Shaner saves best move for last

Junior Dalton Shaner got it started, hitting the "Onions Toss," a 3-pointer at the first-period buzzer that gave Eastland a 20-8 lead.

Then there was senior Ty Hartman's "High-Hopper" early in the second period that bounced high off the rim twice before falling through to make it a 26-12 lead.

Junior Dalton Shaner turned two steals into runouts right off the bat in the third. On the latter, Erie freshman Jordan Chandler ran him down, forcing Shaner to bust out the "Switcheroo," a la "His Airness," for two of his 28 points.

He'd do it again off a Hartman assist in transition to seize a 41-23 lead.

"Sometimes coach yells at me when I do it, but sometimes it's the right play when they reach in," Shaner said.

Moments before Hartman converted the "English Major," a physics-defying off-hand reverse with oodles of spin, Shaner showed off the "Washing Machine," cycling the ball through a windmill motion before finishing.

Shaner's last hoop of the game? The "Show-and-Go," in which he blew down the lane and faked to Austin Hansen before going to the tin.

"I thought I was getting the ball," senior Austin Hansen said. "I was ready to catch it. He caught me off guard. I was like, 'All right. Take it.' "

But it was after the game that I saw my favorite signature move: "The Kodak Moment."

Shaner got intercepted on his way to the locker room by his dad. Dan Shaner, divorced, lives in Rockford.

Unaware of their family situation, I was curious why the hug was as long as it was heartfelt.

"He doesn't make it to very many games," Shaner said with a rare tremble in his voice. "So when he does, and I play good, that's the best thing in the world."

Then it was Dalton's aunt's turn. He held onto Lori Webermeier a few extra seconds, too. After all, he's just happy to be able to hug her. After being thrown from her overturned vehicle Oct. 27 in Hanover and being airlifted to Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, she was finally released from the hospital a couple of weeks ago.