Salem’s crazy comeback sealed by epic ending in 60-59 win
Ezekiel Chinyadza drives to the hoop for two of his team-high 20 points Friday night against Northville.
Seconds after the conclusion of a disastrous third quarter when his team was outscored 22-5 by visiting Northville, Salem Head Coach Ryan Nimmerguth delivered a resonating message to the Rocks.
“We were down 15, so I told the guys to try to get it under 10 as quick as they could,” Nimmerguth recounted. “I told them if we could get (the deficit) down to a reachable level, maybe we can get them to feel some heat.”
The Rocks responded with a fast and furious effort, flying around the court to deflect and steal passes, some resulting in coast-to-coast layups.
With less than a minute to play, Salem junior guard Landen Stone stole a cross-court pass and finished at the other end with a contested layup to bring the Rocks to within 59-58.
Wild finish
Then things really got crazy.
Following a Salem defensive stop, Stone drove the lane for the potential go-ahead hoop; however, the ball rolled off the rim and into the hands of Rock forward Nye Turner, whose putback also rolled off the rim.
Following a free-for-all for the rebound underneath the Salem basket, a Northville player — while leaping out of bounds — one-handed the ball three quarters of the court toward the Mustangs’ basket.
Out-sprinting two Mustangs, Salem’s Ezekiel Chinyadza secured the ball with about 15 seconds on the clock then drove down the middle of the court, faked a pass to Turner, then laid in game-winning basket to give the Rocks an improbable 60-59 victory.
(Check out the final frantic seconds of Salem’s 60-59 win by clicking here.)
Chinyadza recalls game-winning play
“Once I got to the ball, I looked up and saw two Northville players behind me, so I knew someone was going to be open or I could take it all the way,” Chinyadza explained. “I had a wide-open layup, so I took it.
“It feels great to be down 15 in the fourth quarter and come back like that. It was all due to hard work and everybody sticking together all the way to the end.”
The victory came just four days after they suffered a last-second, one-point home loss to Howell, which sank two free throws with two seconds left to earn the road win.
“It all came down to resilience tonight,” Nimmerguth reiterated. “The guys were running all over the court in the fourth quarter. It’s tough to win in this league — in any sport. We proved tonight you have to play the whole 32 minutes.
Momentum bursts
Salem bolted to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes before the Mustangs turned the tables with an 11-5 run to end the quarter.
The Rocks held a precarious 32-30 lead at halftime, but the Mustangs stormed out of the gates in the third quarter, reeling off an 8-0 spurt that was capped by Brody Grezak’s triple.
Northville sophomore Marcus Brown was a big-time catalyst throughout the Mustangs’ pivotal third quarter, netting eight of his 13 points — two coming on a rarely-seen-in-high-school Euro step move to finish a length-of-the-court layup.
Salem trailed 59-54 with 1:25 left when Turner banked home a putback. Twenty five seconds later, Stone’s steal-and-layup sequence cut it to one, which set up Chinyadza’s heroics.
Chinyadza’s memorable night
“Biggest shot of my Salem career, no doubt,” Chinyadza concluded, smiling.
Chinyadza led all scorers with 20 points, including a 6-for-6 effort from the free-throw line in the final six minutes.
Stone chipped in with 15 points, including a trio of three-point makes. Darrell Williams added nine and Turner contributed eight and several rebounds.
Northville’s balanced scoring attack was paced by Nate Isiah Imbuzeiro’s 15 points. Marcus Brown scored 13 and Grezak netted 12.
Salem improved to 8-2 overall and 1-2 in the KLAA West. Northville slipped to 2-8 and 0-3, respectively.
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
