The Pontiac High School senior boys’ basketball team trailed by 22 points to start their first-round playoff game on Mar. 12, but clawed back in the final minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

With eight wins and three losses, the Panthers posted the same regular-season record as their visiting opponents, École secondaire du Versant, who finished just behind the Panthers in the standings.

The atmosphere in Pontiac High School’s gymnasium was bumping as fellow students and alumni alike came to support the team.

But those cheers were silenced soon after the game tipped off. The visitors put on an offensive clinic, getting out to a commanding 24-2 lead.

The hosts clawed their way back, narrowing the deficit to three points at halftime. Both teams went back and forth throughout the second half, but PHS was struggling to pull back even.

Enter Oleh Mykulych, one of PHS’ five seniors. Late in the fourth quarter, he gets fouled on an aggressive drive to the basket late. He walks to the free throw line, eyeing up his next two shots.

If they go in, he will complete the comeback, putting his team back into contention in a game that looked near-unwinnable only three quarters ago.

The senior was calm under pressure, knocking down the first shot, then the second.

From there, his shots sparked a gritty run by the Panthers to finish the game. Driven by nosy defence and fast-break finishes, the hosts managed to outscore their opponents in the final few minutes. At the final buzzer, PHS led 65-58.

Mykulych, an immigrant from Ukraine who began playing basketball only last year, said he was nervous about those key shots because free throws are not his strongest asset.

“Our last practice, I didn’t hit any free throws, and then I tied it up with free throws, so I was pretty happy about that,” Mykulych said. “I was praying before, to be honest.”

Head coach Jodi Thompson said while her players got out to a slow start, they stuck to the gameplan in the end.

“The key was our defence. Controlling the boards was our gameplan from the get-go, and then making better decisions. Looking for the open thing, instead of forcing something.”

She said they were concerned with the level of talent their opponents had, but said with hard work and determination they managed to pull out the win.

“We put our heads down and worked really hard. We took care of the little things, and it amounted to a win for us, which was huge.”

Mykulych’s fellow senior Callum Maloney, who scored 17 points in the game, including two clutch free throws, said the home crowd’s raucous support gave the team the boost it needed to surmount the 22-point deficit.

“The dynamic was amazing, I think that’s what pushed us harder than anything. We fought hard, and we fought strong.”

Maloney said the team faced its fair share of challenges this year, including a losing streak in the middle of the season, and was glad they could put it all together.

“We had a strong start to the season, but we had quite a losing streak. So I’m happy we could come back and be the team we know we can be,” he said.

Mykulych said the team occasionally faced internal problems throughout the season, but came together before the game to air out their grievances and focus on the task at hand.

“We apologized to everyone, just put our ego down before the game, and that was the best solution,” he said.

Bennett Rusenstrom, another graduating senior who only began playing basketball a year ago, scored 10 points, including a clutch steal and fast-break basket to finish the game.

“It feels good. Tough battle, we came back, I can’t be any prouder of my whole team here,” he said.

The team held a ceremony before the game to honour the team’s five seniors – Oleh Mykulych, Bennett Rusenstrom, Callum Maloney, Jesse Daniel Illingsworth-Cheslock, and Alex Hobbs – who were playing their final game in the PHS gym.

The Panthers will face the top-ranked Philemon Wright High School in the next playoff round for a spot in the league final. This would be the team’s final game of the season, as RSEQ Div. 4 does not hold provincial championships.

Junior boys fall short against Sacré-Coeur

The PHS junior boys’ team ended up on the opposite end of a close first-round playoff battle the next night, losing in the final moments against Séminaire Sacré-Coeur.

The Panthers, ranked third in the league, posted a 6-4 win-loss record in the regular season, while their visiting opponents achieved a 4-6 record.

After a back-and-forth game, the host Panthers gave up two key free throws in the final moments. “It was heartbreaking,” said Jodi Thompson, who also coaches the junior boys.

She said small schools like PHS don’t often have enough players to play in this league, but by holding back some of the grade 9 players to stay with the junior team for one more season they were able to field a team.

“We didn’t want the grade 9s spending the year on the bench of the senior team, so we ran a cadet program to get the valuable experience and playing time,” she said, adding that even though the team didn’t advance to the next playoff round, she was proud of what they accomplished with limited basketball experience.

“Our biggest success this season is that these players came into this season only ever having played two to six games ever, and they finished the season third overall.”

She said PHS is expected to field a junior boys’ team again next season.