NORWALK — Carson Feichtner’s layup with 16 seconds remaining was the go-ahead bucket that propelled No. 1-ranked Colonel Crawford to a dramatic, 53-51 victory over Western Reserve on Saturday night in the Division III district championship game at Norwalk.
Senior guard Mason Studer scored a team-high 14 points and had the assist on Feichtner’s bucket to cap a furious fourth-quarter rally that saw the Eagles overcome a 43-26 deficit in the fourth period. C.C. finished the game on an 11-0 run in the final 1:41 to stun the Roughriders.
The game pitted a pair of coaching brothers. Eagles’ coach Dave Sheldon and Roughriders’ bench boss Chris Sheldon are the sons of longtime legendary Wynford coach Rob Sheldon, an Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Famer.
The contest played out like a fight between brothers, with a wild finish that pushed the top-seeded Eagles (25-0) to the Sweet 16.
Sixth-ranked Western Reserve, the second seed in the district, led 15-13 after the first quarter and opened a 25-15 halftime gap. The bulge expanded to 40-24 through three periods and peaked at 43-26 with 6:47 remaining in the game.
But Colonel Crawford dominated when it mattered most. The Roughriders suffered three turnovers and two missed free throws down the stretch to create the sliver of opportunity the Eagles needed.
Colonel Crawford will play at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Bowling Green regional against Canal Winchester Harvest Prep — which defeated North Union 48-42 on Friday night.
Western Reserve completed its season with a 22-2 record.
