Twinsburg Wins Thriller Over Akron East, 63-60

Staring defeat and elimination in the face, the Twinsburg Tigers were left with one final decision. 

Play as hard as they possibly could for one more quarter, or concede defeat.

Judging by the final score, the Tigers chose the former.

Twinsburg, who finished the regular season with a 7-13 record, entered their tournament match-up versus Akron East as the underdogs. East (12-7, 7-5) came out of the difficult Akron City Series, and was a much taller team than Twinsburg. None of that mattered in the final quarter of action, as the Tigers overcame a deficit that at one point was as large as 14 points to win, 63-60, and advance to the second round of district competition.

"I told them," said Twinsburg head coach Bob Pacsi.  "...that it would get down to the team that made the smartest plays."

After playing 24 minutes of fast-paced basketball, the Tigers entered the fourth quarter trailing by 11 points. Twinsburg's half-court pressure defense forced two quick steals, which resulted in a six-point swing for the Tigers. Senior guard Michael Timm scored four of those points in under 20 seconds. East's lead was cut to three points after Timm converted another fast break layup following a block by senior guard Aaron Macer.

"We got some steals and we got some layups" said Pacsi. "We scored off of our defense."

East tried to control the ball instead of attacking the rim, a strategy that gave them their lead in the first half. Twinsburg took advantage of the Orientals' passive offense and forced two more turnovers, which culminated in back-to-back layups by sophomore forward A.J. Edwards.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with size, quickness, experience," said Pacsi. "Throw that out the window right now."

Edwards was also effective on the defensive end.

"He took two charges that were huge," said Pacsi. "All he did was stand there."

Junior guard Malik Billingsley made three of four free throw attempts in the final minute to clinch the victory for the Tigers. 

"We did a terrific job," said Pacsi. "Everybody made big plays."

Twinsburg will face Wadsworth on March 4 at 7:30 p.m.

Scoring Breakdown:

Twinsburg:

#5 Aaron Macer: 6 pts

#11 Michael Timm: 10 pts

#21 Jalen Washington: 9 pts

#23 Malik Billingsley: 21 pts

#33 A.J. Edwards: 16 pts

Akron East:

#1 Mycle Shadie: 5 pts

#4 D.J. Mills: 10 pts

#21 Trevoris Bell: 14 pts

#24 Davonte Brunson: 25 pts

#33 Sir Charles Travis: 2 pts

#40 Myles Bonner: 4 pts