Zolnierczyk’s free throws seal Springdale’s 1st playoff win since ’08

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 | 11:09 PM

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An eight-point halftime lead for the Springdale boys basketball team had evaporated into a back-and-forth one-possession battle with California in a WPIAL Class 2A first-round playoff game Tuesday at Gateway.

The Trojans grabbed the lead by the end of the third quarter and held a one-point advantage after a Jaeden Zuzak jumper with 23 seconds left.

But that’s when 6-foot-4 junior guard/forward Mike Zolnierczyk stepped up.

On Springdale’s final possession, Zolnierczyk drove the lane, got fouled and made two free throws with 14 seconds left. The Dynamos then held off one final California push to seal a dramatic 34-33 victory.

“We called a timeout to get our composure and settle down (after the Trojans’ field goal),” Zolnierczyk said. “We ran a side play. Nick (Taliani), Dmitri (Fritch), (Josh) Harmon, Van (Pribanic), everybody who came in there did their job. It just ended up me taking the final shot.

“One of my favorite quotes from a movie called ‘The Replacements’ is ‘Winners want the ball when the game is on the line.’ I told coach, ‘Give the ball to me, and I’ll take it to the hoop.’ ”

After Zolnierczyk’s free throws, the Trojans brought the ball up the court and almost turned it over. Zuzak took the final shot for California, but his 3-point attempt from the top of the key was off the mark to the left.

Zolnierczyk scored nine of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for Springdale, which won a WPIAL playoff game for the first time since 2008 — a 57-46 Class AA preliminary-round win over Brentwood.

The 10th-seeded Dynamos (13-8) will face No. 2 OLSH (20-2) in the quarterfinals Friday at a time and site to be determined.

“I know OLSH is really good, but we’re good, too,” Springdale coach Seth Thompson said. “We’re going to be ready. We’re going to give them everything we’ve got. It’s going to be interesting. We’re really looking forward to it.”

It was their ninth consecutive playoff appearance for the Trojans (13-9), but their sixth first-round loss in that stretch.

“We had it within our reach,” California coach Greg Golembiewski said. “The first half killed us, basically, because we had 12 turnovers and missed about eight layups.”

The Trojans used a 16-6 third-quarter advantage to rally and take a 24-22 lead heading to the fourth. Cochise Ryan, a 5-10 sophomore guard, led California with 16 points. He fronted the charge in the third with half of his team’s points.

“I give the kids a lot of credit to come out after halftime and get the lead back,” Golembiewski said. “The message at halftime was to treat the game like it was 0-0 and move forward. We wanted to win the first two minutes and then win another two minutes. The guys showed a lot of heart to fight back. We just couldn’t hold on.”

California played Tuesday’s game without leading scorer Ben Wilson, a 5-10 senior guard who averaged 17.6 points during the regular season. Golembiewski said Wilson was in the hospital in recent days but would not provide any further information.

The team, Golembiewski added, had played without Wilson earlier in the campaign when he missed a couple of weeks with a foot injury.

“He leads out on the floor by example, so we missed his presence and scoring ability,” Golembiewski said. “It would’ve been great for him to be here, but we knew going in how to prepare without him.”

Springdale trailed 27-23 with 5:49 left before Zolnierczyk nailed a 3-pointer to close the deficit to one. That started a 7-0 run — Zolnierczyk and Harmon both added jumpers — to put the Dynamos in front 30-27 with 2:49 left.

“I thought we did a good job of maintaining our composure and keeping our poise when things got a little hairy there at times (in the second half),” Thompson said. “It’s playoff basketball, and every team is a good team. It speaks a lot to the character of this team.”

In addition to Zolnierczyk’s big night, Ben Myford finished with eight points for the Dynamos. His two 3-pointers in the second quarter were the driving force that helped extend Springdale’s lead to 16-8 at halftime.

Dru Miller also reached double figures for California with 10 points. His two 3-point baskets in the third quarter were key to the Trojans’ rally after the break.

Michael Love is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mlove@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mlove_Trib.

Tags: California, Springdale