Boers’ triple sinks Marlette, 53-51
CAPAC — Trevor Boers drained a triple from the right corner with four seconds remaining, helping Capac post a dramatic 53-51 triumph against host Marlette in a Division 3 boys’ district basketball battle last Friday night.
It marked the second straight season Capac has earned the right to call themselves district champions.
With the outcome, Capac (15-8) advances to a regional semifinal clash Tuesday, March 5 at Sandusky High School. There the Chiefs will square off versus Madison Heights Madison at 6 p.m.
“We were fortunate to pull out a last second victory over a tough well coached Marlette team tonight,” Capac Coach Brent Boers said. “We talked about how hard it is to repeat and beat teams from our league all week,” he noted.
“I told the kids that Xs and Os are important but tournament time is about toughness. Battling through adversity, winning 50/50 balls and doing the hard work is very important. The attitude was great in the huddle. They had every intention to win, I am very happy for these guys. They made the last play work on a broken play. There is nothing better than witnessing kids you have worked with just play intuitive basketball.”
The opening minutes of the district championship game did little to suggest the contest would eventually come down to the wire. Capac drove that point across emphatically, jumping out to a 10-2 advantage with 4:07 elapsed.
The next three-minutes plus would belong to Marlette. It was there then went on a 13-6 run, whittling their deficit to 16-15 with one quarter complete.
Quarter two saw Capac amass nine points and Marlette collect seven, giving the former a 25-22 lead at the half.
The third quarter would see Capac and Marlette hit for 11 points apiece. That made it 36-33, Capac, with 24 minutes gone.
Capac then pushed their cushion to 50-44 with 1:22 remaining when Jakob Sawyers capitalized on a pinpoint pass delivered to him by Jordan Hellmuth.
It appeared Capac was on the way to clinching their second straight district title when those points fell through the twines. However, Marlette refused to quit.
Marlette then went on a 7-0 run, taking a 51-50 lead with under 20 seconds remaining.
Ten ticks later, Capac called a timeout to plot some last second strategy.
Following that action stoppage, Marlette called a timeout of their own to prepare their defense.
Capac then inbounded the basketball with hopes of acquiring the go-ahead points. With the clock winding down, Trevor Boers hauled in the pass.
Boers spotted and buried a three-pointer from the right corner. His effort gave the Chiefs a 53-51 edge at the time.
Marlette then promptly called a timeout. There was now just four ticks remaining.
When play resumed, Marlette moved the ball rapidly up the floor and got up an attempt which missed the mark.
Capac had prevailed! And oh what a finish it was at that.
Trevor Boers led the victorious Capac side with 17 points, including a game-winning attempt from trifecta territory. Hellmuth (11, featuring a trey) and Sawyers (11) hit for double digit point totals as well.
Two other Capac players reached the scoring column. Their ranks consisted of Hank Barker (eight points, with a triple) and Joe Montney (six).
Kevin Kissane has been covering high school sports for the Tri-City Times since 1985. When not standing on a field or court with his camera and notepad, he enjoys golf, travel and family. Kevin is a 1980 graduate of Capac High School, and is also a grad of St. Clair Community College and earned a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University.
