It might seem hard to believe, but the Providence High boys’ basketball team did something that has to rank quite high in terms of overcoming the odds.
The Pioneers rallied from nine points down in regulation with less than two minutes to play to force two overtimes and eventually come away with a 69-67 home win over Prep League rival Flintridge Prep.
“It’s probably the most dramatic we’ve had so far. I’m proud of our guys. We had some moments where we could have laid down, but we stayed poised and finally got our heads together at the right moments and put the ball in the right hands of the right people,” Providence coach Anthony Cosby said.
Seniors Julian Thompkins and Alex Kizirian and sophomore Riley Murphy each had three points in the final 1:50 of regulation to bring Providence back to level terms with the visiting Wolves and force overtime.
Senior Jalen Thomas hit a short jumper with seven seconds left of the second overtime to propel the Pioneers to victory.
Providence (11-9, 3-0) trailed most of the contest, as the Wolves had a great inside and outside game with 6-foot-8 center Henry Morrison and 6-2 guard Lawson Holland. Holland hit seven 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points. Morrison, who is committed to play at Middlebury College in Vermont, had 21 points and was difficult to contain inside.
“They do a great job. What really impresses me about Flintridge is how smart their kids are and how disciplined they are and they are able to make adjustments at the snap of a finger,” Cosby said. “Offensively, I wish we would be a little more patient, a little smarter and play to our strengths.”
Flintridge Prep (16-5, 3-1) led 15-12 at the end of the first quarter, 31-25 at halftime and 41-36 at the end of the third quarter.
Providence went down by as much as 47-37 with 5:50 to play following a 3-pointer from the Wolves’ Steven Ng.
Flintridge Prep is coached by alum Robert Cartwright, who later played at Stanford University.
“We let one get away. We played our hearts out. We just didn’t finish,” Cartwright said. “We played excellent for 30 plus minutes, then we struggled and made some careless mistakes down the stretch and let them get back in the game.”
Muphy led Providence with 20 points. Thompkins finished with 18 points and Thomas had 17. Kizirian finished with six points Solomon Huang had five points and Griffin Berschneider had three points for Providence.
