Mater Dei tops Breese Central in OT rivalry classic to win own tournament championship

Enter Elliott Rakers.

The 6-foot-5 center converted a layup with 9.6 seconds left in overtime Monday night to complete Mater Dei’s rally from a nine-point third quarter deficit as it captured a 55-54 win.

When Central's Kaden Rakers missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer just before the final buzzer, Knights players poured on the floor to celebrate.

Mater Dei coach Cory Arentsen jumped in the air and pumped both fists to the side.

“When kids go to Mater Dei and Central, they look forward to playing this game,” Arentsen said.

They really look forward to being the hero, like Elliott Rakers was. After Preston Baker drilled two foul shots with 25.9 seconds left to put the Cougars (11-4) up 54-53, the Knights (10-6) hunted a championship-securing response.

They got it via Gavin Pepperhorst’s drive off the right elbow that attracted multiple defenders as he gained the baseline. Rakers took advantage of the space created by the defensive help. Pepperhorst recognized any shot would have been tough and forced.

His wraparound pass found Rakers and he made no mistake at the rack.

“I saw that I had a lane to get a good post touch,” Rakers said. “Luckily, my teammates gave me the ball and trusted me with the game-winning shot. I executed it well and it was a great team win.”

Cliched, perhaps. But also true on this night. To rally from a 35-26 deficit late in the third period against a team that appeared to be a touch better across the board, Mater Dei needed three things: Better execution, some fortune and then a big shot.

The first came in the form of just three turnovers after halftime and none in overtime. The second occurred when Central missed a spate of layups and went 12 of 19 at the foul line after halftime.

That enabled the Knights to get into position. But they still trailed 44-41 when Arentsen asked for his last timeout of regulation with 8.6 seconds left. A 3-point shot was their only option.

Luke Brefeld, who up until that moment attempted just four shots and scored four points, kept everyone around for an extra four minutes. He got a clean look at a 22-footer from the left wing and rattled it home with 3.9 seconds remaining to force overtime at 44-44.

“I wasn’t expecting them to go zone necessarily and I didn’t know if they would foul or not, either,” Arentsen said. “But Luke Brefeld, one of our best shooters, stepped up to the line with confidence and buried it.”

Overtime was classic back-and-forth basketball with most of a sellout crowd on its feet. Brefeld’s fadeaway jumper with 1:22 left gave Mater Dei its first lead at 51-49 and Peppenhorst made two foul shot with 52.8 ticks on the clock for a three-point edge.

Griffen Becker, who pumped in a game-high 21 points, swished a baseline jumper with 44.1 seconds remaining to pull Central within a point. Peppenhorst missed two free throws, leading to Baker’s foul shots and setting up his critical role in Rakers’ hero turn.

It was the fifth straight win for the Knights, who earned their tourney title for the 10th time.

“The key was staying together as a team,” Rakers said. “We figure out our mistakes and then we stay strong in the second half. We play really hard on defense and we trust anybody on the team to make a shot.”

Baker finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while sixth man Connor Diekamper scored 14 points to pace Mater Dei.