‘Showtime Kev’ bails out Eagles, sends them to PIAA semis after miracle OT rally
BELLEFONTE – Anthony Caccese didn’t like his seat but he admits he ended up enjoying the show Friday night.
Exeter’s leading scorer and rebounder fouled out 90 seconds into overtime, his team down four. It looked grim. Then ‘Showtime’ started.
Kevin Saenz bailed out the Eagles, scoring the final six points of the game to lift them to a miraculous 75-72 victory over Peters Township in a PIAA Class 5A quarterfinal at Bald Eagle High School.
“We call him ‘Showtime Kev,’ “ Caccese said, “and that was ‘Showtime’ right there at the end.”
Saenz hit his only 3-pointer of the game to tie it with 51 seconds left, then put back his own miss 20 seconds later to give the District 3 champion Eagles (26-6) a spot in the state semifinals Monday against Erie Cathedral Prep.
The end of the Eagles’ season appeaed imminent once Caccese, an All-Berks center, joined All-Berks guard Zyion Paschall and junior guard Alex Kelsey, each of whom fouled out in regulation, on the bench.
Saenz had other ideas.
“He refused to allow our season to end,” said Exeter coach Matt Ashcroft. “He said: ‘We want to get to Monday night. We want to play another game.”
The Indians (24-5) went ahead 71-67 on a pair of free throws after Jake Ziegler was fouled by Caccese with 2:29 left in OT.
Freshman Ayden Ware, a rarely used 6-foot guard who replaced Caccese, kept hope alive when he put back a miss with 1:50 left in OT.
“That was clutch,” said Exeter junior Reece Garvin.
Nate Miller’s free throw pushed the Peters Township lead to three, but he missed the second of a two-shot foul, and Mickey Vaccarello missed two straight free throws with 1:01 left, opening the door for the comeback.
Saenz stormed through it. He scored six points in a 30-second span.
“When those three guys went out (with fouls) I knew it was time to step up,” Saenz said. “I told Reece: ‘It’s go-time, baby, let’s get this dub. Let’s not let the senior go out like this.’ ”
The Eagles cranked up their fullcourt press in the final minutes, forced a pair of turnovers and didn’t allow a basket over the final 2 1/2 minutes of overtime.
The Indians had two chances to tie it on their final possession coming out of a timeout with 7.2 seconds left but missed a pair of 3-point attempts, the last with 3.3 seconds left.
Exeter trailed by eight with four minutes to go in regulation before sending it to OT with an 11-3 closing rush. Saenz tied it at 65-65 with 1:47 left in regulation with a three-point play. He scored 13 points over the final 8 1/2 minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime. He finished with 19 points.
“That’s clutch,” Garvin said of Saenz’s play at the end. “Throughout the season we’ve had many players be able to step up and do things like that.”
Paschall scored a team-high 20 points before fouling out with 3:33 left in regulation. Caccese had 14 points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Garvin had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Miller led Peters Township with 19 points but he missed six free throws, including four in the fourth quarter and overtime.
The Indians helped the Eagles stay in the game by making only 18-of-33 free throws; they were 5-of-8 in overtime.
The Eagles left a lot of points at the foul line, too, making only 14-of-22.
Exeter trailed by seven points when Paschall fouled out in regulation but no one in the Eagles’ huddle lost hope.
“I turned to my team and said: There’s plenty of time on the clock,” said Garvin. “Let’s go out there and get this ‘dub.’ Be patient, be calm and we’re gonna come out with the win.”
It’s been Ashcroft’s mantra throughout the postseason to just “get to the next game.”
“The belief is always there with these guys,” Ashcroft said. “These seniors have done so much for us, and we have to find a way to get them to next week.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | |
| Peters Twp. | 17 | 14 | 21 | 13 | 7 72 |
| Exeter | 17 | 22 | 11 | 15 | 10 75 |
| Indians (24-5) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| B. McCullough | 5-12 | 4-6 | 2-3 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| Miller | 7-13 | 5-11 | 0-4 | 2 | 8 | 19 |
| Mills | 2-9 | 2-4 | 1-4 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Ziegler | 3-4 | 2-2 | 2-2 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Dunbar | 5-13 | 5-8 | 1-6 | 1 | 7 | 16 |
| Donovan | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Vaccarello | 1-3 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0 | 5 | 2 |
| Aspinall | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| N. McCullough | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Totals | 24-58 | 18-33 | 6-20 | 6 | 33-42 | 72 |
| Eagles (27-6) | FG | FT | 3’s | A | R | Points |
| Paschall | 7-15 | 4-9 | 2-5 | 3 | 2 | 20 |
| Saenz | 7-15 | 4-5 | 1-2 | 2 | 5 | 19 |
| Snyder | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Garvin | 4-11 | 3-3 | 3-10 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| Caccese | 6-14 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 1 | 18 | 14 |
| Kelsey | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dauble | 2-4 | 0-0 | 1-2 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| Ware | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals | 27-65 | 14-22 | 7-21 | 9 | 39-43 | 75 |
Turnovers: Peters Township 14, Exeter 16.Fouled out: Kelsey, Paschall, Caccese.
