Chandler Hamilton’s Mark Celaya felt his emotions go from one extreme to another in just a few ticks of the clock.
With 10 seconds left in Saturday’s 5A Division I state quarterfinal battle with visiting Phoenix Trevor Browne, it appeared that his 3-pointer would lead to a late comeback and victory for his Huskies.
But in just six seconds, thoughts of leaving his home gym with the game winner turned into reflections of a season, as Trevor Browne’s 6-foot-8, 300-pound senior Marcel Jones took a fastbreak pass from teammate Katrell Newton for a layup to give Trevor Browne a 65-64 win.
Trevor Browne moves on to a Thursday meeting with No. 2 seed Mesa Mountain View. The Toros defeated Laveen Cesar Chavez 72-43.
“After I made that shot I felt like that would be the way I would leave this gym,” Celaya said. “Then (Jones) got that shot, and it just hurt.”
Although Hamilton had 4.6 seconds left, it would never get another shot off. Celaya said that although the loss was tough, it does not mar a great season for the Huskies (25-5).
“It’s hard, and it’ll be hard for a couple of days, but, it’s just a game,” said Celaya, who led the Huskies with 13 points. “We had a good season. We did a lot of good things that some of the teams here have not been able to do.”
Meanwhile, Trevor Browne coach Paul Long could only marvel at how his team battled. The Bruins led 63-58 with 32.5 seconds left but watched the lead disappear in 22 ticks.
“It looked like we lost our composure at the last minute of the game, but we set up an offensive play and it is executed well,” Long said.
While the Newton-Jones combination won the game, it was Trevor Browne’s free throw shooting that kept the game close. The Bruins made 21 of 28 from the free throw line.
Mario Denogean led Trevor Browne with 17 points.
Hamilton picked up 12 points from Ryan Evans and 11 points from Lloyd Hickinson.
