By Lorne Chan,
Central Catholic built its season around Cole Martinez and moments like the one that faced the Buttons on Saturday.
Down by a point with 12 seconds left, the Buttons had the ball. But this time, there were no buzzer-beating heroics in a 42-41 loss against Plano John Paul II.
Martinez's high school career ended without touching the ball in the TAPPS 5A regional final.
“We watched Cole John Paul II coach Chad Evans said. “We know how good he is. We're lucky that he didn't get the ball in his hands.”
The No. 4 Buttons' 35-6 season ended on a frantic final play at South San's Durbon Center, where Martinez was used as a decoy.
Tommy Berry drove with about seven seconds left but lost control of the ball. It bounced to teammate Robert Johnson, who missed a 16-footer. Geovan Franco got an offensive rebound, but his putback missed off the rim.
“The play was set up for Tommy,” Central coach Romy Vela said. “He had the shot. The ball just slipped.”
Central had chances to put the game away but was shut out for the final 3:42.
The Buttons took a 41-37 lead on a Martinez 3-pointer — he had all eight Central points in the fourth quarter and finished with 20. The Buttons missed the front end of three one-and-one free-throw opportunities in the final minutes.
John Paul II (29-7) rallied, and Jae Ricketts hit two free throws with 16 seconds left to take the lead. Matt Thompson scored a team-high 13.
John Paul's key was physical defense, and it was focused on stopping Martinez, a 6-foot-2 guard who leads all area players and set the Buttons' single-season record with 905 points.
Drew Giddens blanketed Martinez for much of the game, and Martinez struggled with seven points in the first half. Berry scored all 11 of his points in the first to keep Central within four at the break.
“Drew takes pride in his defense,” Evans said. “He can't make a layup, but he can play defense. Our team is based on being physical like him.”
Martinez got going in the second half but didn't take a shot in the final minutes. He finished 8 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc. He also took one free throw, finishing off a three-point play in the third quarter.
Central entered Saturday with a 4-0 record in games decided by three points or fewer, including a 68-65 victory against Antonian on Jan. 29 where Martinez hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer before a crowd of 2,500.
Martinez said he was confident in the final play.
“We got a good look,” Martinez said. “It just wasn't meant to be. We went above and beyond expectations this season, and we can't let this game take away from that.”
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