Longmire's free throws win game for Spartans

JAY CAPERS Fairport's Adam Wale drives against Gates Chili's Clayton Longmire in Wednesday's Monroe County game. The host Spartans won 53-52.

JAY CAPERS Fairport's Steve O'Donnell, left, reacts to a call late in the game as Gates Chili's Clayton Longmire heads upcourt.

By Jeff DiVeronica
Democrat and Chronicle

(Thursday, January 31, 2002) -- Even when they were told not to stand by school officials, the student sections stood up and cheered and chanted for their teams.

And why shouldn't they?

A standing-room-only crowd rocked Gates Chili's gym Wednesday night, watching the Spartans and Fairport duke it out in a matchup of Monroe County Division I's two best boys basketball teams.

They put on quite a show.

Clayton Longmire's two free throws with seven seconds left lifted Gates Chili to a 53-52 comeback win and tagged Fairport with its first loss.

The Red Raiders (6-1 league), who still lead the division, had won 14 straight under rookie coach Scott Fitch and this week moved into a tie for No. 1 in the Democrat and Chronicle's large-schools poll with McQuaid. Eric Snider's alley-oop finish of Steve McDonnell's off-balance 3-pointer came a second after the buzzer or Fairport would still be unbeaten.

Instead, No. 4 GC (5-2 league, 13-2 overall) completed a three-game sweep against three quality teams: Rush-Henrietta, Aquinas and Fairport. The Spartans, winners of nine straight, have now avenged their losses (to R-H and Fairport).

"Right now my kids think they can beat anybody," said coach Gary Oehlbeck, who noted the last time the gym was so alive was 1992 when Greece Athena and John Wallace visited. "Whether they can or not, I don't know, but I'm glad they feel that way."

Longmire, who had 20 points and 13 rebounds, is a 71-percent free-throw shooter. He tried to imagine he was at practice, swishing shot after shot.

"This is what you dream about. Facing an undefeated team and having two shots to win," the 6-foot-7 transfer from Aquinas said.

He swished the first, then used the front rim on the second. "After that first one, it was no pressure," Longmire said.

Brent Pozzi and Ville Vesala each added eight points. Vesala, a Finnish exchange student, also covered McDonnell, the sharp-shooting guard who leads the County in scoring (21.3 ppg).

"We didn't feel we could stop (McDonnell), but we wanted to make him work and Ville ran him ragged," Oehlbeck said.

McDonnell kept Fairport in it -- his 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter put Fairport ahead 44-42, its first lead since 9-7 -- but he was so spent it caught up to him in the end.

The senior missed four free throws in the final 20 seconds to open the door for GC.

"He's been Mr. Clutch all year. I'd take our chances with him every time," Fitch said. "I told him that great players learn from things like this. I guarantee he makes them the next time."

McDonnell was the last Fairport player GC wanted to test, but down 52-49 it had to foul. "I thought we were dead," Pozzi said.

It was McDonnell who scored 15 of Fairport's first 21 points, but the Spartans led 29-27 at halftime. Their advantage was stretched to 40-34 -- the largest of the game -- late in the third, but the quarter ended with McDonnell's 3-pointer and Fairport down just 42-41.

His fourth and final 3-pointer -- a 26-footer from beyond the top of the key with five seconds left on the shot clock and 50 in the game -- looked like the final dagger. It gave Fairport a 52-48 lead. But Longmire made a free throw to make it 52-49 and then McDonnell missed his first two free throws -- short and then long.

"His legs were shot," Fitch said.

Pozzi's putback with 11 seconds left made it 52-51 and McDonnell was fouled again at 7.9 seconds. He missed again, the second shot rolling around and out, and center Kevin Povio was called for going over Longmire's back. That put the game in Longmire's hands.

"No doubt in my mind that he'd make them," Pozzi said.