Seneca Turkey Tourney: Host Irish top Bobcats for title on freshman’s winning buzzer-beater

SENECA – Only three games into his freshman basketball campaign, Seneca freshman Paxton Giertz has already made a huge impression on the varsity hoops scene.

The 5-foot-11 guard calmly floated home a runner in the lane with four seconds to go that sealed the Fighting Irish’s 62-60 victory over Somonauk on Saturday evening during the championship game of the 21st Annual Seneca Turkey Tournament.

Giertz tallied 11 points on the night, no two as important as his final pair helping the Irish win their ninth Turkey Tourney title and first since 2012.

“I was just trying to read their defense after they had tied the game up with about 20 seconds left,” Giertz said. “I wanted to see what they were going to set up with, and they just let me get past them into the paint. No passing lanes were open, so I just took the shot and it went in.

“This is exactly the way I wanted my varsity basketball career to begin since I was a little kid, and to know Seneca has now won this for the first time in a long while makes it even more special to me. I think there’s many more to come for me and my teammates over the next few years.”

Giertz was named to the all-tournament team, along with Seneca senior Zach Pfeifer, who had a team-best 22 points.

Most Valuable Player, Somonauk senior Alex Krejci, had a chance to trump Giertz’s heroics with a last-gasp 3-point try at the buzzer, but it bounced off the rim. Krejci still led all scorers with 23 points, while teammate Brendan Roberts joined him as an all-tournament selection by scoring eight points and grabbing a team-best seven rebounds.

“Seneca is super young and super talented, and the Giertz kid is an amazing freshman,” Somonauk coach Curt Alsvig said. “It came down to one possession, so credit Seneca and him for finding a way to win and make that bucket to win it.”

Both teams shot the ball remarkably well on the night, as the Irish drained 26 of 49 (53%). The Bobcats were close behind, hitting 23 of 44 (52%).

But it was Seneca (4-0) that got of to an initial lead early when sophomore center Lane Provance (10 points, 10 rebounds) scored six in the paint to help give the Irish a 18-15 lead after one quarter. Seneca stretched that lead to 36-26 at the half when Giertz hit a 3 at 6:30 and Pfeifer added two 3s – one at 3:40 from the top of the key and another from the left baseline at 2:10 – that helped push Seneca’s lead to double digits at the break.

Somonauk (3-1) was not outdone by a long shot, outscoring Seneca, 20-11, in the third. Krejci erupted for nine points as the Bobcats cut the margin to 47-46 entering the fourth.

Parker Wasson (16 points) opened the fourth with a three-point play that gave Somonauk a 49-47 lead. But Seneca regained the lead shortly after, 50-49, on Noah Quigley’s 3 at 7:15. Giertz’s bucket proved to be the key as the two teams battled point-for-point down the stretch.

“I love everything about Somonauk from their kids to their coaching staff, and they gave us everything we could handle tonight,” Seneca coach Russ Witte said. “They’re a great team, and we may face them again at the Marseilles Christmas Tournament. I thought we did a really great job, especially in the first half, of controlling the tempo of the game and not letting them get into too much of a fast-paced contest.

“Paxton Giertz was not a freshman tonight. He was controlled all game and made the shot when we needed to have him make a big shot when it counted. I’m so proud of all the guys for a big win against an excellent basketball team.”