By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
CLARION, PA – While the Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team has had a lot of big moments atop the hardwood of Tippin Gymnasium, their regular season meeting against Moniteau carried a little more weight for one Terror in particular. Along with the dominant 73-26 win against the Warriors came Shene Thomas’ 1,000th career point.
“I wasn’t worried about getting the 1,000 points. I was just worried about going there and playing to win. That’s the first thing that was coming to my mind” said the senior forward, who started the day at 982 total career points. “I woke up just like normal, ate some breakfast and just repeated in my head ‘go out there and play, don’t worry about nothing, don’t get nervous.’”
In years past, the Terrors’ annual trip to Penn West Clarion University typically came in early March during the all-day District 9 championship event, otherwise known as Super Saturday. This past Saturday, however, O-E met the Warriors in Clarion as part of the District 9 Showcase series, a campaign to create matchups against teams that normally don’t meet in regular season. The showcase pits 15 D9 teams against each other in five full-day events through the months of December, January and February with the proceeds sponsoring scholarships for D9 athletes who have been diagnosed with Juvenile Type 1 diabetes.
“Stepping on this court is huge,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Derrick Francis. “When this opportunity came about, we actually had another opponent we were trying to get but I just thought we needed to bail on that and come here.”
While it might not have been an actual playoff game, O-E took to their familiar coliseum with postseason intensity. Firing out of a cannon, the Terrors jumped out to a 9-0 lead in just the first minute and a half. The star backcourt duo of Landon Francis and Manning Splain sank three consecutive 3-pointers while forwards Thomas and Davey Schenfield converted long outlet passes to points as O-E scored the first 13 points of the game.
Between stripping passes, blocking shots and forcing panicked jumpshots, the Terrors dominated just as equally on defense, allowing just a single basket to be scored against them throughout the first eight minutes. Heading into the second quarter, O-E held a 20-3 lead.
“We have aspirations of playing here again and we really treated it like it was a D9 semifinal or quarterfinal game,” said Derrick Francis.
Sitting just 12 points away from his ever-nearing milestone, Thomas led the charge in the second quarter. Opening the period with two tough-fought layups, he scored eight of the Terrors’ first 13 points. Despite keeping his foot on the pedal, Thomas’ two made free throws to end the half brought him to 16 points, two away from the big moment.
Being up by 21 points to start the second half affords a team some leeway as far as discipline and shot selection. This proved to be true for the Terrors as they continuously attempted to force feed Thomas his 1,000th point. While it may have taken several minutes to accomplish their mission, a window in which the Warriors put up 10 unanswered points, the Terrors and Thomas finally connected.
Unable to find a look in transition, Thomas sank to the lower right block to post up. Against a smaller forward, he rolled to his right, stretching out as far as he could before a flick of the wrist released a high-arching hook shot. With his team, family and friends anxiously watching, the shot rolled in. After four years as a Terror, Thomas had earned a spot amongst the O-E elite.
“It felt just kind of surreal honestly. It felt good, I definitely thought it was going in, it went in and everything just kind of went quiet,” said Thomas. “Then the crowd erupted.”
After a brief celebration and a round of photos, the game refocused on the court. Finding themselves up by 45, the Terrors began implementing a few majority-bench lineups. Rotating in the starting leadership with varsity newcomers, O-E continued to roll past the Warriors, outscoring them 12-7 in the final eight minutes of play.
Thomas finished with a game-high 21 points as one of four Terrors to reach double figures. Splain followed behind with 16 while Landon Francis knocked down three triples as part of his 13 points. Schenfield scored 10 points in the win.
Before the end of last season, the Terrors’ 1,000 point club hadn’t accepted a new member in over close to 50 years. Now, in the past 12 months, that club has grown by three.
Landon Francis, now the All-Time leading scorer in program history, reached the mark first at the end of last season, followed by Splain, who scored quadruple-digit career points during the first game of this season. With Thomas joining his teammates in Blue and Gold history, they break District 9 history as the first senior trio on the same team to each have 1,000 points.
“It’s crazy to think about but I think it all comes from our hardwork and determination,” said Thomas. “Have to thank coach for that.”
AT CLARION
Otto-Eldred (73)
Thomas 9 2-2 21, Splain 6 2-2 16, Francis 5 0-0 13, D. Schenfield 4 2-3 10, Obenrader 2 0-0 6, M. Schenfield 2 0-0 4, App 1 0-0 3. Totals: 29 6-7 73
Moniteau (26)
Ealy 3 0-0 8, Minnear 2 0-0 5, Book 2 0-2 5, Beachem 2 0-0 4, Ross 2 0-0 4. Totals: 11 0-4 26
Otto-Eldred 20 38 61 73
Moniteau 3 7 19 26
Three-point goals: O-E (9) Francis 3, Obenrader 2, Splain 2, Thomas, App, MT (4) Ealy 2, Book, Minnear; Total fouls: O-E 7, MT 9; fouled out: None.
