City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@Spianovich)
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In three years of varsity basketball at Abington, Brian Close had never attempted a 3-pointer.

Yet there he was, open in the corner with the ball in his hands as the clock ticked toward zero in a tie game. So Close let it fly – and he made sure his first in-game attempt from long distance is not one he’ll forget anytime soon.

Close nailed the shot with 4.5 seconds left and it was the game-winner as Abington edged St. Joe’s Prep, 40-38 on Day 1 of the Jameer Nelson Classic at Widener Univeristy. Close ended with seven points and one incredulous triple that left the Abington bench shocked and elated.

“I just had the open shot and I knew the clock was running down,” Close recalled. “The shot felt good, I could kinda tell it was going to go.”

The shot broke a 37-37 deadlock, and St. Joe’s Prep hit a free throw, but couldn’t get an offensive rebound and putback with 1.8 seconds left before the buzzer. Kyle Thompson had a game-best 19 points for the Hawks – including 13 in the second half – but the team will have to wait to get coach Speedy Morris his 300th win at the school.

Robbie Heath led the Ghosts (6-2) with 15 points, while freshman big man Eric Dixon added seven points and five rebounds in the tightly contested and low-scoring affair.

Thompson hit a trey with 70 seconds left to tie the game, but Abington eventually got the ball with about 30 seconds remaining and decided to hold for the last shot. Coach Charles Grasty drew up a play, which had guard Rob Young drive and either try to draw contact or kick to an open man. There was no contact, but Close was unmarked.

“Rob, our point guard, he always does a good job of finding me or whoever is open, and that’s what happened,” Close said. “It was great to hit it and get my team the game.”

And though Grasty did not envision the play resulting in a 3-pointer by Close, he noted the senior has certainly earned the shot. The senior was an integral part of the team's District 1 championship last year, and isn't used to being on the floor late in big games.

“He’s a hard worker, he’s a leader. He comes in and puts the extra work in, so it was great to see him knock that shot down,” Grasty said. “At the beginning of practice, he’s there shooting around and the same thing at the end of practice. It’s true he wasn’t our first option, and we wanted to drive to the basket. But it was good to see Brian with the confidence to shoot that.”

In the locker room afterward, teammates had some fun joking with their newly appointed sharpshooter. And Close didn’t miss the opportunity to brag a little big.

“He was in the locker room joking that he’s 1-for-1, and 100 percent for his career.” Grasty said, laughing.

For Abington, Close picked the perfect time to be perfect.

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