His reaction was delayed when senior Steve Thomas sank a buzzer beating 3-pointer from the right corner Saturday night to break Kent Roosevelt’s collective hearts 63-62 for the Copley Division I District title. Butler was so intent on the game he actually thought there was another quarter to play.

 

The creative point guard emulated the late Jim Valvano and then joined in the spontaneous celebration.

 

“I was still focused on the game, thinking it was like the third quarter or something,” Butler admitted with a grin. “So, I was just happy that it was over. I ran to Montanize Woods.”

 

The thrilling victory provided a second straight district title for coach Ross Fiorello and his Orientals (17-6). A year ago, East upset Benedictine in a Division II final at Stow.

 

This time East was the higher seed, although Kent Roosevelt had the bigger team, with 6-foot-9, Bowling Green-bound Cameron Black (19 points) and 6-foot-5, 240-pound bruiser Marcus Wright (21 points) patrolling the baseline.

 

East was pushed to the brink, but Butler and Thomas remained cool under fire. Trailing 62-60, with 7.0 seconds to play, Butler received the in-bounds pass at the opposite end of the floor and began weaving his way up the court like a New York City taxi driver at rush hour.

 

He penetrated just inside the head of the key, slightly right, collapsed the defense and distributed a waist-high pass to Thomas in the corner. Thomas launched the game-deciding shot and the horn sounded. It drew nothing but net.

 

“Coming out of the timeout, Elvin told me to be ready,” Thomas said. “It felt good. Coach has said all season, if you have a good look, ‘Let it fly!’ I shot the ball with confidence. It means a lot to be district champs two years in a row. We’re like a family and I’m so happy to come through for my team.”

 

The shot left Roosevelt stunned. The Rough Riders (17-7), appearing in the Copley District tourney for the third year in a row, had beaten Northeast Ohio Conference opponents Hudson, Stow-Munroe Falls and Twinsburg to get to this point and now were one improprable jumper away from cutting down the nets.

 

“One loss is not going to be indicative of our season,” said Kent Roosevelt coach Cameron Black, Sr., who was classy in defeat. “Both teams played hard tonight. Shots fell and shots didn’t fall. But they had the better of the last.”

 

While Thomas has garnered the headline, Fiorello agreed that senior forward De’Shon Hudson took his play to a higher level. Hudson had nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and snared 10 rebounds. He would not let the Orientals lose.

 

“De’Shon is an over achieving player,” Fiorello said. “That is the best way I can compliment a player when I call him an over achiever.”

 

Although at times overpowered by Wright on the block, Hudson kept coming back for more. Fiorello praised Hudson for his season-long defensive effort against bigger players.

 

Tied at 14-14 late in the first quarter, Fiorello inserted guard Finess Terry into the game and the senior sparked a 14-0 East run.

 

Black answered with eight points in the next 5:43 and Roosevelt trailed 33-25 at the half.

 

“We put Finess in that role this year,” Fiorello said. “This is your role. You might be capable of starting, but this is your role. He’s a one and done varsity player. He’s a senior and hasn’t played up until this year. “

 

Terry ended with nine points after being held out of action for the district semifinal against Green for violation of team policy.

 

“Finess felt he had something to prove,” Fiorello said. “He came up to me and he came up to our kids and thanked them after we pulled one out against Green because he would have had to look himself in the mirror. Hey, the kids bailed him out, so he knew he owed them one.”

 

The Rough Riders scored the first eight points of the second half and drew even at 33-33. Wright and Black pounded the Orientals in the paint and after Butler’s late drive and score the teams were tied at 45-45.

 

The fourth quarter was a prize fight, East surged ahead 56-51 behind Hudson. But Roosevelt bowed up and equalized 58-58 on sophomore Rich Graves’ 3-pointer with 1:30 left.

 

Butler drove the lane and scored putting East ahead 62-60. Graves answered for Roosevelt at 1:00 with a short jumper.

 

After East misfired, Roosevelt took possession at midcourt after a timeout. The Rough Riders almost went into the backcourt, but worked the ball to Wright scored inside again and was fouled with 9.7 seconds left.

Wright missed the free throw and it left the door open for Butler and Thomas to work their magic.

 

“I told Steve to go to the corner in case the drive wasn’t there. And the drive wasn’t there, so I kicked it out and Steve hit the shot,” Butler said. “We have a lot of seniors on the floor, so disagreements are always occurring, but at the end of the practice, we all worked hard and we all played with a lot of heart.”

 

Fiorello is so proud his seniors remained tight, despite some early up and downs when East played seven of its first 10 games on the road.

 

“One is only as good as number nine,” Fiorello said. “You know, if we don’t get this out of nine pieces, then it’s not going to happen. So, the kids have bought that. They understand it.”

 

They also have a second district championship trophy and a regional semifinal date with Massillon Jackson on Thursday, Mar. 18, at the University of Akron’s JAR Arena. Tip time is 7 p.m.