Solon survives Williamsburg

SOLON – Miguel Villagrana is a perfect 4-0 as Solon's head varsity boys' basketball coach. If he has his way, he'll retire a perfect 4-0.

Villagrana has learned quickly that being the boss brings a lot more stress. Take Tuesday night's 59-58 win over Williamsburg.

The Class 3A fifth-ranked Spartans didn't cinch victory until Williamsburg's Matt Heitmann missed two free throws with no time left on the clock.

'Very difficult,' Villagrana said. 'I'm thinking we're in a lot of trouble. The guys on our staff, we talked about 'Do we want to call timeout and ice him?' Personally, I thought that if we do, he catches his breath and gets to focus a little bit. Obviously, hindsight is 20-20. You don't know. But it worked out. I feel sorry for him because he's a great kid.'

Villagrana never expected to be placed into this situation. He has taken over for Brad Randall for the time being as the longtime head coach is being investigated by the Solon school district.

For what, no one is saying publicly.

'Right now, there is an investigation that has been ongoing,' Solon Athletics Director Keith McSweeney said. 'He is not coaching until the investigation is completed and the district makes a decision as to how we are going to move forward. That is essentially what I am telling the parents.'

Randall is 358-110 in 21 seasons at his alma mater, including four state tournament appearances and one state title. He did not return a message Tuesday night seeking comment.

His teams at Solon have almost always been good, and this one is no exception. The Spartans (9-1, 8-1 Wamac Conference) spurted to a 17-5 lead in the first quarter, but saw Williamsburg (8-4, 7-4) methodically creap closer and closer.

In fact, the Raiders led heading to the final eight minutes, 42-40. Solon went on a run that gave it a 54-47 lead with 3:24 left, but Williamsburg rallied again and had the ball and a chance for the upset in the closing seconds.

The originally planned offensive play broke down, but point guard Zach Schlabaugh coolly penetrated the lane and dished to the 6-foot-9 Heitmann, who was clearly hacked as he put up a shot as the buzzer sounded. Neither of his free-throw attempts were close, both hitting the backboard first.

'We got what we deserved,' Williamsburg Coach Dave Schlabaugh said. 'We just haven't made free throws. This one hurts. I really think we're better than a four-loss team.'

Heitmann finished with a team-high 16 points. Emilio Villagrana, Miguel's son, had 16 for Solon.

Both Villagranas, by the way, expect Randall to return to the sideline this season. McSweeney said he expects the investigation and a final resolution to come 'fairly soon.'

Solon's next game is Friday night at Vinton-Shellsburg.

'I do miss our coach,' Emilio Villagrana said. 'Miss him a lot.'

'I expected him back tonight, to be honest with you,' Miguel Villagrana said. 'I was surprised that I was still coaching tonight. I just tell these guys 'I've got no news. We're under the same umbrella you guys are. We're just going to keep working.' When he comes back, we'll be ready to go. We want to maintain and build. We don't want him to come back and be where he left off. We want to be better.'

Here is video of Williamsburg's final offensive possession and Heitmann's final free-throw attempts, as well as the game boxscore:

AT SOLON

WILLIAMSBURG (58): Jacob Donohoe 6-8 1-2 13, Josh Koeppel 2-7 1-2 6, Matt Heitmann 8-9 0-3 16, Zach Schlabaugh 3-8 0-0 7, Jacob Lemkuhl 1-1 1-2 4, Brady Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson Subbert 1-1 4-6 6, John Aljets 0-0 1-2 1, Drew Doehrmann 1-2 3-4 5. Totals 22-36 11-21 58.

SOLON (59): Nick Shelman 6-13 0-0 14, Austin Miller 3-9 4-6 10, Ethan Ahern 1-2 0-0 2, Emilio Villagrana 6-12 1-2 16, Jaden Durr 2-7 5-9 9, Nathan Hawkins 1-4 0-0 2, Jacob Black 3-7 0-0 6, Jacob Coons 0-0 0-0 0, Shay Croy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-54 10-17 59.

Halftime - Solon 32, Williamsburg 26. 3-point goals - Williamsburg 3-9 (Koeppel 1-5, Schlabaugh 1-3, Lemkuhl 1-1), Solon 5-17 (Shelman 2-5, Miller 0-1, Villagrana 3-7, Durr 0-1, Hawkins 0-1, Black 0-2). Rebounds - Williamsburg 25 (Hetimann 8), Solon 20 (Shelman, Villagrana, Durr 5). Total fouls - Williamsburg 18, Solon 21. Fouled out - Durr. Turnovers - Williamsburg 18, Solon 8.