The Latin student section rushed the court of DePaul’s McGrath-Phillips Arena last Friday after the boys basketball team miraculously beat Parker 68-67, despite trailing the Colonels by 17 points for part of the game. Senior Reed Rasmussen had the stadium buzzing after hitting the game-winning shot with just eight seconds left on the clock.
To start the game, senior Ryan Kramer and sophomores Reeise Remmer and Ryan Mbouombouo held down the backcourt, while Reed and sophomore Nick Rotter ran the offensive frontcourt. Noticeably, the starting lineup consisted of more underclassmen than upperclassmen. However, seniors Tommy Newman, Kai Lugo, and Parker Bigornia would play a crucial role late in the game.
The score was initially lopsided, as Parker’s lead quickly grew to 10 points. Team captain Tommy said, “We were down pretty bad early on, but no one was nervous. We thought we could chip our way back in pretty quick.”
At the start of the second half, the Romans were down by 17 points. The Romans didn’t have an answer for Parker’s defensive integrity, “Their hustle plus our bad luck made offense a struggle. Everyone just needed to make a couple of minor adjustments, then we were back in it,” Reeise said.
However, Latin’s student section had the team’s back and played a significant role in helping turn the momentum of the game around. “I have never played on such a big stage, but this game was seriously one of the outright loudest events I have ever experienced,” said Ryan Kramer. “Basketball isn’t even my main sport, but I have never gotten so much support during a sport, and it seriously impacted the way I played.”
With the support of hundreds of students, dressed head to toe in bright orange, the Romans approached the fourth quarter trailing by 10 points. But, no one’s energy let up, not even the fans. “There’s still a lot of basketball to be played,” senior and student section leader Brett Lasky said.
What helped further catalyze the Romans’ spirit was when Parker’s star point guard air-balled a free throw. “First, I’m definitely cool with this kid,” Ryan Kramer said, “but that free throw didn’t even touch the net. Also, the student section was ridiculous. That was the loudest they were all game when he missed that free throw.”
Heading into the final minute of play, the Romans were still down 62-67, but they had newfound energy. Reeise stole the ball and beamed down the court. He went for an easy layup but got fouled by one of Parker’s starting players. Then, after a dramatic meltdown over the referee’s call, the Parker player was charged with a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct. Reeise was already shooting two free throws because of the shooting foul but got to shoot two more and get possession of the ball because of the technical foul.
After diligently making three out of the four shots, the Romans were down only 65-67. Tommy said, “After all the steals, fouls, and recoveries, we realized it was our last chance to change the tide. We put the gas on for the last five minutes.” Once Latin got possession of the ball, Reeise passed it out of the paint to Ryan Kramer at the top of the key. After a quick pump fake, he sent the ball to the left elbow, where Reed planted his feet outside the three-point line and fired up the go-ahead shot.
Perfect swish. The score was 68-67 with just under 14 seconds left. This was Latin’s first lead of the entire game. After a quick defensive stop to win the game, students rushed down from the bleachers to celebrate the players. “It was crazy hitting that go-ahead shot, and honestly I didn’t even expect it to go in. I’m very proud of the whole team for putting everything they had into the game up until the very last second,” Reed said.
Ryan Kramer and Reed had a showcase of abilities on December 10, dropping 19 and 14 points, respectively. “Latin doesn’t have a defining sport,” Ryan said, “but after last night, the basketball team put up a pretty convincing argument.”