For four quarters, Charlottesville’s Mica Girstantas had an off game. He had made just two field goals and had only eight points to his name. Ordinarily, that likely wouldn’t have been enough to lift his team into the win column.
Fortunately for Girstantas, the Black Knights were taken to overtime by a scrappy Millbrook team in the 4A West regional quarterfinals.
The senior responded by scoring all of his team’s points in the extra period, leading the Black Knights edge the visiting Pioneers 67-64 on Saturday night, ensuring that the Black Knights would get at least one more home game as the calendar flips to March.
“I really wanted that last shot in regulation,” Girstantas said. “I feel like I let my team down in regulation, so I had to make up for it in overtime.”
The Black Knights played without senior point guard Jordan Saylor, but got 19 points from Caleb Gage and 16 from Girstantas in the victory. Gage scored 15 of his points in the first half.
“We had more heart,” Gage said. “We lost an important player. We just have to accept that [Jordan] isn’t here anymore, so someone has to pick it up.”
Neither team led by more than six after halftime, matching each other nearly shot for shot. Millbrook’s Chris Oates hit a three to open the scoring in the third, but the Knights climbed in front 40-39 with 4:15 left in the quarter on a driving layup by Gage. It was Charlottesville’s first lead of the game. The Pioneers got a basket from Oates to briefly regain the lead 20 seconds later, but Kendell Dennis came through with back-to-back layups and Tyrik Ragland added two more in the final 1:35 of the period as the Black Knights clung to a 48-45 lead going into the fourth.
Charlottesville kept the lead through most of the fourth quarter and led 57-52 on two Murray Hill free throws with 3:35 remaining. But the Knights didn’t score for nearly two minutes after that, while the Pioneers got two foul shots from Taryk Baylor and a three from Oates with 1:51 remaining to tie the game. Oates scored 16 points to lead Millbrook.
A Girstantas layup with 1:13 left put the Knights back in front at 59-57, and when Millbrook failed to convert on the next trip, they fouled Dennis. The senior forward missed the front end of the ensuing one-and-one, leaving the door open for the Pioneers. Right on cue, Millbrook’s Trey Brathwaite sent the game into overtime with a layup.
That set the stage for the Mica Girstantas Show.
Girstantas and Baylor exchanged free throws in the first 30 seconds of the extra session, then Girstantas made two more after Baylor’s layup put Millbrook in front for the first time since the middle of the third quarter. Donte Weaver gave Millbrook another brief two point lead, but Girstantas swished a three with 1:23 remaining for a 65-64 lead.
“We’re pretty tired,” Charlottesville head coach Mitch Minor said. “We gave it all we had and fortunately pulled it out at the end.”
Baylor had a chance to put his team ahead from the line with 20 seconds left, but bricked two free throws while Girstantas made two on the other end. Millbrook was unable to get a good look at the buzzer, sending the Black Knights into the regional semifinals.
Early on, the Pioneers looked like they would be the ones to advance. They scored the first eight points of the game and leading by as many as 13 in the first quarter. Gage went on a personal 6-0 run bridging the first two quarters to bring Charlottesville back within striking distance. The Knights kept chipping away until Tyrik Ragland’s layup right before the halftime buzzer tied the game for the first time since the opening tip at 34-34.
“I think we did a really good job on defense,” Minor said of the comeback. “We converted on turnovers and fast breaks to get easy baskets. From there, it was a great game from both teams.”
Charlottesville will host an opponent to be determined on Tuesday night in the regional semifinal round, with a berth in the state tournament on the line.
