Berezowitz, Minnich, Swantz offer late-game heroics in SLC opener
By Mike Ramczyk
Correspondent
Dylan Minnich and Logan Swantz haven’t played a ton of varsity basketball games.
But they looked like seasoned veterans when the game was on the line Tuesday night.
Minnich swooped in for the go-ahead layup with 12 seconds left, and Swantz added two huge free throws with 1.3 seconds to play, and Burlington executed some late-game heroics with a 62-59 victory over visiting Wilmot.
“It feels good, hustling down the court pays off, and thankfully I had Joe (Berezowitz) to dish it to me,” said Minnich, a junior who was playing major minutes for the first time. “At halftime, our momentum slowed down, but we played solid defense and finished the job.”
Berezowitz led the Demons with 24 points, including 9 of 10 from the line.
But after his only free throw miss with under a minute to play, Kale Dietz, who made a key steal with 52 seconds left, made one of two free throws to give Burlington a 58-56 lead.
But Kevin Sandman made a free throw, and a London Glass bucket gave the Panthers a lead with 15 seconds left.
However, Berezowitz was able to run the break and find Minnich, who soared in for the layup. Then, the Demons forced a stop, and Swantz’s rebound and free throws sealed the deal.
Wilmot attempted a baseball pass downcourt with 1.3 on the clock, but Jake Klug, a defensive back in football, soared to knock the ball out of bounds and end the game.
Demon players roared with excitement, relieved to pick up a win after two blowout losses to open the season.
Minnich finished with 11 points, and Swantz added eight.
Glass led Wilmot with 20 points.
Hunter Lindsay added 12, and Zack Watson had 11.
Back-and-forth, exciting finish
Burlington led, 53-47, with three minutes to play, but Wilmot brought it back to 55-55 with under two minutes left.
For Burlington head coach Steve Berezowitz, the win could be attributed to late defense, among other things.
“I’m really proud of our guys,” he said. “They have three very experienced guards. You put our inexperience out there, so quite honestly, we’re pretty thin right now.”
“I’m just really proud of our guys, they grew up a little bit tonight. We got some stops in the last six minutes. They made a run on us, but we played well seven of the last 10 possessions defensively.”
To read the entire story regarding Burlington’s first win see the Dec. 12 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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