ROGERS — It was a Rogers Heritage junior who came up with the play of the game on senior night Tuesday at War Eagle Arena.
Connor Hirsh tipped in Crist Olsen's miss at the buzzer to lift the War Eagles to a hard-fought 53-51 win over crosstown rival Rogers High in 7A/6A-West boys basketball.
Rogers Heritage 53, Rogers High 51
Rogers^12^13^12^14^—^51
Heritage^4^16^13^20^ —^53
Rogers (7-17, 0-13): Street 25, Hill 10, Salvador 9, Gentz 4, Martinez 3.
Rogers Heritage (16-10, 6-7): Kinnamon 14, C. Olsen 12, Hirsh 12, Prince 10, Sams 5.
Heritage coach Tom Olsen said that final play is exactly the way Hirsh has played all season.
"Never quit, the play is never over with Connor," Olsen said. "He's just an unreal kid. Crist got a decent look and we were able to put it up on the glass with three or four seconds left. He just found a way to do it like he's done all year."
Olsen fired up a 3-pointer from the left wing with 3.4 seconds left, but it bounded off the back iron. However, Hirsh got a hand on it. The ball danced on the rim and fell through as time expired, triggering a huge celebration with the Heritage student section flooding the court.
Rogers coach Wayne Herren warned his players to block out on a missed shot, prior to that final sequence, but Hirsh came up with the big play.
"The last thing we said to the kids in the way it's not usually the shot that beats you, but it's the tip-in that beats you," Herren said. "That what got us tonight. I'm proud of how we battled. For an 0-12 team, it's really easy to hang your heads and go home. Our kids did everything we asked them to do tonight. Credit the Heritage kids, they made some big shots."
Hirsh was one of four War Eagles in double figures with 12 points. Wyatt Kinnamon led Heritage (16-10, 6-7 7A/6A-West) with 14 and Olsen added 12. Austin Prince also chipped in 10 off the bench.
Rogers (6-18, 0-13) led for the first three quarters by as many as 10 points, but Heritage clawed back in the fourth. Hirsh scored and drew a foul to put the War Eagles up 51-49 with 1:20 left, but missed the ensuing free throw. Sophomore Danny Salvadore, who made his first start of the season, tied it with a driving layup with 50.5 seconds left, setting up the final sequence.
Olsen said his team was just trying to survive early when the Mounties came out with great energy.
"We're just real fortunate," Olsen said. "Rogers played their butts off tonight. It was a great atmosphere here and they played with unbelievable emotion. I thought the first half we were kinda reeling from Har-Ber the other night since that was such a big win for us and so emotional."
Zach Street led all scorers with 25 points for Rogers, including four 3-pointers, while Hunter Hill chipped in 10 and Salvador added nine.
Heritage closes the regular season at Siloam Springs on Friday, while Rogers plays at Springdale Har-Ber.
Sports on 02/26/2014