Nazareth coach Dave Wickmann says Blue Eagles’ sophomore Bobby Grzenda has the nickname of “Big Shot Bob.”
And why not?
On Dec. 20, Grzenda hit a shot that went viral and made ESPN’s “Plays of the Day.”
It was a game-winning 3-pointer from well beyond halfcourt that gave Nazareth a stunning 52-49 win over Easton at Ray Nunamaker Gym.
“That was great,” Grzenda said. “Blake Nagurney passed the ball back to me, and I don’t remember a thing after that. I just blacked out. I never had a game-winner before that. I’ve heard about it a lot. People are still talking about it.”
Grzenda didn’t have a shot that would get him back on ESPN Tuesday night, but he made five 3-pointers in a 21-point effort in the championship game of the Zephyr Holiday Classic at Whitehall.
One of the 3s came in overtime, and he had five points overall in the extra session as the Blue Eagles outscored the Zephyrs 6-2 and pulled out a 63-59 win for the tournament title.
Nazareth won its fifth straight game and reached the halfway mark of the season at 10-1, while Whitehall fell to 4-8.
“It was a great win because even though Whitehall doesn’t have a great record, they have played very good competition close, so this was a big one for us,” Grzenda said.
While Grzenda has arguably the shot of the year in local basketball, it looked like the shot of the night was going to be Jack Lloyd’s trey at the regulation buzzer that allowed the Zephyrs to tie the game at 57 and prompt four extra minutes.
It came after the Blue Eagles turned it over in the final seconds. Tanner Dogmanits broke up a long pass, and Cole Richards corralled the loose ball and immediately got it to Lloyd, who had a career-high 31 points. His seventh 3-pointer of the night extended the game, but didn’t give the Zephyrs the win.
“That was a big shot by Whitehall there, but our kids bounced back,” Wickmann, a first-year coach, said. “We were disappointed at the end of regulation. I wanted to call a timeout there, and we didn’t get it. But our kids did respond and it comes down to ur senior leadership. Our three captains lead the way, and they led tonight.”
A drive by Tanner Dogmanits gave the Zephyrs a 59-57 lead to start overtime, but they wouldn’t score again. Grzenda hit a 3-pointer — his team’s 11th — to give Nazareth the lead and added two free throws with 17.6 seconds left to make it 62-59. After a miss for Whitehall, Gavin Kershner rebounded and made one of two at the line to put it away with 7.3 ticks left.
Whitehall, which played most of the night without senior starter Talon Dogmanits, who injured his ankle in the first quarter, was 0-for-3 from the field and had three turnovers in overtime.
“We’ve had so many close games, and we’ve found a way to win a couple of them,” Zephyrs coach Jeff Jones said. “But we’ve got to find a way to win a couple more. To their credit, they shot the ball very well, especially from the second quarter on. We gave up too many 3s and gave them too many open looks.”
With Talon Dogmanits out the entire second half, Jones was pleased with how well CJ Lowe and Richards played off the bench. But it was Lloyd’s shooting that was largely responsible for Whitehall leading the entire first half and by as much as 24-11 early in the second period.
“Jack just had a really good night,” Jones said of Lloyd, the son of Whitehall basketball royalty Jerry Lloyd. “He hasn’t played the last two years and it has taken him a little bit of time for him to be able to do what he’s doing right now. He has been a great addition.”
Lloyd was an all-tournament selection, but it was Nazareth’s Logan Hahn who got the MVP award for his all-around play. He had five assists and scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter when Nazareth tried to hold off Whitehall. It was his 3-pointe with 1:07 left that gave the Blue Eagles a 57-54 lead.
“It’s a very big win,” Hahn said. “We’re an experienced group and we bring a different mentality this year. This was a big tournament championship for us because over the holidays you’re not playing a lot of games and both Whitehall and Northwestern beat us last year, so this is a good one for us as we get back into the league.”
Nazareth will visit Northampton on Tuesday night when the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference schedule resumes. On the same night, Whitehall travels to Pocono Mountain. The Zephyrs will get a rematch with Nazareth on Jan. 12 at Nunamaer Gym.
Nazareth 63, Whitehall 59
Nazareth 9 – 17 – 15 – 16 – 6 — 63
Whitehall 18 – 9 – 14 – 16 – 2 — 59
NAZARETH (63)
Rodriguez 0-0 1-2 1, Nagurney 1-4 1-3 3, Hahn 5-10 0-0 13, Kershner 5-8 5-9 17, Leluga 0-1 0-0 0, Marinelli 3-7 1-2 8, Grzenda 7-15 2-2 21. Totals 21-45 10-18 63.
WHITEHALL (59)
Lowe 2-2 1-4 5, Lloyd 11-19 2-5 31, Tanner Dogmanits 2-5 1-3 5, Hoderewski 4-6 4-4 12, Talon Dogmanits 0-1 0-0 0, Richards 0-0 0-0 0, Rozycki 3-7 0-0 6. Totals 22-40 8-16 59.
3-pointers: Nazareth (11-32) Grzenda 5, Hahn 3, Kershner 2, Marinelli. Whitehall (7-16) Lloyd 7.
Rebounds: Nazareth 22 (Marinelli 9). Whitehall 24 (Lloyd 6).
Assists: Nazareth 11 (Hahn 4). Whitehall 11 (Tanner Dogmanits 5).
Turnovers: Nazareth 11, Whitehall 19.
Fouls: Nazareth 13, Whitehall 12.
Officials: Andy Donatelli, Kyle Hutnik, Jack Keiter.
Other Tuesday games
Woodson, Va., 64 Allen 48: After eight wins, the Canaries suffered their first loss of the season in the finals of their own holiday tournament. Tiheed Wise, Jr., led Allen with 29 points. Woodson, coached by Freedom graduate Doug Craig, outscored the Canaries 18-4 in the fourth quarter after Allen was within 46-44 after three periods. Woodson, from Fairfax, Va., got 26 points from Brady Conklin, and he earned an all-tournament spot along with Allen’s Wise and Xayvon Wimberly. Ryan Corallo, who had 17, was chosen the tourney MVP.
Pope John Paul II 39, ACCHS 38: The Vikings had a six-game win streak snapped and fell to 8-3 by losing the final in their own holiday tournament. ACCHS was outscored 9-4 in the fourth quarter. Jared Ford led ACCHS with 13 points and Yariel Gonzalez added 11. Jason Green led PJP with 15 — all coming on 3-pointers.
Delaware County Christian 67, Northwestern Lehigh 62: The Tigers went 0-2 in the Whitehall tournament, falling short in the consolation game despite 20 points by Mason Bollinger and 19 by Brady Zimmerman. Zimmerman was named to the all-tourney team along with DCC’s Bradford Berwick, who scored 19. Northwestern (7-3) returns to league play on Friday when the Tigers host Notre Dame-Green Pond.
Dieruff 67, Stroudsburg 66: Alphy Deris scored 22 points and Elsir Gibson added 21 as the Huskies (5-6) got a nonleague win. Dieruff has already surpassed its win total. of last season. Tae El-Bassiouni made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points for Stroudsburg (6-5).
Pennridge 49, Easton 33: Ryan Kuntz scored 15 points to lead the Rams in the consolation game of the Easton Rotary tournament. Akhir Brown led Easton (2-8) with 10 points.
Executive 60, Phillipsburg 46: The Raptors had four players reach double figures, led by Jaxon Loper’s 16 points, and won the Easton Rotary tournament. Eshaan Tung and Ziyon Wilkins had 13 apiece, and Camren Michel added 10 for Executive, which improved to 8-1.
Bethlehem Christian 69, Catasauqua 63: Bethlehem Christian won the Slatington Rotary tournament title for the first time, getting a second consecutive 34-point performance from Gabe Transue, who was named the tournament’s MVP. Myles Harris scored 24 as the Panthers improved to 9-1. Catasauqua fell to 5-3. Rough Riders coach Eric Snyder will try again for his 400th career win when his team hosts Pen Argyl on Saturday.
Pleasant Valley 58, Northern Lehigh 42: Sebastian Sacci scored 20 points, and Jake Loch added 17 as the Bears (2-9) won the consolation game in the Slatington Rotary tournament at Northern Lehigh. Kellen Bauer led the Bulldogs (4-8) with 15.
Freedom 58, Absegami 17: The Patriots got their first win of the season after 10 losses, winning the consolation game in the Boardwalk Basketball Classic at the Wildwoods Convention Center. Freedom made seven 3-pointers, including five by Brody Stellato, who scored 16 points. Pallo Odotte added 11.
