Published: February 27, 2008 01:21 am      

CLASS 3A: Charlestown edges Salem in epic sectional opener

RAMSEY — Rarely does a sequel surpass the original.

But the second chapter of Charlestown-Salem was not only bigger and better than the first — it was completely one-of-a-kind.

In a packed gymnasium on the sort of snowy winter night that Indiana high schools legends are made of, the two schools — each with its best team in recent memory — battled for 40 emotional minutes to keep their seasons alive.

In the end, only the Pirates remained standing, finally pulling away from the Lions for a 63-59 victory in double overtime in the first game of the Class 3A North Harrison Sectional on Tuesday.

“I just broke into tears,” said Charlestown coach Sean Smith. “Win or lose, it was the best game I’ve been a part of as a coach or a player. Both teams played like champions.”

Many observers thought it might be for the sectional championship, as Salem (17-4) and Charlestown (18-3) came in with identical records, identical marks in the Mid-Southern Conference and a shared championship, and the label of favorite entering the tournament.

And for most of the way, it was like both teams were looking into the mirror.

Charlestown star Zach Merschbrock scored 15 points by halftime, including 11 in the first quarter. But he was matched every step of the way by Salem center Colin Agan, who had 10 points at the break and a late basket that tied it at 24 going into the intermission.

Neither team could grab a foothold down the stretch, playing to a standstill until a 3 from Salem’s Logan Dunn put the Lions up for the first time since the opening quarter, 42-41.

Robert Baker delivered a layup that bounced in dramatically for a 44-41 edge, and it was apparent that Charlestown’s dream season was in serious jeopardy.

But Merschbrock responded with a leaning 3-pointer with 27 seconds left. Baker again drove the lane for the same shot, but this one fell off and Merschbrock was fouled on the rebound with 1.8 seconds left.

He missed the ensuing free throw.

“I thought I’d hit it,” he said. “You always think about being in that situation, and I thought I’d hit it. It just came up short.”

Still, his clutch 3 kept the Pirates alive, and they responded by going to Zach’s brother Clayton. He scored four quick points to give Charlestown the game’s largest lead with 40 seconds left in the first overtime, 52-46.

Now, it was Salem’s turn for a miracle finish.

The Lions used only seven seconds before getting a 3 from Gunner Erwin, and then put on the full-court press. A wild scramble ensued on the inbounds play, and a 10-second call sent the ball back to the Lions with 20 ticks showing on the clock.

“We’re so lucky to be the team that came out of here with a win,” Smith said. “We did not play smart when we had the lead.”

As the time ticked away, the ball ended up in the hands of Dunn, who delivered a 3 with three seconds to go for a tie and a second overtime.

“I looked them in the eye,” Smith said. “I told them we were going to win the game.”

The key was Pirate guard Jordan Copeland, who delivered a 3-pointer early in the second extra session that seemed to stop Salem’s momentum. Agan answered back with a 3 of his own, but the Lions never got back in front.

Charlestown put it away from the foul line, hitting 5-of-6 in the final 1:43, including two key makes from Zach Merschbrock.

“I am not going to think about it anymore,” he said, regarding the miss in regulation. “It turned out that we won, so it doesn’t matter.”

It was a stark difference from the first meeting between the teams this season, a 61-50 Charlestown victory at Salem just 11 days ago that gave the Pirates a share of the MSC title.

It also made the Lions eager to atone.

“It’s really up there as far as the great games I’ve seen,” said Salem coach Hank Weedin. “I told them it would take the hardest 32 minutes they could play, but it ended up being 40. At least they got our best effort this time. A couple of breaks and who knows what would have happened.”

The duel between Agan and Zach Merschbrock yielded big numbers for both. Agan had 26 points to lead the Lions, while Merschbrock delivered a game-high 30.

Bowman Thrasher scored 10 points and Clayton Merschbrock had nine points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Pirates.

Now the challenge will be coming back down from a game that will likely never be forgotten. Charlestown will meet Crawford County in the first semifinal on Friday.

“The schedule is identical,” Smith said. “We played Salem and then we played Crawford a few days later and did not play well. We might not get as lucky on Friday.

“To win a sectional, you have to be both gutty and a little lucky — tonight I think we got a little bit of both.”



SALEM 13 11 6 14 8 7—59

CHARLESTOWN 14 10 6 14 8 11—63

Salem (17-4) — Baker 6, Dunn 9, Erwin 16, Huls 2, Agan 26, Baird 0, Huffaker 0.

Charlestown (18-3) — Copeland 8, C. Merschbrock 9, Grayson 4, Z. Merschbrock 30, Thrasher 10, Chastain 0, Brady 2, Crenshaw 0.

Three-point field goals — Salem 9 (Erwin 4, Dunn 3, Agan 2); Charlestown 4 (Copeland 2, Z. Merschbrock 2).

Rebounds — Salem 17 (Agan 7); Charlestown 30 (C. Merschbrock 8).

Turnovers — Salem 7, Charlestown 14.