Ice cold.

Even D-Wade and George "The Iceman" Gervin would agree that Jon Matthews is as "cool as a yeti eatin' frozen spaghetti."

With his team trailing by two and under a minute to play in overtime, the Junior point guard embraced the ice flowing through his veins. After a Sayvon Milton pick that forced a defensive switch, Matthews found himself guarded by Rockets' star forward, Tony Elix – the kind of marquee matchup he relishes. All it took was a quick crossover to shake Elix and the resulting game-tying jumper ignited The Jungle.

Able to hold the ball for the final shot, The Mount got a favorable one-on-one matchup on the ball. Shane Hoehner started his attack on Rives Mitchell, who fouled on the floor, sending the Rockets guard to the free throw line for a one-and-one free throw situation. MSM decided to fall back on defense and, after Michael McLaughlin subbed in for Mitchell, Hoener missed his first shot. Milton pulled down his 10th rebound of the contest to give The Hall possession with 18.2 seconds in a tie game. Coach Hamilton called a timeout with 10.2 seconds to play to game-plan the final shot.

Out of the timeout, William McDonald inbounded to Matthews in the backcourt. The Charger point guard launched toward the basket with 8 seconds remaining, employing his signature speed burst to blow past Hoehner before pulling up short to draw contact and a foul, narrowly missing the jumper.

With 2.3 seconds left, "Jonny Ice" stepped up to the charity stripe, wiped the dust off the bottom of his shoes, took two dribbles, and calmly knocked down the first free throw to give the home team a 1 point advantage. The second attempt was money, forcing a timeout by the trailing Rockets. Stephon Hall arced to the ball and launched a halfcourt prayer over the long arms of Milton that fell a just shy and wide of the rim as the final buzzer sounded on a thrilling Charger victory.

The "Wall at the Hall" – Sam Kakish, Jack Griffin, Jaden McDaniel, Will Dunn, and Rives Mitchell – made Elix work hard to earn every one of his 27 points and 8 rebounds. The interior defensive committee, along with Milton and McDonald, outrebounded The Mount decisively, 39-23. The Chargers only allowed 5 on the offensive end, and Elix garnered only one of those.

Milton's double-double consisted of 23 points and 10 rebounds and the Senior drew a critical charge at the end of regulation to force the extra period. Les Thomas dropped in 16 points and nabbed 2 steals. Matthews finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. McDonald grabbed 10 boards, dished out 6 assists, and tallied 8 in the scoring column. Freshman Phillip Smitherman scored his first 2 career points.

On Friday, 3A #1 Centennial visits The MAC on Senior Night before Chargers commence a three-game road trip to close out the regular season.

The heat is on for The Hall, but these chill Chargers are ready for anything.

[Photos by Mat Evans '17]