Shiloh Christian boys basketball coach Mike Dwyer said that instead of having his Skyhawks practice today, he may show them the movie "Miracle."

Or if he's looking for an inspirational underdog story, Dwyer could just pop in a tape of Thursday's Region 5 championship game.

After Dwyer's son, Tommy, banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give Shiloh a 55-52 win over Center-Stanton at the University of Mary McDowell Activity Center, the Skyhawks were giddy about qualifying for the state Class B tournament.

"This is a miracle team," coach Dwyer said. "This is an absolute miracle."

If it seems strange to claim underdog status for a team that will be heading to state for the fourth time in five years, keep in mind five of Shiloh's top eight players are sophomores and the Skyhawks (14-11)went 9-10 during the regular season.

See Shiloh, Page 6D

"I think a lot of people didn't expect us to go this far,"said TommyDwyer, one of those sophomores.

In fact, it looked like the Skyhawks' surprising run would come to a halt against Center-Stanton (18-6).

Led by Region 5 player of the year Ross Aman, the Wildcats led most of the night and held what seemed like a comfortable lead (37-29) late in the third period.

Aman had 17 of his game-high 24 points by then. And no matter what the Skyhawks did to try to stop him - and they tried a lot of different things - the 6-2 forward would not be denied.

"We couldn't handle him,"coach Dwyer said. "We used a diamond-and-one for a little while. We doubled him in our man-to-man. We fronted him. We tried everything - and none of it worked."

But Aman picked up his third foul with exactly 2 minutes left in the third and went to the bench. By the end of the quarter the game was tied, courtesy of 3-pointers from Dwyer and Trevor Singer, plus two free throws from Singer.

Dwyer finished with 13 points and Singer 12.

Aman came back in to start the fourth quarter, but picked up his fourth foul just 55 seconds later. As soon as Aman exited Shiloh quickly scored four more, then added a bucket immediately after his return.

It all added up to a 14-0 run and 43-37 lead.

"He's a tremendous player,"C-S coach Scott Jung said. "Without him, we lose our rhythm."

But with him, the Wildcats quickly got it back. It also helped that 6-6 senior center Connor Wilkens stood tall in the fourth quarter.

Wilkens, who finished with nine points and 13 rebounds, scored six in the final period. With Center-Stanton clinging to a 50-49 lead and less than a minute to play, Wilkens blocked a Friesen shot. Then when Shae Brown missed the front end of a one-and-one, he grabbed that rebound, too.

It was the kind of play that called to mind Wilkens' cousin, Brandon - the former NAIA player of the year at Jamestown College and leader of Center's 1999 state tourney qualifier.

"Connor played like a champion all tournament," Jung said. "It was the best three games he played all year."

But Friesen answered with a 3-pointer, giving Shiloh a 52-50 lead with 26.1 seconds left. The senior made up for a 2-for-13 start by hitting four of six shots in the final period and finishing with 14 points.

The Wildcats came down and naturally got the ball to Aman, who bulled his way to a a layup with 16.0 seconds left, tying the game.

Shiloh nearly turned the ball over, but got a timeout with 5.0 seconds left, setting up Tommy Dwyer's game-winner.

"I was supposed to give it back to Tanner, but he was covered,"he said. "But I had an open shot, and I took it."

And made the shot of a lifetime.

"I asked them to be mature beyond their years," coach Dwyer said. "They certainly did that."

Center-Stanton 16 23 37 52

Shiloh Christian 11 19 37 55

C-S (52): Kelan Brown 2-11 0-2 6, Aaron Reinke 1-9 0-0 3, Ross Aman 10-18 4-7 24, Shae Brown 4-11 1-5 9, Connor Wilkens 4-8 1-2 9, Garrett Bennett 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Staigle 0-2 1-4 1. Totals 21-59 7-20 52.

SHILOH (55): R.J. Miller 1-4 1-3 3, Tommy Dwyer 5-13 0-0 13, Keenan Hauff 0-1 0-0 0, Brady Bohl 3-7 0-0 7, Tanner Friesen 6-19 1-2 14, Jared Miller 2-4 0-0 4, Trevor Singer 4-7 3-4 12, Jordan Huwe 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 22-59 5-9 55.

3-pointers: C-S 3 (Brown 2, Reinke 1), Shiloh 6 (Dwyer 3, Bohl 1, Friesen 1, Singer 1). Rebounds: C-S 47 (Wilkens 13), Shiloh 39 (Friesen 13). Fouls: C-S 13, Shiloh 19. Fouled out: Singer. Assists: C-S 10 (Brown 5), Shiloh 9 (Dwyer 5). Turnovers: C-S 9, Shiloh 6. Blocked shots: C-S 2 (Wilkens 2), Shiloh 1 (Singer 1). Steals: C-S 4 (Brown 2), Shiloh none.

Records: C-S 18-6. Shiloh 14-11.

Dakota Oyate 69, Standing Rock 66

Kolt Hischase had 23 points and 14 rebounds as Dakota Oyate held off Standing Rock's late comeback in an entertaining third-place game.

The Warriors trailed 40-31 when Dorian Redfish sparked a 15-2 run, putting Standing Rock in front. But Hischase helped Dakota Oyate rattle off 11 unanswered bridging the third and fourth quarters to restore the lead.

The Eagles were up 61-51 with four minutes to play, but the Warriors nearly erased that deficit, cutting it to 67-66 before a pair of free throws by Christian Iron Shield. Cody Silbernagel's 3-pointer at the buzzer just missed sending the game into overtime.

Dorian Redfish had 21 points and eight rebounds for Standing Rock, while Silbernagel pitched in with 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Derrick Iron Shield scored 14 for the Eagles.

Dakota Oyate 18 33 53 69

Standing Rock 13 28 48 66

DAKOTA OYATE (69): Loren Uses Arrow 0-3 2-2 2, Robert Shell Track 1-5 0-0 2, Christian Iron Shield 3-6 2-2 9, Maurice Stretches 1-1 0-0 2, Robin Iron Shield 3-8 0-0 6, Kendall Eagle 0-0 0-0 0, Victor Kelly 1-5 1-2 3, Derrick Iron Shield 5-18 3-4 14, Kolt Hischase 11-17 0-0 23, Nikeya American Horse 4-8 0-0 8. Totals 29-71 8-10 69.

STANDING ROCK (66): Kyle Claymore 7-15 2-2 17, Seth Ramsey 0-0 0-0 0, Tyson Austin 2-8 2-2 6, Austin Hodgkiss 0-0 0-0 0, Tracy Irving 0-2 0-0 0, Evan Thompson 2-4 0-0 4, Sage Claymore 0-0 0-0 0, Dorian Redfish 8-21 4-9 21, Christian BrownOtter 0-1 0-0 0, Cody Silbernagel 6-15 4-6 17, Cheyenne Weddell 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 25-67 13-21 66.

3-pointers: DO 3 (C. Iron Shield 1, D. Iron Shield 1, Hischase 1), SR 3 (Claymore 1, Redfish 1, Silbernagel 1). Rebounds: DO 43 (Hischase 14), SR 47 (Silbernagel 11). Fouls: DO 18, SR 11. Assists: DO 9 (Uses Arrow 3), SR 11 (Silbernagel 6). Turnovers: DO 16, SR 19. Blocked shots: DO 1 (D. Iron Shield 1), SR 1 (Hodgkiss 1). Steals: DO 10 (D. Iron Shield 3), SR 12 (Claymore 4).

Records: DO 16-5, SR 14-9.

Region 5 Awards

Senior athlete of the year: Ross Aman, Center-Stanton.

Coach of the year: Michael Sorlie, Dakota Oyate.

Athletic director of the year: Brent Lauf, New Salem.

All-tournament

Center-Stanton - Ross Aman, Connor Wilkens. Dakota Oyate - Christian Iron Shield, Kolt Hischase. Shiloh - Trevor Singer, Tanner Friesen. Standing Rock - Dorian Redfish, Adam Kuntz. Turtle Lake-Mercer - Cameron Malzer.