Providence-St. Mel, the king of Class A basketball, was overthrown Friday night. The Knights were kicked off the throne by St. Gregory and its offensive ringleader, Kevin Footes.
The Greyhounds, who hadn`t beaten St. Mel in six years, scored a stunning 63-62 overtime decision in the final of the St. Benedict regional, thanks to a 3-point play by Footes with eight seconds to go.
Footes reportedly was involved in a car accident after the game and was being treated at the emergency room of Swedish Covenant Hospital late Friday night. A hospital spokesman said it appeared he would be treated and released. Neither the spokesman nor the police could confirm he had been in an accident.
The Knights had visions of a second consecutive state title, but the dream was demolished by Footes and teammates Brian Houston and Dan Devine.
Footes scored 23 points and Houston 22, but it seemed the Knights would pull another chestnut out of the tournament fires when Houston fouled out with 3 minutes 50 seconds left and St. Mel leading 54-52.
Reserve Devine came in and sent the game into overtime when he crashed the boards, grabbed a missed shot by Footes and scored on a follow shot to tie the game at 58-58 with two seconds left in regulation.
St. Gregory (22-6) never had the lead until Footes` heroics. St. Mel led 62-60 on Curtis Jackson`s two free throws with 1:07 to go. But with 30 seconds left, Jackon missed the front end of a one-and-one to give St. Gregory another chance.
Coach Mike Bailey`s crew played for one shot, and with the clock ticking down, Footes launched a 15-footer and was fouled by Jackson. The shot tied the game at 62-62, and the free throw won it.
St. Mel had one desperate chance left, but Robert Turnbow missed a prayer shot from 30 feet. It was the first time in two seasons that St. Mel had lost to a Class A school, a stretch of 30 games.
”They deserved to win it,” said losing coach Bill Ociepka. ”Who knows? This might have been the game for the state championship.”
St. Gregory had to overcome its 3-for-15 shooting and a 15-8 deficit in the first quarter. St. Mel led 32-22 with 3:04 to play in the half, but by the 1:15 mark of the third quarter, the Greyhounds had tied the game 38-38.
”We lost twice to St. Mel during the season when they scored in the 80s,” said Bailey. ”We knew we had to control the tempo, to keep the game in the 60s or low 70s.”
Albert Jones led St. Mel with 19 points. Illya McGee and Jackson added 15 each.
