Ditto: Two finishes that were oddly similar in Oil City

An overwhelming feeling of deja-vu rolled through the House of Hustle Friday night when Franklin found itself at the foul line with seconds left needing to hit one to tie and another to win.

Earlier in the night Rocky Grove discovered itself in the exact same position. 

Both squads hit one, missed the second and, like it was written in a Groundhog Day style script, they both got a second chance again at a game-winning free throw that neither could convert sending both games into overtime.
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In the extra stanzas, both Franklin and Rocky Grove prevailed having just a little bit more left in the tank to win and advance in the 3A and 1A classes in District 10.

The Grove got off to a rocky start falling behind 9-0 against Cochranton.

Point guard Schiffer Anderson finally got the Orioles on the scoreboard with just under four minutes left in the first quarter when he drained a long-range three. Seconds later D’Andre Whitman stole the ball near half court and added a layup.

But that was it for the first quarter, fortunately the Cardinals weren't exactly dropping them down either only mustering 11 in the first eight-minutes.

In the second, Quinn Richey got hot scoring five unanswered points to bring the Orioles within four. Neither team was explosive in the scoring department.

​At the half, Cochranton held a five-point lead 20-15. 

The third quarter was more like Rocky Grove basketball where they outscored the Cardinals 18-11 to go up by two heading into the fourth.

The would-be final quarter was pretty even overall with the Cardinals having a slight edge thanks to several missed foul shots by the Orioles down the stretch. As the final seconds wound down Rocky Grove found itself behind.

Whitman was fouled with 12.9 seconds on the clock and down by one. 

He hit the first one but the second bounced out. Then Quinn Richey fouled Cochranton’s Chase Miller, who was their leading scorer on the night, with 8.8 seconds left. 

Miller missed both his attempts, sending the Orioles back up court hoping for a last-second bucket when Landen Carter was fouled in the final second.

​The freshman failed to convert giving a desperation heave by Cochranton that fell way short.

In overtime, the Grove scored nine points. Ironically they knocked down five free throws as part of their nine while the Cardinals could only muster two three-pointers.

At the finish, Rocky Grove checked the win box with a 51-48 victory. On Tuesday, they face a very tough Farrell, who they recently lost to in one of the season's more interesting games.

At the start of the night, Damon Curry stood 19 points away from the 1,000 point club. He got 18. Luckily, the Knights won so all he needs is a single shot Tuesday to join this elite membership.

Early on in their matchup against Mercyhurst Prep, it looked like the Knights would slowly build the lead toward the running clock mark. But the green and white Lakers came to the game ready to aggressively push the Knights and force Franklin to have to earn the win.

Tuesday had the makings of being Cole Buckley's night. Number four was driving and scoring almost at will in the first quarter scoring 10 points. He was two-thirds of the Knights' overall offense at that point.

In the second quarter, the rest of the squad picked up and it looked like the Knights were starting to cruise. They led 36-21 at the half including a buzzer-beating tip-in by senior guard Ethan Owens.

During the third quarter, the Lakers began to surge, outscoring the Knights by seven points and ending at 49-38.

Franklin opened the fourth with perhaps their sloppiest play of the season. They were suddenly being out rebounded and the Lakers were robbing the Knights left and right and turning those steals into baskets. After only a few minutes, the lead was down to single digits and the Lakers' confidence was growing.

Then, with only a couple minutes left on the clock, Mercyhurst rattled off nine unanswered to take the lead 56-55

Damon Curry was fouled with 6.8 seconds remaining. In his left hand, which was injured early in the season, the Knights' fate relied.  He sunk the first free throw that rattled a bit but fell. He then missed the second and into overtime they went.

In overtime, the Franklin squad looked more like itself, building a little lead and then counter-punching when the Lakers hit pay dirt. 

In the end, the Region 6 champs created a seven-point lead with about a minute left and held off the last Laker offensive strike to clinch the victory with a 71-68 margin.

Franklin will square off against Fairview on Tuesday at a site and time yet to be determined. They lost to Fairview earlier this season on a buzzer-beater at the Dick Russell tournament.

Whitman led the way for Rocky Grove with 22 points. Buckley had 23 for Franklin. Barring some unforeseen circumstances, Franklin's Damon Curry will net his 1,000th career point on Tuesday with his first bucket.

Oil City, who was playing up the road in Meadville Friday night, easily handled North East with a 68-37 win. They will move on to the semi-finals and take on Seneca, who upset Girard.
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If both Oil City and Franklin win Tuesday, it will set up another chance for brothers, Jason and Bundy Fulmer to go head-to-head as coaches in an all-Venango County District 10 championship game.