THORNY SITUATION: Hun School boys’ basketball player Toby Thornburg puts up a shot in a game earlier this season. Last Thursday, senior forward Thornburg hit a three-pointer with 23.7 seconds left in the game to give Hun a 42-40 win over the Shipley School (Pa.) as it overcame a 40-34 deficit in the final minute of play. The Raiders, who defeated Trenton Catholic Prep 54-47 on Monday to improve to 7-6, host the Peddie School on January 19 and Germantown Academy (Pa.) on January 22. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Toby Thornburg struggled with his outside shooting as the Hun School boys’ basketball team hosted the Shipley School (Pa.) last Thursday evening.

Hun senior forward Thornburg was 0-for-6 from three-point range and had just a layup and a free throw as the contest headed into the final minute of regulation.

But with Hun trailing by 40-39 and 23.7 seconds left, Thornburg finally found the range, draining a three-pointer that proved to be the margin of victory as the Raiders pulled out a dramatic 42-40 win.

“It was a little hectic; Dan [Vessey] got a real good steal, somebody got a real good offensive rebound and it ended up with me,” said Thornburg.

“I was open so I was able to take it and make it. I don’t shoot it if I don’t feel like it is in.”

Thornburg’s shot culminated a frantic rally as Hun trailed 40-34 with 1:11 left in regulation and narrowed the gap as Dan Vessey made a put back after his steal and then Jack Scott hit a three-pointer to make it 40-39.

With Hun having rallied to beat Academy of New Church (Pa.) 89-88 on December 16 as Scott hit a buzzer beater, the Raiders weren’t fazed by the late deficit.

“Fortunately or unfortunately, it is not the first time we have done that,” said Thornburg.

“We had the Academy of New Church, we were down seven with 20 seconds left in the game and we won. It was a similar situation, so we know what we can do. It just comes down to getting stops and getting scores and we were able to do that.”

Thornburg acknowledged that Shipley made plenty of stops.

“They played tough defense, we missed some shots,” said Thornburg.

“We know who we are, so we were trying not to panic too much. Just because they are playing good defense doesn’t mean that we can’t be a good team ourselves. We tried to play with a little more poise.”

The 6’5, 225-pound Thornburg is looking to make a bigger impact on the Hun team this winter.

“My role on the team is whatever we need me to be,” said Thornburg, who is headed to Swarthmore College where he will be playing for its Division III men’s hoops program.

“Over the last three years, it has evolved a little bit. This year I have found the opportunity to see the ball a little more, score some points, get some assists, and still rebound the ball and guard the best forward on the other team usually. I just try to make my teammates better.”

Hun head coach Jon Stone was not surprised to see Thornburg hit the game-winner despite his cold shooting on the evening.

“It was certainly not his best game; he struggled and yet we have complete confidence in him,” said Stone.

“That is why he was out there and that is why he made a shot. He has a lot of confidence in himself. It was a big time shot; a lot of people take that shot a million times and never make it. He hadn’t been shooting the ball well, that is the kind of competitor he is. He loves to compete, that is one of his greatest strengths.”

Stone credited Shipley with competing hard all night long.

“We really struggled getting a rhythm,” said Stone, whose team only scored two points in the second quarter and trailed 20-14 at halftime.

“Offense came to us really easy on Tuesday night (in a 79-77 loss to the Phelps School) and tonight it did not, a large part due to Shipley. They were incredibly physical and took away a lot of the things that we normally do and like to do and our shots weren’t falling. It was a combination of those things.”

In his halftime message, Stone urged his players to step up their physical play.

“We were trying to match their intensity and physicality a little bit and play a little bit harder,” said Stone. “I think we did that in certain ways in the second half for sure.”

Junior guard Anthony Loscalzo helped key the comeback, tallying seven points and hustling all over the court while Scott tallied a team-high 13 points and Vessey chipped in seven points.

“Anthony was high energy; when we were lacking energy he came flying in for some offensive rebounds that he had no business getting,” said Stone.

“Defensively, I have him unofficially for three or four steals at least. He was terrific. Jack hit some really big shots and Dan came up with that big steal.”

In Stone’s view, the rally against Shipley said something special about his squad.

“When you can come from behind like this and still get the win, that is amazing,” said Stone, whose team defeated Trenton Catholic Prep 54-47 on Monday to improve to 7-6 and hosts the Peddie School on January 19 and Germantown Academy (Pa.) on January 22.

“Good teams can do that. If you don’t win that game, it is a whole other story right now. It was a great win for us, it really was.”

Thornburg concurred, seeing the triumph as a step forward for Hun.

“A win is a win,” said Thornburg. “It is definitely good for the team to get any type of win, good, bad, or ugly.”