Published in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on Feb. 27, 2015
DUDLEY — With 0.7 seconds on the clock, South Hadley senior Cam Earle was at the line shooting two.
He made the first and as the second shot fell, reality set in. The stands behind and across from the Tigers’ bench erupted while Shepherd Hill’s fan section went silent.
That second free throw iced a 77-73 win for No. 7 South Hadley as Earle’s career-high 45 points ended the No. 2 Rams’ season in the Western Massachusetts Division 2 Tournament quarterfinals.
“We were up four and that’s when it hit me — we were going to win, there was no way to lose,” Earle said. “I wanted to seal the game and not give them any chances. It was big to hit both.”
South Hadley (13-8) will play No. 2 Pittsfield (16-5) in the semifinals at UMass’ Curry Hicks Cage. A date and time have yet to be determined. The Rams ended the year at 14-7.
The Tigers, who fell on the road to North Middlesex in the quarterfinals last season, return to the site of their 2013 sectional title. They were runners-up in 2012.
“It’s a great place to play and it’s always fun,” Earle said. “I love playing there. … We’ve played quite a few games there and I’ve always liked it.”
Earle had the final say in more ways than the last shots as he powered the Tigers’ comeback with 17 points in the fourth.
“There have been few like him and sadly I believe there will be few coming along,” South Hadley coach Jeff Guiel said. “It’s not just that he hits big shots. It’s his willingness to take them, his willingness to take them after he’s missed them, his willingness to take them after he’s been fouled 50 times. … That’s what I love about him.”
Earle’s ninth 3-pointer of the night knotted the game 72-72 with 43 seconds left. A steal got the ball back and the Tigers patiently passed the ball around letting the clock tick down. Under pressure by the Rams defense and the shot clock, Griffin Fitzell (12 points) drained a long 3 from the right wing for a 75-72 lead with 15 seconds to go.
After a Ram timeout, Shepherd Hill’s Michael Rapoza got fouled down low by Fitzell. He made the first of two with 4.1 to go, but South Hadley rebounded the miss and held on for the late foul and win.
“We’d been talking all year about the life lesson, not quitting, not turning on each other, hard work and it doesn’t always pay off with an immediate reward … but for it to pay off for a stunning win like this it’s tremendous for them,” Guiel said. “We have a lot of work to do. There are some incredible teams left in the tournament. I just hope they can savor this one and get up ready to work (tomorrow).”
Rapoza scored 38 points, mostly from in the paint and at the foul line. South Hadley knew the 6-foot-5 junior was going to cause trouble for them.
“He is just incredible,” Guiel said. “I got very lucky to scout them a few weeks ago. … He’s a very special young man and a very special player. We aren’t blessed with 6-5 long guys, so we threw every gimmick except the kitchen sink at him and he still scored 38.”
While each team had one standout guy on offense — Rapoza and Earle combined for 83 of the 150 combined points — the Tigers benefited from solid ballhandling, good passing and a late defensive push.
“Tonight, I was hot and my teammates kept feeding me the ball. It feels pretty good,” Earle said. “We started playing defense and the offense came afterwards.”
South Hadley didn’t let adversity get to them when shots abruptly stopped falling in the first half. Leading 17-15 to open the second, it seemed like a lid had been placed on the bucket. An 11-0 run gave the Rams their first lead of the night and then some at 26-17.
A 3-pointer from the top of the key by Fitzell was the Tigers’ first bucket of the quarter and made it 26-20 with 4:52 on the clock. Earle hit a floater a minute later and then closed the quarter with back-to-back layups to pull South Hadley within 37-27.
The late comeback looked grim with 2:47 left in the third. Rapoza hit a layup to make it 54-42 before Earle took off, doubling his point total in roughly 10 minutes. Sitting at 22 points, he drained back-to-back 3s during an 8-2 Tiger run to close the third down 56-50.
Early opened the fourth with a quick long ball from the top of the arc and Joe Advey (12 points) hit a layup to trigger the Tiger comeback.
“We were 2-3 at one point (this season),” Guiel said. “It’s very, very special quite frankly.”