Central had tipped the ball backward to start the game and the first overtime. This time Cupps jumped in front of the tip and quickly scored a go-ahead layup. More plays and free throws were needed, but that play sparked the Elks to finally secure a 60-54 victory in the finale of the six-game Ohio Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic at Nationwide Arena.
“We’ve been around each other long enough that that’s all I had to say,” Brook Cupps said. “He was smart enough to know where they had tipped it every time and put himself in a position where it wasn’t obvious. It was a huge play.”
Last year Central (4-2) defeated Centerville (4-1) in the Division I state final at UD Arena and cost the Elks a second straight state title. Gabe Cupps, Ohio’s reigning Mr. Basketball, has several new players around him, and Central star Devin Royal isn’t playing with entirely the same cast either.
“We don’t buy into the whole rematch thing and revenge thing,” Brook Cupps said. “We didn’t play any harder in this game then we’re going to play in the next game. That’s not a thing for us in our program.”
After the loss in the state final, Gabe Cupps said he felt like he let his team down, giving him a unique perspective on the loss.
“I kind of thought of it as the blame on us, so it never really kind of clicked in my mind that they beat us,” he said. “I didn’t tie the emotion to that. I tie the emotion to what we could have done better. So that keeps the focus on us instead of them, and that allows us to improve instead of just like playing out of envy.”
Redemption, perhaps?
“Not really,” he said. “It was just it was another game and we just played as hard as we could. We didn’t play well but got it done.”
The Elks led 21-20 after an ugly first half by both teams. They maintained that lead and were up 44-42 after Collin O’Connor made one of two free throws with 12 seconds left. But Central forced overtime on Juwan Turner’s basket in the lane as time ran out.
In overtime, O’Connor forgot about the missed free throw when Jonathan Powell made the extra pass and set him up for a 3-pointer with five seconds left for a 50-49 lead. Then Royal, the Ohio State signee who scored 27 points, made a crafty play while standing in the lane as a teammate rushed the ball up the floor. He raised his arms and drew a foul from Emmanuel Deng with 1.4 seconds left when both of them ended up on the floor. Royal missed the first free throw but made the second to force the second overtime.
“I saw what he did on the foul,” Brook Cupps said. “We actually watched a clip of him doing the exact same thing against Spire, and if the official falls for it, there’s nothing you can do. It’s a smart basketball play.”
Cupps scored all 12 of his points after halftime, and while he had more turnovers than usual, he still found open teammates for double-digit assists. Cupps, of course, had plenty of help. Kyle Kenney came off the bench to score 11 points and hit two important 3-pointers in the first half.
But no one was more vital than 6-8 forward Dulguun Gankhuyag from Mongolia who joined the Elks in June. He controlled the boards and scored 14 points, hitting open 15-footers in the second half when the Tigers sent double-teams at Cupps. And he guarded Royal and gave him nothing easy.
“I know I can shoot but Coach doesn’t let me shoot that much,” Gankhuyag said, generating a laugh from his coach. “Today I just got open and my guys just give me the passes and I know I have to shoot it.”
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