Boys basketball: Tolliver’s game-winner lifts Springfield past Northmont

“During the timeout, I yelled at him really aggressively,” McCullough said. “I said, ‘Josh, I need you to go make a layup’ and all the team heard it. They bought in, got him the ball and he made it.”

Wildcats sophomore guard Tyron Barnes caught the ball at the top of the key and passed it to Tolliver on the left wing. The senior drove to the lane, spun into the paint and hit a contested floater with 4.2 seconds remaining, lifting the Wildcats to a 68-67 victory over Northmont on Friday night at Springfield High School.

Tolliver scored a game-high 26 points on Senior Night, including 16 in the second half, as Springfield (8-9) snapped a two-game losing streak.

“I didn’t want to lose on Senior Night, nobody does,” Tolliver said. “I’m just glad to get the win.”

The Wildcats trailed by five points with less than two minutes remaining, but were able to capitalize on their opportunities down the stretch.

“It’s one of those things where you find ways to win,” McCullough said. “We haven’t been playing good the last couple games. It’s bad timing, but at the same time, games like this are needed in order to be prepared for the tournament. It’s going to be a fight every night in those tournament games.”

Thunderbolts sophomore Chermak Green scored 14 points, senior Jordan Smith and junior Brandon Pooler each had 13 and senior Patrick Ivory added 12 for the Thunderbolts (5-13).

“I’m really proud,” said Northmont coach Shane Kincer. “I challenged them all week to have an opportunity to win the game with two minutes to go. We were up three with 1:07 to go and turned the ball over, didn’t secure a rebound the next time, missed four straight free throws down the stretch and gave up a big offensive rebound with 10 seconds to go. (Tolliver) is a really good player. If you give them multiple chances, they’re going to finish. He hit a tough contested shot and we ran out of time at the end of the day.”

The Thunderbolts jumped out to a 17-6 first quarter lead, forcing a Springfield timeout.

“From the second quarter on, I thought we defended halfway decent,” McCullough said. “We put ourselves in a hole in the first quarter. We just came out flat. I’ve got to continue to stress don’t come out flat. I give Northmont credit, they’re much better than they were early in the season. They shot the ball really well. Their coach has done a great job with them since the last time we’ve seen them.”

The Wildcats exploded for 27 points in the second quarter, taking a 36-33 lead at the half. Freshman Aaron Scott added 10 points for the Wildcats in his fourth varsity appearance.

“He’s going to be a name that people hear about,” McCullough said.

The Wildcats led by six points in the third quarter, but the Thunderbolts fought back to take a 67-62 lead with two minutes remaining on an old-fashioned 3-point play by Ivory.

Tolliver made a layup on Springfield’s next possession to cut the lead to three points. After a Northmont turnover, Tolliver hit two more free throws to cut the lead to one point.

“We were trusting the process and buying in to what coach keeps saying,” Tolliver said. “The game is never over and we had to keep expecting to win and that’s what we did.”

Trailing by one point, Springfield had the ball with twenty seconds remaining. Wildcats senior Kamari Williams drove to the basket and his shot was deflected, but senior Vincent Fisher grabbed the rebound. McCullough called a timeout, setting up Tolliver’s last-second heroics.

McCullough called it a “special night” for his senior class.

“It felt good to be back in the win column,” McCullough said. “We celebrated in the locker room really quick because we’re back at it (on Saturday against Fairmont). It was great to get a win.”