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Ohio High School Loses Semifinal Basketball Game With Failed Attempt To Exploit Rules And Kill Clock

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Garfield Heights Louisville High School Basketball Shot Clock Ohio Stall
© Julie Vennitti Botos / Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If you were not previously aware, a large number of the 50 United States do not require a shot clock in high school basketball. It is a topic for which I have become extremely passionate in recent weeks and this latest occurrence in Ohio is the first time I have seen the time-wasting strategy fail.

There are two sides to this conundrum!

The high school basketball tournament in the state of Ohio is nearing its conclusion. Louisville pulled off an incredible come-from-behind win over Garfield Heights in the Division-III State Semifinal on Sunday and will play for a state championship. Perhaps it would be better stated in reverse. Garfield Heights allowed Louisville to come back from 11 points down in the fourth quarter and lost.

Garfield is located about 10 minutes from downtown Cleveland. Louisville is located about 30 miles south of Akron. They met in front of a raucous sold-out crowd at the Canton Memorial Field House.

The No. 4-ranked Leopards trailed the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs by a score of 48-37 with six minutes left. This is where the shot clock, or lack thereof, comes into play.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) does not currently have a shot clock in high school basketball. It has not adopted a shot clock and there is no immediate plan to do so. Teams are not required to shoot within a certain period of time. They can hold the ball for as long as they want.

Even though Garfield is led by four-star Ohio State commit Marcus Johnson, perhaps the best player in the state, it decided to completely park the bus during the state semifinal. The Bulldogs tried to play keep-away for six full minutes and kill the clock. There was nothing to prevent them from doing so.

This kind of controversial stall-based strategy has proved to be effective in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Louisiana in recent weeks. All four attempts to slow the pace of play to nonexistent levels led to an upset win for the underdogs. They proved the need for a nationwide shot clock.

The strategy backfired for Garfield. It repeatedly passed up open shots to kick the ball out to the top of the key and reset the possession while the clock continued to run. However, ball security very quickly became an issue. Louisville was able to force turnovers to counteract the intentional time wasting.

The Leopards went on a 12-0 run during the final six minutes to win 49-48. The Bulldogs did not score a single point in the last six minutes despite multiple opportunities to do so.

Admittedly, this kind of comeback puts a hole in my argument for a nationwide shot clock in high school basketball and puts my brain in a pretzel. Louisville probably does not come back if Garfield was forced to take a shot every 35 seconds. I get it.

I would argue that it was more the Bulldogs’ stupid strategy that cost them the game, but that’s just me. They might’ve won by 20+ points if they continued with their fast-paced offense and kept scoring. They chose to exploit the glaring lack of shot clock. They paid the price.

Cinderella stories are the best. Everybody loves an underdog. A 12-point comeback by the Leopards in the fourth quarter is epic. I am a fan

On the flip side of that conversation, Garfield was undoubtedly the better team. A shot clock would not have allowed its coaching staff to blow the game and probably would’ve put the best team in the state of Ohio (in the third division) in the state championship game. Is that not what we want?

Grayson Weir BroBible editor avatar
Senior Editor at BroBible covering all five major sports and every niche sport imaginable, found primarily in the college space. I don't drink coffee, I wake up jacked.
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