After one tie and one lead change, Waynesville’s last-second layup attempts didn’t fall, propelling the game to its first overtime tied at 46 points.
Senior guard Drake Ahrens scored six of the Tigers’ first 10 points in the first extra period, including a jumper that gave them a 56-55 lead, but Sesslar sank the first of two free throws and Waynesville collected the offensive rebound to send the contest to a second four-minute overtime.
After Versailles senior forward Ethan Wilker made a layup and gave the Tigers (17-7) a 60-59 lead, Spartans senior Lucas Rocha drained a 3-pointer and started a 7-0 Spartans run which included four free throws made in four attempts from Rutledge and Sesslar.
Waynesville went 7-for-8 at the line in the final 1:01 and Versailles couldn’t get any closer than three points as the Spartans completed their comeback and advanced to Saturday’s regional final.
“My emotions are everywhere right now,” Waynesville coach Brandon Philpot said. “Just the intensity of the game, overtimes. The effort and the heart that our kids played with to come back from a big deficit early, it just speaks volumes of how much our kids truly care about one another and the effort they give for each other in this community and this school. It’s amazing.”
Versailles carried a 9-0 run across the first and second quarters and led 22-10 when junior forward Reed Raterman scored inside the paint. The Spartans tried cutting into the deficit, but Raterman ended the first half with a 3 that forced Waynesville to play from behind double digits to start the second.
“We just had to do some things defensively, a couple tweaks,” Philpot said. “They’re a really well-coached ballc lub, Versailles. The Ahrens kid is phenomenal, so we tried to stop him and he’s tough to stop. But on offense, we started getting downhill more. We started making shots too. Lucas Rocha, one of our best players obviously, missed some shots early but he made some heck-of-a-clutch shots late in the game.”
Rocha scored all 15 points in the second half, including 10 in the second overtime which saw him hit a pair of 3-point buckets and go 4-of-4 at the free throw line.
Waynesville senior Andrew Stupp also contributed 11 points as four Spartans reached double figures.
“This team, any given night, we have seven or eight guys that can lead us in scoring,” Philpot said. “Tonight we didn’t rotate much once we got into overtime. We kind of went with our guys. It just was the situation, and honestly, I’m just lost for words right now with how excited I am for these kids.”
Ahrens finished with a game-high 25 points and Versailles junior guard Blake Monnin had 10.
Waynesville will play fourth-seeded Summit Country Day in Saturday’s regional final at Xavier University’s Cintas Center at 11 a.m.
Philpot wants the Spartans, who’ll enter Saturday on a 22-game win streak, to remember one thing and work on another heading into their first regional championship.
“Breathe. Get off to a fast start,” Philpot said. “Two (games) in a row where we’ve started off down big, and we can’t keep doing that against a great Summit Country Day club.”
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