Washburn High School senior Jarrett Olson offered up an early candidate for shot of the year Wednesday night, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for the Beavers.
Olson’s long-range launch — just after he crossed the midcourt stripe — swished through the net as time expired, giving Washburn a 69-66 victory over Southern Aroostook of Dyer Brook in an early season showdown of unbeaten Class D North boys basketball powers at Doc Albert Gymnasium in Washburn.
The shot could have some long-term Heal point ramifications, given that Washburn is 3-0 and ranked first in the division, and Southern Aroostook is 3-1 and ranked second.
Southern Aroostook had tied the game at 66-66 seconds before Olson’s game-winner when Jackson Mathers escaped the double-team of Washburn’s triangle-and-two defense to make a 3-pointer of his own from the right of the key with about six seconds left.
The clock ran down to 3.6 seconds before it was stopped as Washburn coach Randy Norsworthy called his team’s final timeout.
The clock then was reset to 5.6 seconds with Washburn having to go the full length of the court and score to avoid its second overtime game of the young season. The Beavers had opened their season with an 81-70 double-overtime survival of Hodgdon.
Washburn’s Brandon Cropley inbounded the ball to Noah Caron, who spotted Olson circling near center court. A Southern Aroostook defender tipped Caron’s pass, but Olson gained control with his momentum heading forward and then let fly from about 38 feet away with a little more than two seconds left.
By the time the ball went through the net, time had expired, and the Beavers celebrated sudden victory in a game during which they never trailed.
“Everybody laughs at me when I say it, but I was hoping for what we got,” said Norsworthy. “Jarrett is a good perimeter shooter, and he’s got enough length that we could get the ball to him in the middle. I thought he’d might be able to get a little closer, but otherwise that’s just exactly what I thought he would get.”
That game-winner wasn’t even Olson’s first buzzer-beater of the night. He ended the first quarter with a long 3-pointer from deep along the left wing to give Washburn a 15-5 lead.
Olson connected on three of Washburn’s 12 successful 3-pointers during the game and finished the night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.
