By Jeff Odom
Tommy Tonelli waited 14 seasons to take the Wharton boys basketball team to the final four.
It’s only fitting Tonelli had to hold his breath for an extra 30 seconds after the final buzzer Feb. 23 for his longtime dream to be realized — he and his squad were going to states.
The Wildcats (24-4) needed every second, no more or less, to win their first regional championship in the program’s 16-year history at home by defeating Orlando University 41-39.
Wharton clung to its two-point lead with 6.7 seconds left in the contest after senior point guard CJ McGill hit his second of two free throw attempts. The Cougars (17-12) raced down the court for one final attempt to steal the Wildcats’ regional crown.
Wharton’s defense shut down the inside lanes, forcing University’s Elijah Mays to dish it to the left wing to a wide open Miguel Rivera, who fired a 3-pointer as the clock hit zero.
The shot fell true, momentarily delaying the Wildcats’ celebration. The referees waved off the shot following a brief discussion because it was released after the final buzzer.
The party in New Tampa was on from there.
Tonelli could finally let out a sigh of relief and the tears started flowing.
“The only thing I felt good about and made me feel like it was going to go our way was the one referee was coming in and waving it off — no hesitation,” Tonelli said. “Thankfully, he was adamant in the huddle about his call. … Sometimes, you’re at the mercy of the refs. Honestly, I thought it could have gone either way.
“Somebody’s looking out for us tonight,” Tonelli continued, referring to his late father. “I think I know who it might have been.”
Tonelli, whose teams have won seven district titles in his tenure, was welcomed at the end of the game with what seemed like a never-ending line of family, friends and fans to hug the man that started the school’s basketball program in 1997.
After hugging his wife and younger children, he searched out one person in particular from the crowd celebrating on the court — McGill.
“We’ve been through so much together,” said McGill, who finished the night with 12 points. “From my eighth-grade year all the way up, and I just had to get this win for him.”
Tonelli praised McGill, whose fourth-quarter heroics included a 3-pointer and three clutch free throws to secure the victory.
“Sophomore year, (McGill) blew his ACL out in the fall, and we made a regional final that year without him, but who knows what could have happened if he was playing,” Tonelli said. “I love the kid. He’s like a son to me.”
It was a back-and-forth contest from the opening tipoff with neither team ever leading by more than six points.
Junior forward Chase Litton was dominant on both sides of the ball, dishing out seven assists, including one to Sir Patrick Reynolds who laid in his last of seven points with 53.1 seconds left in the game to take back the lead the Wildcats would not relinquish.
“We practice it every day, and we talk about plays like that in film,” Litton said. “They don’t realize those small plays mean a lot.”
Reynolds fouled out with 37 seconds left. He said watching from the bench was nerve-racking.
“My mind was like how could I foul him, and I put my team in a big deficit right then and there,” Reynolds said. “Luckily, I had my teammate CJ McGill come through, and he told me he was going to put it on. That’s what he did.”
Litton also had four points for Wharton, while senior guard Jaken Grier finished with 11 points.
McGill also surpassed 1,000 career points in Wharton’s 59-41 win at Sarasota Riverview in the regional semifinals Feb. 19.
Wharton will play in the Class 8A state semifinals against South Miami at the Lakeland Center, 701 W. Lime St., March 1 at 7 p.m.
A victory would match the Wildcats with the winner of the Deerfield Beach-Oviedo Hagerty contest for the state championship March 2 at 8:35 p.m.
