4A-II boys: Collegiate boys hang on for semifinal win over Girard (+video)

Winning close basketball games often comes down to finding steadiness in the midst of chaos.

Calm was a rare commodity on Friday, but Collegiate channeled its passion toward tranquility during the final moments of its 50-44 win over Girard in the semifinals of the Class 4A-II boys basketball tournament.

Collegiate, which lost the Class 3A championship game last season, will try for its first title since 2010 on Saturday at White Auditorium.

“The arena was crazy,” Collegiate senior Xzavaier Adams said. “We knew to just focus. When our shots aren’t going down, we go back to our defense and try to get stops.”

The inability of both teams to seize control increased the tension on each sideline. After making its first five shots of the second half to take a nine-point lead, Collegiate made 1 of 13 the rest of the way.

Girard was no more assertive, missing six free throws in the third quarter and three more in the fourth while committing 10 second-half turnovers.

“The last couple minutes, the energy was high for both teams, the crowd, everything,” Collegiate’s Jack Larsen said. “We just stuck together. We were gritty, we were a poised team, and we got stops when we needed them.”

Larsen’s plight symbolized the dramatic shift Collegiate achieved to hold on to a lead that shrunk from nine points in the third quarter to two points on several occasions in the fourth.

Larsen energized his teammates, and Collegiate’s fans, by diving to the floor on a rebound attempt during one second-quarter possession, then taking a charge the next. But Larsen also thrived more quietly, making three free throws in the final 44 seconds.

“Jack’s a tremendous leader, and he’s a company guy,” Collegiate coach Mitch Fiegel said. “If you look at him shoot, he’s got one of the prettiest shots in America. When guys have that kind of technique, you expect them to knock them down when they go to the line. We want him on the line.”

Adams, who had three of Collegiate’s 11 steals, focused the Spartans’ defense down the stretch and helped hold Girard without a basket for the final 5:38. Austin Waddell, who tied Adams for the team lead with 13 points, used his physicality to grab three fourth-quarter rebounds and limit Girard to a shot per possession.

Collegiate’s calm allowed it to play what Fiegel calls “Perfect defense,” which is only accomplished when no player is controlled by chaotic surroundings Collegiate’s defense often creates and no player is caught out of place.

“I wrote one word on the board when we were in (the locker room) – we were just gritty,” Fiegel said. “We weren’t making shots (but) we never gave up. We just kept digging, we kept scratching, we kept clawing.”

This story was originally published March 11, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "4A-II boys: Collegiate boys hang on for semifinal win over Girard (+video)."