the foul shots to leave the Eagles trailing by two.
Two more foul shots from Pellerite gave the Bulldogs a 72-68 advantage with 28 seconds, but an Arlinghaus 3-pointer closed the gap to a point with 14 seconds left. Kimmey split a pair from the line to give the Eagles a chance to tie on two free throws from Kilbane with four seconds remaining.
But with the hometown crowd at a fever pitch, Kilbane missed the first foul shot and drew a violation after failing to catch the rim on an intentional miss.
A Kimmey free throw put Falls up by the final count, but there was one anxious moment left for the Bulldogs, who watched as Kilbane’s half-court heave hit the front of the rim and fell to the floor as the final horn sounded, completing an improbable quest for another SWC title in Olmsted Township.
“We knew we were going to do it,” said Brabenec, one of just four seniors on the Bulldog roster. “We had everything there. We just had to get through our inexperience and come through.”
Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

Olmsted Falls 74, North Olmsted 71

NORTH OLMSTED (71): Matt Roman 5-1-12, Nick Brown 3-1-7, Dave Hall 2-0-6, Kevin Kilbane 4-3-11, George Bloomfield 3-0-7, Chris Arlinghaus 2-0-6, Cory Benkowski 2-0-4, Pat Hanrahan 5-6-16, Doug Otter 0-2-2, Cameron Burson 0-0-0. Totals 26-13-71.
OLMSTED FALLS (74): Tony Lanza 1-0-3, Scott Kimmey 4-8-18, John Atkinson 0-0-0, Mark Hurrell 1-1-3, Brandon Russo 0-0-0, Jim Brabenec 10-2-25, Steve Battaglia 1-2-4, Pat Pellerite 8-5-21, Orlando Glenn 0-0-0, Mike Abraham 0-0-0. Totals 25-18-74.
North Olmsted 14 15 20 22 — 71
Olmsted Falls 13 15 22 24 — 74
Three-point goals: Olmsted Falls 6-21 (Brabenec 3, Kimmey 2, Lanza); North Olmsted 6-21 (Hall 2, Arlinghaus 2, Bloomfield, Roman). Field Goals: Olmsted Falls 25-51 (49 percent), North Olmsted 26-56 (46 percent). Free Throws: Olmsted Falls 18-34 (53 percent), North Olmsted 13-21 (62 percent). Rebounds: Olmsted Falls 24 (Kimmey, Pellerite 6), North Olmsted 41 (Hanrahan 22). Turnovers: Olmsted Falls 6, North Olmsted 11. Fouls: Olmsted Falls 18, North Olmsted 26. Fouled Out: Roman.
Junior Varsity: Olmsted Falls, 61-50.
 

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.