Mainland’s electrifying comeback falls one point short in South Jersey Group 3 championship

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher LINWOOD – Mainland Regional boys basketball coach Dan Williams got all he could have asked for in the South Jersey Group 3 championship game against Delsea Regional on Monday night. Except one last shot to fall. The Mustangs played their brand of basketball, fought their way back from a huge third-quarter deficit and had possession with 17 seconds remaining. The ball came to senior forward Kenny Randall at the free-throw line with time winding down. He dribbled to his left and put up a shot as he was falling out of bounds. The ball hit the back of the rim, a wild scramble for the loose ball ensued, and time ran out as the visiting Crusaders hung on for a 54-53 victory to win the sectional title. Mainland Regional senior Kenny Randle works in the post against a pair of Delsea Regional defenders during the South Jersey Group 3 championship game. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) “Just one shot short. Kenny gave it all he had, it was a tough shot,” said Mainland senior guard Drew Riska. “No one expected us to be this far. I’m just happy we were able to put Mainland back on the map.” Delsea (21-9) ripped off a 7-0 run to start the third quarter and led 37-22. With the game on the brink of a blowout, Mainland senior Darius Jerkins took over and brought the Mustangs back. His 3-point play cut the deficit to 13 halfway through the third quarter, then early in the fourth he converted another 3-point play to make it 49-46. “They just dug their heels in. They totally grasped the sense of urgency,” Williams said of his players. “We had some kids come in off the bench like (Dean) Devaney and (Matt) McLaughlin, what they gave us defensively was awesome. And Kenny and Darius refused to give up an offensive board in that fourth quarter particularly. It was the way we came out and defended in the fourth.” Delsea took a 54-50 lead on a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left, but then McLaughlin drove the length of the court and hit a layup while being fouled, sending the capacity crowd into a frenzy. He hit his free throw and Drew Dalzell forced a steal on the inbounds, setting up the final play. “Every time their back has been up against the wall this year they have come back. They’ve either gotten it done or put the fear of God in the other team,” Williams said. Delsea, which came into the game averaging 84 points per game during the playoffs, got 18 points from Ronnie Russell and 14 from Keith Braxton, while Jerkins led the Mustangs (18-11) with 24 points and Randall added 16. Mainland’s plan was to slow the game down as much as possible and limit Delsea’s possessions. The Mustangs accomplished that goal throughout the first half, as the Crusaders led 30-22 at the break. “They presented some tough matchups for us. But when push came to shove, we went to our strength,” Williams said. “Darius basically said hop on my back and I’ll get you guys through this game. It was the most vocal in huddles he’s ever been in the two years I’ve been coaching him. “Everything but the outcome was an awesome experience.” Senior Darius Jerkins helped lead an inspiring comeback by the Mustangs, scoring 16 second-half points. “I can’t believe we fought back and got it down to one point and we just missed it at the end,” Riska said. “We had our best players putting the ball up at the end, Kenny and Darius. They kept us in it and really carried us on their backs.” Jerkins said he wasn’t concerned when the Mustangs fell behind by 15 points early in the third quarter. He knew his teammates weren’t about to give up. “For the last couple of games we’ve been doing better in the second half,” Jerkins said. “We’ve had to grind out plays and scrap for the ball. (Kenny) has been my go-to guy every game. We have great chemistry. We’ve been playing together since eighth grade.” Williams said that this year’s team exceeded any expectations he might have and that he’s proud of the run his squad made to the sectional final. “In the beginning of the season our expectations weren’t what can we do in the playoffs, or let’s go win the conference or anything like that. We had one expectation and that was to come out and compete every day in practice against one another,” Williams said. “Last year we were inconsistent with that and all the best teams … if you ask their coach what makes them the best it’s the way they get after each other in practice. That was our goal. That was the expectation, that every day they would do that. “Once we got halfway through the season and realized we were going to make the playoffs we started to think, hey, maybe we could get a home playoff game, which we haven’t had here in a number of years. And things broke the right way, we worked hard and we got a few wins at the right time.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]