It’s hard for Western Albemarle’s Henry Sullivan to sneak up on anyone. He’s 6-foot-6 after all.
But Sullivan snuck up on Spotswood Tuesday night in the Region 3C semifinals.
“We knew a lot about (Tommy) Mangrum and he’s a fine player, one of the better players in the state,” said Spotswood coach Chad Edwards. “But the big guy, not only did he contribute in scoring, but he blocked a lot of shots too.”
Sullivan came up with the biggest bucket of the night too, a tap-in at the buzzer in overtime that lifted Western to a 56-54 victory and a spot in the Class 3 state tournament. The Warriors will face Liberty Christian in the Region 3C championship game Friday.
“It’s incredible special for him and for all of us,” Mangrum said. “That shot — Henry puts in so much work and it’s great that he hit the shot, he deserves it. He played an incredible game today.”
With 11 seconds to play in overtime, Spotswood’s Ryan High knocked down two free throws to even the score and set up a potential second overtime. But after Western’s Riley Prichard drove the length of the floor and sent a floater long, Sullivan leapt up and connected on a putback to give Western the win.
“Riley was able to get the ball up on the rim with a few seconds left and I did what I could to tip it in,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan had 17 points and 12 rebounds while also having a big impact defensively. The Warriors also got a big lift from Josh Sime underneath as he posted five blocks. That dominance down low helped the Warriors build a 30-21 halftime lead. Tommy Mangrum scored nine of his 14 points in the first half while Sullivan had nine of his own.
Spotswood went to work though in the third, and almost immediately put Western on its heels. Western led just 41-40 going into the fourth, the result of a 19-point surge in the third by the Blazers sparked by Melo Pacheco and Rob Smith who finished with 19 and 11 points respectively for the game.
“We talked about it at halftime that they were going to get even more aggressive on the pressing stuff and we didn’t handle it real well in the third quarter,” said Western coach Darren Maynard. “But we bounced back and handled it better down the stretch.”
In the closing minutes, Smith scored a bucket off a Western turnover with 2:15 to play that put Spotswood up 49-48. Then Ryan High hit one of two free throws to make it 50-48. Sullivan came up with his first clutch putback when he scored with 1:10 left to make it 50-50. Spotswood then melted a minute off the clock to get that last shot, a midrange jumper that came up short as the buzzer sounded.
In overtime, the teams traded points before Spotswood again looked to melt the clock with Western up 54-52. This time, the set play worked well and Ryan High drew the foul. He calmly knocked down the first free throw and then tied it with the second despite a Western timeout intended to ice him. Off the make, Western didn’t call a timeout. Instead, Prichard, who had 12 points, raced the length of the floor and hoisted a baseline jumper to set the stage for Sullivan’s game winner.
“I thought he played great all night, then super clutch to tip one in at the buzzer, I’m really proud of him,” Maynard said. “He’s come on this whole second half of the year, he’s a force.”
Western will face Liberty Christian Academy in the Region 3C title game Friday night.
