Boys basketball: Morris comes back to defeat Ottawa 48-46 in OT

OTTAWA – The Morris boys basketball team trailed host Ottawa for a majority of Wednesday’s Interstate 8 Conference game at Kingman Gym.

But the visitors, who trailed by 12 points late in the first half, were able to stay within striking distance and posted a 48-46 overtime victory over the Pirates.

“Anytime you can leave Kingman with a win, especially after being down, what, 12 points there late in the first half, we’ll take it,” Morris coach Joe Blumberg said, his team now 8-6 overall and 3-1 in league play. “We had way too many empty possessions and made way too many mistakes, but the mistakes are all things we can fix.”

“Knocking those two down would have probably sealed the game. I was fortunate to get another shot in overtime and I knew I had to make those. I locked in and was able to make them.”

—  AJ Zweeres, Morris senior guard

Morris senior guard AJ Zweeres had a chance to seal a win for his team with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, but his two free throws rimmed out, and the Pirates were able to tie the score at 40 with Huston Hart sinking a pair of free throws.

“Missing those two free throws at the end of regulation was tough,” said Zweers, who led Morris with 16 points and nine rebounds. “Knocking those two down would have probably sealed the game. I was fortunate to get another shot in overtime, and I knew I had to make those. I locked in and was able to make them.

“This was a good team win for us. We were down for the majority of the game and found a way to get it done. It wasn’t the cleanest game for us, but to be able to get a win here is a big confidence builder for all of us.”

[ Photos: Morris vs Ottawa boys basketball ]

Ottawa led 10-4 after one quarter, 22-14 at halftime and 31-28 heading to the fourth.

A minute into the four-minute extra period, Jack Wheeler gave Morris the lead for good with a three-point play. The Pirates’ Cooper Knoll, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds, followed with a layup, but Morris countered with the pair of Zweeres free throws and one from Caston Norris to help close out the triumph.

After Zweeres, Joey Vanachi had 11 points, and Carter Laudeman and Wheeler had seven points each.

“Jack had four points through three quarters and is averaging 20-something, so to be able to survive on the road without his scoring was big,” Blumberg said. “We had guys like Vinachi, AJ and Laudeman all make huge plays for us in overtime to get us through.”

Morris finished hitting only 33% (16 of 49) from the field. Ottawa sank 36% (17 of 47) of its attempts and held a 35-30 edge on the boards, but committed 21 turnovers (Morris scored 21 points off those miscues), including three in the overtime period.

Hart finished with 11 points, five rebounds and three assists for the hosts, while Keevon Peterson added seven points and three assists

“We turned the ball over way too much in the second half and then again in overtime,” said Ottawa coach Mark Cooper, his club now 7-6 and 2-2. “Many of those turnovers were live-ball turnovers where we didn’t have a chance to set our defense and Morris took advantage of them, especially in some critical times late.

“Morris was able to use their defensive pressure in the second half to get into transition, which got them back into the the game.”

Both teams will be back in action Friday. Ottawa is at longtime rival La Salle-Peru in an I-8 game, and Morris hosts former league member Plano.