- November 25, 2024
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When Spruce Creek's Max Oles drained a half-court shot at the third-quarter buzzer — and was fouled — the crowd went wild. It was his seventh 3-pointer of the game, Feb. 8 at Tavares, and he thought, “It’s happening tonight.” He was going to break the record, held by Chase Tramont, his coach.
The school record of nine 3-pointers in a game was set in 1997, when Tramont was a junior. At that point, Tramont already considered Oles’ father, Roman, a close friend; they had been teammates two years earlier. Little did Tramont know that some day he would coach Roman’s son.
When Max was in sixth grade, he met Tramont for the first time, and he was confident even then. “I told him I would take his name off the record board,” Max recalled.
“He turned around and told me in the middle of the game, ‘I’m going to get your record tonight,’” recalled Tramont, whose team has struggled this year, losing 20 of 24 games before Feb 8. “I said, ‘That’s fine, just make sure you get me a win, too.’”
Now a sophomore, Max Oles got hot early in the final regular season game, making three 3-pointers in four attempts in the first quarter at Tavares. He added another in the second quarter. “I didn’t force any shots,” Oles said. “He just let me play.”
In the fourth quarter, Oles hit his eighth triple, and his teammates were excited, feeding him in the ball, although Tramont said Oles was playing unselfish ball, even passing up open shots. The game was in hand at this point, and the Hawks ended up winning 64-40 — their fifth win of the season. But then came the pressure to take Oles out so that he wouldn’t get injured before the playoffs. Tramont decided to give Oles part of the fourth quarter to see if he could get the record.
Oles tied the record minutes later, and with about 3 minutes left in the game, the Hawks pulled off another rare feat by securing three offensive rebounds in a single trip down the floor. Oles missed two 3-pointers on that possession, but he made the next for his 10th of the game — the most in team history. He finished the game with 30 points on 10-for-18 shooting from beyond the arc.
Tramont called a timeout and Oles came out. He received hugs from his teammates, and he nodded to the spot in the stands where his father, Roman, normally sits. He had to work late that night and missed the big performance.
Oles led the team with 53 total 3-pointers this season. He averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game.
The Hawks beat Mandarin 46-44 on Feb. 12 in the opening round of the district playoffs and were scheduled for the second round on Wednesday, Feb. 12, after press time.
