May iced, not shaken, in PTL title game

NORTH LIBERTY -- With 18.4 seconds left and his team holding a two-point lead in the Prime Time League championship game, Eric May stepped to the free-throw line and was promptly stopped.

PTL Director Randy Larson called a timeout to distribute the league awards. May, an Iowa sophomore, combined with Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe to win the league MVP award. May and the other players were surprised by the timing, and two minutes later he returned to the free-throw line.

He missed the first one, but made the second.

"I guess he expected me to make them both when he said that," May said. "I was complaining to Randy like, 'Come on.' But that's all right. It's a good honor to get, though."

"I was like, 'Are you kidding right now?' Eric was like, 'What is going on?'" said Iowa freshman Zach McCabe, May's teammate. "Obviously he missed the first one to ice him a little bit, but he made the second one."

May's team recovered, and he hit another free throw with 4 seconds left to lead his squad to an 82-78 win Tuesday night. McCabe led all scorers with 31 points. He also pulled down eight rebounds. May scored 23 and had eight assists and six rebounds.

It was a tight contest throughout and especially in the second half. May's squad led by nine points at halftime and seemed in control. Then the other squad, led by former UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh and Dallas Hodges, heated up. Hodges, a former Wayne State player, drilled six 3-pointers, including four in the second half. Hodges' final 3-pointer brought his squad within two points with about 20 seconds left.

After May hit a free throw to give his team a three-point lead, Farokhmanesh missed a 3-point shot. May rebounded and was fouled. He made 1 of 2 free throws to provide the winning margin.

"Everybody played really hard. You could tell by the game," May said. "It was getting pretty intense. You could tell it meant something.

"You're playing all these games, you might as well win it at the end. Everybody is playing a lot different, a lot harder."

May later was asked how winning this title compared with leading his Dubuque Wahlert team to the Class 3A state title as a junior. May, who hit a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to win the 2008 title game, smiled and gave a predictable answer. 

"That shot might have been a litlte more exciting," May said. "A little different atmosphere there. But this was fun."

Other league award winners include Iowa junior Matt Gatens and Iowa sophomore Cully Payne, who shared the Chris Street Award as the players who exemplify team spirit. Iowa junior walk-on Jordan Stoermer earned top defender honors, while championship coach Ray Swetalla took the coach of the year award.