Disputing a 60-year-old tournament call

There have been a lot of high school basketball tournament games played in the last 60 years in the state of Iowa. Many of them were close games, and some of them were played in overtime.

But the 1965 district championship game, on a Monday night, March 1, 1965, between the Williamsburg Raiders and the Iowa City High School Little Hawks boys team was decided by a wire at the University of Iowa Fieldhouse.

Williamsburg entered the game undefeated, at 20-0 for the season, led by all-conference and later all-state 6’4” super-sophomore Pat Lillis, all-conference senior starters Herb Iberg and Tom Lower plus Gary Stohlmann and junior Denny Long.

Iowa City Little Hawks was a much larger school. The Iowa Boys High School Athletic Union played a one class tournament in 1965, which sent 16 teams to the state championships at Veterans Auditorium in Des Moines.

There were many David-and-Goliath games played in the tournament, and the Raiders were capable beating most larger teams. The Cedar Rapids Gazette wrote “the whole town of Williamsburg turned out.”

According to Al Grady, Iowa City Press Citizen, you could write a book about the heroics and hysterics just in the last 10 minutes of playing time alone.

A tougher game was never lost. For more than three quarters, the unbeaten Raiders played City high off it’s feet. Whenever there was a loose ball, Williamsburg got to it first. City high’s expected advantage never materialized.

The Raiders led 10-9 at the first quarter and were up 22-20 at the half, then led 32-27 at the end of the third quarter and had extended the lead to 42-31 with four minutes to play and it looked like the game was over.

But then City high put on a frantic press, stole the ball four times and held Williamsburg scoreless in the last three and one half minutes. Then Mike Roberts, Iowa City player, who hadn’t scored, made six points in a row.

Little Hawk Bob Martin then made two free throws with 12 seconds to play to tie the score and then blocked Pat Lillis’ shot, which would have won it.

On to the first overtime, when Bob Martin made four points, and Pat Lillis made six points to put Williamsburg ahead by two with 35 seconds to play.

Then came the most climatic play of the game. The ball was put into the hands of Iowa City’s Mike Wymore, to try to tie the game. Mike, guarded by Williamsburg player Denny Long, dribbled left, then right, then left, until, with five seconds to go, he launched a right-handed high arching shot from the side court that appeared to change course in midair and went through the basket to tie the game.

The Iowa City crowd went wild in celebration, but Williamsburg protested that the ball had struck one of two guy wires attached to the ceiling to support the backboard.

One official agreed and signaled that the shot was no good as the rule book states, which caused Williamsburg players to start celebrating. But the other official charged the scorer’s table, overruled the decision, and said the basket was good and it was City high’s turn to celebrate.

In the second and final overtime, Iowa City went out to a 51-48 lead with 1:31 to go. Lillis cut it to 51-50 with free throws.

Then Roberts, who made 10 points, all after 35 second were left in regulation, made two free throws for a three-point lead. Iburg scored a basket with seven seconds to go, and Iowa City ran out the clock for a one-point win.

As in many tournament games played in large arenas that high school players are not used to, shooting was poor. Iowa City made 19 field goals on 55 attempts. Williamsburg was 22 of 56.

Free throws decided it. Iowa City made 15 of 26 and Williamsburg was 10 of 19.

The game left Williamsburg fans frustrated, especially with the shot that apparently ricocheted off the guy wire.

There was a lot of debate, which caused fans from both sides to write letters to newspapers stating their opinion.

Williamsburg coach Ron Carothers, who had a 60-5 record in 1964-1967, said “I thought we had it” and “their press hurt us.”

Coach Carothers, retired and living in Owatonna, Minnesota, says he still disagrees with the referee’s call of the shot that hit the wire as do the various players. Even after 60 years, they all still remember the “shot that hit the wire.”

Iowa City High lost to Cedar Rapids Jefferson in the substate game five days later, 53-51, at the University of Iowa Fieldhouse, and Cedar Rapids Jefferson lost to Keokuk High School to go to the basketball finals in Des Moines.

Every team loses a tournament game — except for the champion.