Feb 8, 2019 3 min read

CARMICHAELS – Don Williams couldn’t have picked a better way to go out.

The longtime Carmichaels boys basketball coach, who is stepping down after 44 years, guided the Mikes to a thrilling, come-from-behind 64-57 win over Chartiers-Houston in overtime on Friday night.

Carmichaels trailed by 13 at halftime and was still down eight with three minutes left before closing the fourth period on an 8-0 run.

The Mikes’ Al Cree made two free throws with 13.1 seconds left in regulation to pull the hosts to within 55-53. After a Chartiers-Houston turnover, Carmichaels’ Matt Barrish was fouled and sank two free throws with seven seconds remaining to tie it, 55-55.

The Bucs badly missed a halfcourt shot in the finals seconds, sending the game into overtime, where the Mikes dominated, outscoring C-H 9-2.

“It means a lot to go out this way,” Williams said after his final game. “That’s been my whole career, teams never quit, they always play with a lot of heart and a lot of desire and it showed tonight.

“They didn’t give up, and there’s the results.”

While Williams and his assistant coach of 27 years Tim Jones celebrated ending their careers in style, the loss was a bitter pill to swallow for the Bucs (5-7, 10-11), who needed the Section 2-AA win to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

“When you’re up four with 15 seconds to go, you’re supposed to win,” Chartiers-Houston coach Eugene Briggs said. “There was a lot of emotion in here, but we were in control the whole game. They played hard and did a good job coming back, but we didn’t keep our composure.

“If you lose this game, you don’t belong in the playoffs anyway.”

The Bucs scored the game’s first seven points and led 15-7 after one period, were up 42-32 after three periods and never trailed until Carmichaels’ Garrett Ponick scored the first basket in overtime.

Chris Barrish made one of two free throws and Cree grabbed the rebound of the miss and scored to put Carmichaels (4-8, 11-10) up 60-57 with 2:15 left in OT. Matt Barrish made two foul shots with 1:28 left and two more with 28 seconds left to salt the game away.

Cree scored a game-high 21 points for the Mikes. Dylan Wilson followed with 16, and Chris Barrish and Matt Barrish both added 11.

Christian Berry and Evan Simpson led Chartiers-Houston with 17 and 16 points, respectively, and Austin Arnold chipped in with 11.