Desperate shot saved CHS boys basketball ’ s 1992 state championship season
RIGHT PLACE , RIGHT TIME
Desperate shot saved CHS boys basketball ’ s 1992 state championship season
Chris Johansen ’ s last second shot hit the front of the rim . The 1992 River Kings season was nearly done .
The ball arced to the back of the rim and bounced up .
Coach Randy Teymer ’ s River Kings had a 24-1 record going into this first-round state playoff game against highly ranked Cedar Rapids Jefferson . The game was nip and tuck all the way , but the Kings fell behind at the very end .
Down by two with seconds left , a J-Hawk tipped the length-ofthe-court pass intended for Peter Stremlow . Johansen fielded it and , as he was falling out of bounds , he heaved up a desperate shot from behind the backboard .
" We ended up going down two with three seconds left . We had a play for that situation , it ' s just a matter of can you execute that play ,” former Clinton basketball coach Randy Teymer recalled in early February of this year . “ There ' s Chris Johansen tracking the ball down , throwing it up and over the fan-shaped backboard . It hit the front of the rim , then the back of the rim and went in to tie the game as the buzzer went off . That gave us the momentum to play well enough in overtime to win and advance to the semifinals ."
The River Kings went on to defeat the J-Hawks in overtime .
BY ERIC SCHWEIZER
" It was called the home run play , and we ' d work on it once a week in case we found ourself in that situation ,” former Clinton basketball player Chris Powers said . “ I ’ ll be honest , it didn ' t usually work in practice , but fortunately things were on our side and Johansen made an awesome shot , one of the greatest shots I ' ve still seen to this day .”
Clinton Herald Sports Editor George Kampling called Johansen ’ s tying bucket the “ Shot Heard All Around Clinton .”
After the 65-62 victory over the J-Hawks , the River Kings went on to win the school ’ s one and only state championship in basketball .
The 1992 team had many quality players , but only 10 could suit up per game . The starters were Powers , Stremlow , Mike Cleppe , Jeff Werning and C . J . Rose ; top subs were Johansen , Marlon Tillman , Matt Jepsen , Eric Dorsey and Kevin LaCourse .
" The main part of it was that we had a large group of returning seniors that ended up being pretty special ," Teymer said . " They did well on all of their athletic teams . They knew how to win which is something important . We were able to blend in a group of juniors to play with them and we kept more kids on the team that year than we ever had . They were willing to keep competing in practice , which I think was the key to success . They kept getting better as the season went along ."
26 CLINTON MAGAZINE | SPRING 2024