By Kev Moye'
News-Times Staff
PANGBURN - It was exactly what a game at this juncture of the season should be.
Wednesday afternoon in the semifinal round of the Class 2A state tournament, Junction City and Buffalo Island Central put on a show that had the persons in Tiger Arena on the edge of their seat.
In the end, it was the Junction City Dragons who claimed a dramatic 56-53 victory due to their ability to compete with poise and confidence in the deciding stages of the game.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Junction City led 46-43.
Naturally, the close score in a game of this magnitude set the stage for an amazing finish. And that's what the people in attendance were treated to.
With just over a minute left to play, the Mustangs tied the score at 53 when Seth Eatmon made a floater in the lane. But, Buffalo Island Central wasn't able to celebrate for long as immediately the Dragons reclaimed the advantage.
Junction City quickly got the ball in play and fed Jamario Bell. Eventually, the senior easily scored in the post to give his team a 55-53 lead with 55 seconds left to play.
"I wanted to push it, push it, push it. As soon as the ball went through the net I wanted us going to the other end," Junction City coach Kendall Hutcheson said. "It probably wasn't five seconds off the clock before we took the lead right back and I thought that was huge. That was huge for us to score quickly and not allow them to set their defense."
Now trailing by two, on BIC's next possession, Bell took a charge on Austin Pike. For Pike - who had spearheaded the Mustangs' rally - that was his fifth foul as he had to be removed from the game by BIC coach Bill Taylor.
"I've been trying to get Jamario to take charges for years and at the end of the season he has now taken about three big ones in the state tournament," Hutcheson stated.
Moments later, with 33.1 seconds on the clock, Keandre Evans was fouled. But the point guard missed the free throw and BIC grabbed the rebound. However, the Mustangs fell victim to a miscue as they turned the ball over with 21.2 seconds remaining in the game. Shortly after the Dragons inbounded the ball, Bell was fouled with 15.7 seconds remaining in regulation.
He made one of the two shots increasing the Dragon advantage to 56-53. But, that left the door open for the Mustangs to tie the game.
"If he had made the second one we were going to call a timeout," Hutcheson acknowledged. "Him making at least one shot, it's huge because the worse thing that happens is overtime. So that first free throw was huge."
BIC quickly moved the ball up the floor as two Dragon defenders converged on Trey Depriest a couple of feet outside the arc. But, the guard launched a shot anyway as it hit hard off the iron. However, BIC forward Alan Carmichael grabbed the rebound near the basket. He then dribbled out past the threepoint line, squared up behind the wing and released a shot. But, Carmichael's heave was tipped and landed well short of the goal as time expired in this thrilling affair.
"That was Jamario who blocked that shot," said Hutcheson. "But I was sure hoping, they'd take that two down there. That's what I was really hoping for."
The Dragons (29-1) held on for a tough victory.
But Junction City actually looked like it was on its way to a somewhat easy triumph at the beginning of this game.
The Dragons got off to a hot start offensively as it received scoring contributions from six different players. The Dragons placed an emphasis on attacking the basket as Bell finished the first period with eight points and three rebounds.
Heading into the second quarter, the Dragons led 23-15.
Later in the half, the Dragons built upon their lead.
Using an attentive man defense against the Mustangs, the Dragons made it tough for Taylor's squad to score. BIC runs an offense in which ball rotation and player movement are the keys to getting open looks at the basket. But, the Dragons didn't give up the high percentage shots that the Mustangs searched for.
Meanwhile, Junction City continued to shoot well, taking shots in close proximity to the bucket.
When Evans tossed an electrifying alley-oop to Bell with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Dragon lead had swelled to 34-19.
In the closing portion of the quarter, BIC was able to make a few shots to slow Junction City's surge. At the half, the Mustangs trailed 38-25.
Following the intermission, BIC came out with renewed vigor - especially on offense. The Mustangs made a run at Junction City based primarily on the threepoint shot. BIC attempted seven 3-pointers in the third and made three of them. Taylor's team shot just well enough from beyond the arc to get Junction City's attention defensively stretching the Dragons out and opening up a few scoring opportunities closer to the basket. Of course, once the Mustangs went on their run, a huge and boisterous BIC fan-base made their presence felt.
BIC pulled to within a point of Junction City in the third. When time expired in the quarter, the Dragons led 46-43.
"We got a little bit flustered. A little bit rattled at the end of the third quarter and gave them a chance to get back in the game," Hutcheson said. "We didn't put them away when we had the chance. But we made some poor, poor decisions. Against a team that good, you can't make that many poor decisions."
The Mustangs would eventually tie the game late in the fourth. But, Junction City had the proper response earning an emotional 3-point victory.
"I thought we did a great job of keeping our head and not freaking out at the end," the Dragons' coach said. "We just made the plays when we had to."
Next up for Junction City, is a clash against England in the state final Saturday at 2:30 p.m. in Hot Springs.
This is the Dragons' first state finals appearance since 2012.
"It feels great to get there. We expect to be there. We want to be there. These kids have been so close so many years," Hutcheson stated. "These seniors want to go out winning this championship. They're going to do everything they can to do it."
Junction City was led in scoring by Bell who finished with 16 while Holyfield scored 15. BIC had the game high scorer in Pike who amassed 33 points. Eatmon scored eight.
ENGLAND 81,
EARLE 67
Rather easily, the England Lions outlasted Earle earning a berth to the Class 2A state championship game.
The Bulldogs' loss had a lot to do with its defense failing to hinder England. The Bulldogs surrendered far too many easy points from start to finish of this meeting.
In the opening half of this semifinal game, England claimed control because it was able to handle Earle's active man-defense.
When the Lions broke past Earle's press, they capitalized on the numerous easy looks at the basket. Lay-ups, uncontested drives to the goal, and second-chance points helped England build a 13-point lead with under a minute left in the first half. When the intermission arrived, the Bulldogs trailed England 41-32.
What the Lions did to gain their advantage early in the game, they continued to do in the second half.
On a constant basis, the Lions were able to amass easy points.
By using great ball-handling and astute rotation to the bucket, England carved up the Bulldogs as it scored several points in the paint.
Meanwhile, Earle - which is highly dependent on scoring in transition - never got England to consistently turn the ball over.
Thus, a big portion of Earle's offense was not available.
England's Brandon Thompson was the game high scorer finishing with 25 points. Monte Toney scored 17, and Tyrik Harris compiled 14.
For Earle, B.J. Murray led the team in scoring with 20. Marcus Brown tacked on 18 points.