By: Sean Moylan
As a society, we’ve been programmed to believe in the importance of winning. Any sports fan can tell you that winning builds character. And Vince Lombardi taught us that "winning was the only thing."
Yet many of those beliefs seemed to ring hollow after Burlington city defeated Florence 56-49 for the NJSIAA Group I South Sectional championship at Deptford High School.
That’s because the Flashes put it all out there on the line. They gave every ounce of energy they had and never succumbed to the fear of losing. Yet, they lost in the end.
"My guys have character," Florence’s Hall of Fame Coach Art Bobik has said on countless occasions. And that character was never more evident than on Tuesday night, when they took a City team, which had routinely scored over 100 points and beaten squad by over 50, and made it play their game for nearly three quarters.
"We held them to 12 first-half points," said Florence’s statistician Scott Rein.
Think about that for a minute. The Blue Devils usually have one or two subs who score over 12 points most games.
But then again, Florence’s defense is special. Florence took a 16-12 lead into the half.
In the first quarter Maurice "Mo" Calhoun (a game-high 18 points), Dan Miller (seven points, six steals) and Matt Ordog (10 points, six rebounds and three assists) all hit huge three-pointers to spark the Flashes to a 9-4 lead.
Senior Ryan Shafer, who had an exceptional all-around game with 11 points, four steals and a team-high four assists, knocked down a trey in the second, third and fourth quarters. Nevertheless, the Blue Devils used their highly-touted press to force turnovers and regain the lead in the third quarter. From there they just held on. Nevertheless Akinwande "A.O." Oshidi garnered six rebounds while Joe Spahn had a field goal and Abree Jones hit a foul shot for the Flashes.
From the moment the NJSIAA Group I South brackets came out, it was inevitable that the top-seeded Flashes would eventually face the Blue Devils in the South Jersey finals.
The two squads are like battling brothers always at each other’s throat but needing one another at the same time to establish the other’s greatness. Florence made City plays its game for over a half. Not many teams can say that.
Less turnovers and they would have won. Yet win or lose the Flashes core group of seven players will forever represent the essence of character.
The Flashes finished their season with a 17-8 record. A group of championship football players and one soccer star ("A.O.") came within seven points of being crowned champs for the second time this school year.
FHS 73, SCHALICK 69
On Saturday night at the Florence Township Memorial High School gym, a man named Bobik gave out lessons in the "Art" of coaching basketball in the Flashes’ incredible 73-69 overtime victory against Paul Gause and his A.P. Schalick Cougar teammates.
In the first half the Flashes well-spaced offense moved the ball so quickly and so efficiently that at times the Cougars appeared to be playing a man short.
Yet, Florence’s entire game plan would have been for naught had it not been for he extraordinary play and rebounding of Akinwande "A.O." Oshidi, who finished with 19 points and 16 boards.
Often times, Oshidi would be the only member of the Flashes sent inside to clean the glass. He never disappointed thoughgrabbing many of his rebounds with two or three Cougars hanging all over him. "I alwaysalways have to hit the boards," said Oshidi as if he were repeating a mantra. However, his defining mark of the game would come at the foul line where he sank seven key shots in the closing minutes of overtime to clinch the game for Florence.
In overtime, after rebounding Shalick’s Andrew Badger’s free throw miss, Oshidi was fouled and hit two foul shots to help Florence pull ahead 69-67. Then the Flashes’ seemed to have Cougars’ star Paul Gause (37 points) tied up in the corner, but a Florence foul was called instead. Gause sank a subsequent foul shot to knock a point off of Florence’s lead.
On offense, Abree Jones came up with a crucial rebound and Oshidi was fouled soon after and connected on two more foul shots to lift Florence to a seemingly comfortable 71-68 lead with eight seconds left on the clock.
"I love being on this team. We practice it (foul shooting) everyday. Mr. Bobik was telling me to concentrate. And when it becomes ‘Big'(crunch time) I’ve got to hit them or else we lose," said Oshidi.
Amazingly, the game wasn’t over yet.
Gause, proving that superstar status sometimes takes precedence over home court advantage, went to the line again on a tight call and made another shot.
The Cougars quickly fouled, but Jones hit two foul shots to ice the contest.
"I was a little nervous (at the line) but I’ve played in close games before," said Jones, who netted three points overall.
Jones’ minutes were crucial considering Ryan Shafer (nine points) and Joe Spahn both fouled out.
"A.O. had like every rebound," noted Coach Bobik. "We have seven varsity players. At times they (the subs) looked shaky (this season). Other times they gave us a lift. It was good to get some (solid) bench play out there todayespecially "Breezy" (Jones) making those two big foul shots at the end."
Florence came out in the first quarter like a team possessed.
First Shafer found Calhoun open in the left corner for a baseline three- pointer. Then Danny Miller, Oshidi and Calhoun (a putback off a rebound) and Shafer (two foul shot makes) each had buckets to put Florence ahead 11-2.
With Ordog (12 points) standing near the top of the key and whipping the ball along the perimeter like it was hot potato, the Flashes were able to attack from all angles. Therefore, every Flash became a potential deadly threat.
"With them it’s just him (Gause). We’ve got a whole team,’ said Ordog, who had five "go to" guys to choose from (including himself).
Calhoun, who scored 11 of his 18 points in a 21-14 first quarter, looked poised to have a "monster" offensive and defensive game.
Unfortunately, some tough calls put him in early foul trouble. Moreover, Ordog appeared to draw two charges on Gause, which were both ruled blocking fouls.
With the Flashes two First Team all-stars sitting out much of the second quarter with foul trouble, Miller and Shafer picked up their games. Moreover Francis Ugowe, Jones and Spahn came in to pick up some of slack, and Oshidi rebounded more fiercely than ever. "We’re all big guns," Calhoun would say later.
Even so, Gause, who had previously missed countless shots because of Florence’s "in your face D" tossed in a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Cougars their first lead of the game.
However, midway through the third quarter "A.O." found "Mo" open inside for an easy deuce. Fouled on the play, Calhoun made his subsequent free throw to stake Florence to a 40-37 lead. Ordog scored on a long two moments later. And Spahn made a gorgeous steal and scooted halfway down court for lay-up, which pumped Florence’s advantage to five (44-39). The crowd broke out in a deafening cheer following the shot.
"That (steal) was really big. That was the first time I had a big steal like that. I mean the fans went wild," said Spahn following the contest.
A minute or so later, Ordog buried a trey and Florence had a six-point lead going into the final period (47-41).
A Miller (eight points) pass set up an "A.O." bucket and with Spahn’s subsequent put-back lay-up, Florence had a comfortable 54-45 edge.
Unfortunately, with 2:40 left and Florence leading 57-54, Shafer, the Flashes’ defensive enforcer, fouled out on a rough call.
Gause scored two buckets in the final 1:30 to give his club a two-point edge.
However, Ordog, who is as cool as they come under pressure, answered with a lay-up off a smooth delivery by Miller.
"Dan (Miller) threw it to me in the middle. I just tried to draw a foul and it just went in," said Ordog, whose bucket made the score 62-62. "Coach just said to play our game (the 1-3-1) and if we play defense like we always do, we’ll be fine."
Oshidi played defense the "Florence way" in the closing seconds of regulation when he swatted away a Cougar player’s shot to prevent the go-ahead bucket from scoring.
"The one things our players here at Florence always had was character. And it showed tonight (Saturday) and it showed through the years as far as that’s concerned. And I think that’s a big part of why we’re successfulbecause of the character of the players we have," said Coach Bobik, who had just coached a brilliant game under adverse conditions.
In basketball five beats 1 every time.
FHS 56, RIVERSIDE 38
Matt Ordog and Joe Spahn stood in the corridor leading to the famed Florence High gymnasium and shared an easy laugh with two young ladies.
From that sight alone one could immediately determine two things the Florence Flashes had beaten the Riverside Rams and they had won big. That’s because everyone knows the Flashes do not take losses or bad wins lightly.
"We won by about 12," said Ordog, Florence’s junior point guard, who was already thinking of the next game.
Actually, the Flashes had pounded the Rams by 18 (56-38) before a packed house in last Thursday’s NJSIAA Group I South home playoff game.
The Flashes, known for their stifling defense, broke out to a 16-8 lead and never looked back against their arch rival from the Freedom Division. In fact, by the end of the third quarter, the game was all but over with Florence holding a massive 47-26 advantage.
While stellar subs like Spahn and Abree Jones saw action, only Florence’s starters scored.
Sharp-shooting Maurice Calhoun led the Flashes with 16 points. Akiwande Oshidi cleaned the glass countless times and put in 14 points. Ordog, who, as usual, ran the offense, also had 14 points. Danny Miller (eight points) and Ryan Shafer (six points) also scored.
To its credit, Florence never took Riverside lightly and it was able to come away with a comfortable victory.
