Chickasaws stun A-P with fourth quarter rally

Dillon Roberson hit a shot in the lane with 11 seconds to go and New Hampton’s defense came up big in the closing seconds to give the Chickasaws a thrilling come-from-behind win over Aplington-Parkersburg in a Class 2A district semifinal game Friday.
Roberson’s game-winner lifted New Hampton into Tuesday night’s Class 2A district championship game against Crestwood, a 55-43 winner over Osage in the late game Friday, on Tuesday in Charles City. Tip-off for that game is 7 p.m., and the winner advances to next Saturday's substate game that will be played in Mason City.
“I’m so proud of every one of our guys,” New Hampton coach Ryan Rausch said, “and I mean everyone. The guys on the floor, the guys on the bench … it was electric in there. And our crowd, wow, our crowd was awesome.”
The Chickasaws trailed by 16, 45-29, late in the third quarter, but Tristan Sweitzer, who led New Hamtpon with 25 points, hit a deep three at the buzzer. It proved to be a good omen for New Hampton, which evened its record at 11-11, with the win over the second-seeded Falcons.
Sweitzer hit three consecutive 3-point shots as New Hampton cut the deficit to 51-49 with 2:01 left, and a Roberson inside basket and a Sweitzer steal and layup gave New Hampton the lead with a minute to go.
But Aplington-Parkersburg retook the lead on a Carter Cuvelier 3-point shot. New Hampton, though, wouldn’t be denied as Roberson put through a tough game-winner.
Eleven seconds later, New Hampton celebrated its biggest win of the season.
— For more on this story, see the Feb. 19 Tribune