Chipola reflects on playing for title

With 10:20 on the clock, the Chipola Indians, after completing a 15-5 run against the Midland Chaparrals in the national tournament final, stood just two points behind and seemed poise to make a run for its first-ever national championship.

When the clock had struck zero on a 94-75 Midland triumph, the favored Indians didn’t know what hit them.

The Chipola squad that posted 33 wins on the season and coasted to a state championship found itself overwhelmed by a barrage of three-pointers (13 to be exact), ending hopes of making school history.

It was a tough end to an otherwise brilliant season for the Indians, who were the highest-ranked of the final four teams of the tournament.

“I would say we just didn’t play our best ball as a team,“ third-year Chipola coach Greg Heiar said Tuesday. “But give Midland credit. They played like they wanted it a little more than us. They were a really confident, well-coached team.“

Midland entered the tournament with eight losses and unranked in the national poll. After Chipola’s 96-90 victory over College of Southern Idaho in the semifinals Friday, it seemed the road was paved for a Chipola coronation in Saturday’s title game.

The Chaparrals had other ideas.

“I think if we played them 10 times, we’d win seven,“ Heiar said. “That’s what makes this such a bitter loss.“

But unlike the NBA, college basketball determines its champion in a single-elimination tournament.

So, in a one-game scenario, anything can happen. And what happened to the Indians on Saturday was that they run into a three-point shooting buzzsaw.

“We didn’t think they would shoot it like that,“ Chipola forward Johnnie Harris said Tuesday.

“They just hit a ton of shots,“ Indians star guard Jamarcus Ellis said. “They were around 25 feet out, contested threes. It was just a bad day.“

It was certainly a bad day to face the Chaparrals, who shot 56 percent from the floor and 50 percent from behind the arc.

Midland connected on four deep balls during a 21-9 run, taking advantage of a handful of Chipola turnovers, that pushed the lead to 14 at 83-69.

“That stretch really cost us,“ Heiar said. “Once they got it back to 14, there was nothing we could do.“

Heiar said that he thought his players bought into some of the hype surrounding Friday’s semifinal game against CSI, with some suggesting that it was the “real” championship game.

Harris didn’t do anything to dispute the notion.

“I think we kind of took (the title game) for granted,“ he said. “I guess we thought it would be too easy. We didn’t have the energy we needed.“

Part of the reason for the lack of energy could’ve been the result of Friday’s fast-paced affair with CSI.

“I thought the semis took a lot out of us,“ Heiar said. “We just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. But that’s tournament basketball. It’s hard to win four games in five days.“

Still, Heiar said that he was extremely proud of his team and its season, even if it didn’t end like he hoped.

“It takes special kids to do special things and we accomplished all but one of our goals at the start of the season,“ he said. “All of the hard work payed off. But when you get (to the title game), you have to take advantage of your opportunity and we didn’t do that.“

It was the best finish in the national tournament for Chipola since 1974, something Ellis, who will be playing for the Indiana Hoosiers next season, noted as a point of pride.

“I think it was a successful season,“ he said. “We were successful in winning state and we made it to the title game for the first time in 23 years. We just couldn’t finish it the way we wanted.“