Irish Spring Elite complete epic comeback to claim Season 5 tournament title

Two veteran Bench Mob League teams battled for the Season 5 tournament championship at Oregon Middle School on Sunday, March 22, with Irish Spring Elite topping Rod Wave Elite 46-43 in a game that turned out to be an Elam Ending thriller.

Tucker Braun completed a furious comeback for Irish Spring with a game-winning free throw, but just twenty minutes earlier his team was starting to lose its composure in a matchup against the top-seeded RWE squad.

Turnovers. Quick shots. Arguing calls. A game tied early at 9-9 saw RWE up 26-16 after a 15-5 burst. And a few minutes into the second half, Irish Spring faced a 33-19 deficit following a high-arcing three-pointer from Landon Gladden.

But a spark ignited in Irish Spring from there, and it came from one player known for his scoring (Beau Hauge) and another that isn’t (Alex Wahe).

Wahe hit a two and a three (sandwiched around a three-pointer from his teammate, Zach Dresen, and a bucket from Gladden) to bring the score to 37-27, and then Hauge hit a floater to bring the score to 37-29 with four minutes to go. Wahe's five points in that run surpassed his season total of four points, making him an unlikely but needed hero for his team. With four minutes now remaining in the game, the target score was set at 45 and the clock was turned off.

After an empty RWE possession, Hauge hit his first three-pointer to make it 37-32 and Irish Spring saw an opportunity to take all the momentum. A layup from RWE’s Chase Fischer put his squad back up seven (39-32), but Irish Spring answered back with a 12-2 run behind buckets from Zach Dresen and Braun and two three-pointers from Hauge to lead 44-43.

At that point, the next basket would win the game. After the teams traded empty possessions, RWE’s senior leader Sabastian Soumphonphakdy drove hard to the basket, splitting two defenders near the right block for a layup attempt that rimmed out. Soumphonphakdy then fouled Braun across the arm while going for the rebound – sending Braun to the line to shoot one free throw for two points. His shot bounced in and sent his teammates into a frenzy.

Irish Spring Elite were led in scoring by Dresen and Hauge who scored 15 points each. Wahe (5 points), Braun (4 points), Max Wilde (3 points), Lucas Harper (2 points), and Landry Ganshert (2 points) helped out Irish Spring Elite as well.

Gladden led Rod Wave Elite in scoring with 22 points and knocked down two shots from beyond the arc. Soumphonphakdy (15 points) and Fischer (6 points) accounted for the rest of RWE’s scoring.