NEW CARLISLE ― Terrance Lane and Brandon Foster were not about to let their high school hoops careers end Saturday, March 7 without a climb up the ladder to cut down sectional championship nets.
The pair of Mishawaka Marian guards made their own bit of Hoosier Hysteria to remember for a lifetime.
The dynamic duo led the way as the resilient Knights simply found a way to outlast Culver Academies 73-65 in a triple-overtime thriller in the title tilt of the Class 3A New Prairie Sectional.
Lane hit six huge treys to score a team-high 22 points and Foster extended the game with an amazing off-balance driving layup to send the game to overtime.
Marian (17-7) advances to play East Chicago Central (14-12) in a one game regional this Saturday, March 14 at Michigan City High School at 4 pm CT.
Culver Academies, which gave up an 11-point lead in the final 2:38 of regulation for the gut-wrenching loss, ends its season at 12-13.
Lane and Foster, two of five seniors for coach Robb Berger’s squad, simply refused to let their team lose. The Knights claimed the sixth sectional title in program history and the first since 2022.
Foster, who did not play in a 58-46 win at CMA back on Jan. 20 due to illness, hit the biggest bucket of his prep career. The Knights trailed 54-52 when sophomore Christian Desadoer missed a pair of free throw attempts for the Eagles. Prescott Horvath grabbed the rebound, got it right to Jonah McGuire, who got it to Foster. The 5-11 guard streaked right to the lane and hit a tough layup while sprawling to the floor to tie the game at the horn.
“That’s my biggest shot ever,” said Foster, as he clutched the game ball in the celebration following the dramatic win. “I just threw it up there and I thought that he was going to block it. Then I didn’t think it was going in and I thought I was going to be on the ground crying.
“This just means everything to me as a senior. I’ve never had this opportunity before. We wanted it so bad. Coach told us we were going to cut nets and we promised him we would win it for him.”
Foster’s older sister Nevaeh was a star at Marian and earned two sectional titles as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Nevaeh, now a junior guard for IU-Indy, finished her brilliant prep career with 2,243 career points, which at the time was 21st in state history on the girls’ side and second all-time in Saint Joseph County. Foster’s father Brian is an assistant coach for the Knights.
Foster would not have had the chance to tie the game if not for the heroics of Lane. The 5-5 guard hit three triples in the fourth quarter to score 10 points. The Knights trailed 41-34 entering the final frame and were down 50-39 with 2:38 left. Lane hit all three of his treys in the final 2:25. His final one of the period with 11.9 seconds to play cut the deficit to 54-52 to set up Foster for his one shining moment play.
Lane entered play Saturday night averaging 4.5 ppg. and had hit 15-of-39 from distance on the season. He finished with 22 points and was 6-of-6 from deep.
“As a senior and a leader, I knew I had to step up,” Lane said. “We wanted it. We had to leave here with the sectional tonight. It means a lot. Everyone knows that Marian is here.
“I see Brandon make those shots like that one tonight every day in practice. For me, it was just about the work I’ve put in. I stay after practice and work and tonight that work showed off.”
Marian had a chance to win it at the end of the first overtime, but Andre Wells misfired on a jumper at the final horn. That came after Luke Holok hit a trey with 13 seconds to play to tie the game at 60-60 after Marian had led 59-54.
The Eagles had a chance to claim the title at the end of the second four-minute extra session. With the game knotted at 64 all, Foster had his shot blocked. Andrew Oliver-Overmyer then had a tough baseline attempt hit off the rim at the final horn for the Eagles.
The Knights took over in the final frame. Marian took the lead for good at 66-64 on a bucket by 6-9 senior Horvath with 3:51 left. Marian then held the ball for an extended time before Lane hit 1-2 free throws to make it 67-65 with 1:07 to play. The Eagles then were outscored 6-0 as coach Mark Galloway was whistled for a technical foul and Wells hit a bucket and a free throw on an intentional foul called with 9.3 seconds left to seal the win.
“Our kids just never quit tonight,” said Marian coach Berger. “They battled and found a way. They did a heck of a job. Terrance just really stepped up with those 3-pointers for us.”
The Knights trailed 18-4 out of the gate and 20-8 at the end of the first quarter as the Eagles shot 8-of-12 from the field, including 3-of-4 from deep. Marian still trailed 30-23 at halftime. The Knights drew even at 34-34 with 3:34 to play in the third period before the Eagles closed the frame with a 7-0 run to lead 41-34 heading to the fourth quarter.
Marian turned the game around with its quickness advantage. The Knights extended their zone and pressured the Eagles into 15 turnovers after they had zero after the first quarter. Culver also missed four huge free throws in being outscored 20-13 in the fourth period.
“We’re built on our defense, and we had to create something with it to get back in the game,” Berger said. “Our guards created just enough opportunities for us to score with their defense tonight.”
Horvath, who will play football as a lineman at national champion Indiana University next fall as a preferred walk on, was huge with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Wells, the team’s top scorer at 20 ppg. finished with 16 points.
Junior guard Holok finished with 26 points and Oliver-Overmyer added 16 to lead the Eagles.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Lane, Foster lead Marian to thrilling sectional title comeback win
Reporting by Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
