Mohawk had a Hollywood script in its hands, trailing by two points with 2.1 seconds remaining and the ball under its own basket. The inbounds play worked perfectly. The Warriors passed it around the perimeter and into the corner, where their leading man awaited to take the last shot.
Brian Fadden had a chance to be the movie hero, to make the winning shot and send the defending WPIAL Class AA champions and No. 1 seed home from the playoffs in one fell swish. The 3-point shot from the left corner felt good when it left his hands. Suspense hung in the air. Everyone held their breaths.
Airball.
There was no silver lining to Mohawk's ending, as Fadden's 3-point attempt fell short of the goal as time expired, allowing Sto-Rox to escape with a 55-53 victory Friday night in a WPIAL Class AA quarterfinal playoff game at Aliquippa High School.
"If this was 'Hoosiers,' that would've dropped," Mohawk coach Dom Mioni said. "Unfortunately, his name is Brian Fadden, not Jimmy Chitwood. And I'm not Norman Dale."
Fadden gave his best impression of the Hickory High star, putting on a one-man show to keep Mohawk (18-5) close. The 6-foot-1 senior guard scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the first half, making all six shots from the field and sinking 6 of 6 free throws. But his last attempt fell inches shy of the net.
"My heart was in my throat," Sto-Rox coach Bill Minear said. "That's the guy they wanted to take it."
Sto-Rox (22-1) advances to the WPIAL semifinals, where it will play the winner of today's Aliquippa-South Fayette on Feb. 26 or 27 at a site and time to be determined. The Vikings are ranked No. 1 in both the WPIAL and the state and haven't lost since falling to Chartiers Valley in their second game.
Mike Mott led Sto-Rox with 17 points and Kellen Kyles added 14 points and five rebounds. But it was the play of point guard Adam DiMichele, one of three sophomore starters for the Vikings, that sparked Sto-Rox. The game was tied at 30-30 at halftime before Minear switched 6-5 Davon Huger to cover Fadden and allowed DiMichele to freelance on defense. DiMichele came up with eight points, three assists and two steals as the Vikings went on a 9-0 run to take a 41-34 lead.
Then, Sto-Rox elected to hold the ball and run out the clock.
"People asked me, Why did you let them hold the ball?" Mioni said. "Heck, they're the No. 1 seed. That's all I wanted, was for my team to have a chance at the end."
Mohawk, which made 18 of 18 free throws, rallied to close it to 55-53 lead after Mohawk's Shawn Carr made two free throws with 26.5 seconds remaining in the game. Twice, the Warriors drove the lane seeking the tying basket and were swatted away by Kellen Kyles and Davon Huger. But Sto-Rox sophomore Adam DiMichele was called for a five-second violation on an inbounds play with 2.1 seconds left, and Mohawk got one last chance.
Shawn Carr inbounded it to Ryan Carr, who passed it to Fadden in the corner.
But the shot fell short.
"I don't know what to say," Mott said. "It was the craziest game I've ever been a part of."
