Spring Garden boys fall short against North Sand Mountain in Austins’ final game

Spring Garden’s John Welsh makes a contested shot inside the paint with 20.1 seconds remaining against North Sand Mountain in Class 2A Northeast Sub-Regional action on Tuesday. Photo by Shannon Fagan.

SPRING GARDEN – Thirteen years ago, Ricky Austin took on the admirable duty of coaching both the girls and boys basketball programs at Spring Garden.

He successfully brought the Panther boys back up to the girls’ standard, which was deep postseason runs almost every season, including Tuesday night’s Class 2A Northeast Sub-Regional game against No. 8 North Sand Mountain.

The seventh-ranked Panthers rallied from a five-point fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 42 with 20.1 seconds remaining on freshman John Welsh’s basket inside the paint and ensuing free throw.

Following a Spring Garden timeout, the Bison’s Chandler Sullivan scored an inside basket following a rebound with 2.2 seconds remaining to put North Sand Mountain back up by two.

The Panthers almost immediately called timeout to set up a potential game-winning shot. However, Chaz Pope’s in-bound pass down the court sailed out of bounds, turning the ball back over to the Bison.

But Spring Garden got a second chance to win the game when Derek Bearden traveled on the Bison in-bound pass with 1.5 seconds remaining.

Again, Pope threw the ball in for the Panthers, but this time he found senior point guard Cooper Austin. The younger Austin fired a long 3-pointer near mid-court that rimmed out at the buzzer, allowing the Bison to escape with a 44-42 victory and end Spring Garden’s season at 20-9.

“Cooper got a great look, as good a look as we could ask in those situations,” Panther head coach Ricky Austin said. “His whole life he’s been in the back yard doing buzzer beaters, since he was a little bitty thing. He still does it. I thought it had to be in his hands. He practices these all the time.

“I thought it was in. It was on money, but it just rimmed out. Then the heartbreak set in, realizing the season’s over, but what a game. I was proud of our guys for playing like they played.”

Cooper Austin led the Panthers with 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Not only was it his final game, his father and head coach also announced it was his last game coaching the Panther guys. He said he will still coach the Lady Panthers.

Ricky Austin ends with 216 Panther boys victories. He has 684 girls wins for a total of 900 combined victories. His 900th came on Monday night in the Lady Panthers’ 52-37 sub-regional win over Ider.

“I’ve given it all I can for 13 years (with the boys),” Coach Austin said. “I feel like we’re getting in a situation where I don’t have enough time to spend with both groups. I feel like they’re not getting what they need because of my time limits.

“Football season stretches late every year, and a single boys coach can spend more time after football season than what I can trying to share time with two (basketball teams). I expect this bunch to keep winning, dropping back down to 1A. We’ve got some nice pieces to fit that.”

Coach Austin gave credit to his assistants for helping him pull off double duty for so long, including his wife Dana Austin, Jason Howard, Kevin Ward and Levi Hatcher. He also said he explained his decision to the Panther boys in the locker room following Tuesday’s game.

“It’s just got to the point where they need more time,” he said. “I tried to tell the guys after the game I’m trying to do them a favor by stepping out of the way so they can have a coach that coaches them the way I feel like they need to be coached, and that’s more one-on-one, more time with the coach in the gym.

“When I took the boys job, I wanted to hang a state championship banner on that wall. I feel like I’ve come up short there. I’ve still got an unbelievable passion for boys basketball. I’ll be right there in the stands hoping they win every game.”

Austin might not have won his last boys game, but the Panthers gave it their best shot.

The Bison jumped out to an early 11-2 edge, but Spring Garden cut its deficit down to a basket at 21-19 by the end of the first quarter. Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, but the Panthers managed to move out in front at halftime, 24-23.

North Sand Mountain went back out in front after three quarters at 31-30, and held a 42-37 lead with 2:11 remaining in the game following a Sullivan basket.

A pair of Cooper Austin free throws with 1:44 remaining brought the Panthers back within three at 42-39, then Welsh tied the game following a basket inside the paint. He was also fouled on the play and hit the ensuing free throw with 20.1 seconds to go.

That set the stage for Sullivan’s game-winning basket.

“When they threw it in with 20 seconds to go, I thought ‘Man, that’s a lot of time,’” Coach Austin said. “They’ve got some guys who are real explosive, but we did a pretty good job. They initially didn’t get the good shot. They got two offensive rebounds, and the ball just happened to fall right back in that guy’s hands under the basket. He grabbed it and stuck it in. It could’ve easily fell in our hands.”

North Sand Mountain coach Cole Hicks said Sullivan “has a knack for the ball.”

“It always finds him,” he said. “That’s something you can’t teach. It just comes natural. Luckily he was at the right spot at the right time.”

Spring Garden still had two chances with two seconds to go, but couldn’t cash in on either.

John Welsh netted 11 points for the Panthers. Pope posted 10 points, including a pair of treys.

“I thought we played our guts out, played hard, but they made the last one and we didn’t. That’s all I can say,” Coach Austin said.

“I’m so proud of this group of seniors and everything they’ve done for this program and every sport they’ve played. To believe in me like they have, and to have such a great brotherhood attitude toward this team, it’s been a very special group. When they were kindergarteners, I was sitting in PE one day and I looked out there and saw what was going on in a pickup basketball game. I said ‘Those dudes are special.’ Boy I was right. They’re a special, special group.”

Bearden led the Bison with 21 points. Sullivan added nine points. Jonah Slay finished with eight points.

The Bison will play top-ranked Midfield on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in the Class 2A Northeast Regional semifinals at Jacksonville State University’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

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