Bearcats drop heartbreaker to Saginaw in double overtime

It took two extra frames to get a verdict in the Tuesday, Jan. 24 showdown between the home team Aledo Bearcats and the visiting Saginaw Rough Riders. When the final buzzer sounded following 32 minutes of intense action on the hardwood, it was Saginaw who walked out of the gym victorious by a 66-64 tally.

The loss dropped Aledo’s overall record on the season to 12-9 (3-4 in District 5-5A competition).

In the second overtime the Rough Riders built up a six-point lead with just less than a minute remaining on the clock with the score at 62-56. Aledo wasn’t ready to wave the white flag of surrender, however, as they went on a 7-4 run to make it a one-possession game at 66-63 with just seven seconds remaining.

On the ensuing Bearcat possession following a trip to the free throw line by Saginaw, Aledo raced down the floor with point guard Ulises Garcia finding long-range specialist Drew Clock open with enough time to take a final shot from three-point land in hopes to tie the game up once more as time expired. Clock’s three-point shot was just off the mark as it bounced off the iron before falling to the floor.

However, the ball wasn’t the only thing that fell to the floor. Clock managed to draw a foul on the shot that sent him crashing to the hardwood below and giving the Bearcats one final chance to cinch the game up before the buzzer.

Clock stepped to the free throw line shooting three with a fraction of a second left on the clock. The first shot from the charity stripe found its mark as he snapped the twine to make it a 66-64 tally with two shots remaining.

As he released his second attempt the ball rattled around the rim, but did not go through the hoop. A look of disappointment mired Clock’s countenance as an echo of awes from the hometown crowd filled the arena.

With one final shot from the line Clock attempted to bounce the ball off the backboard in a direction that would give a Bearcat shooter a chance to put it back up before time ran out. Unfortunately, the ball failed to make contact with the rim, disqualifying the shot and handing possession to the Rough Riders as the game came to a close.

“We just left a lot out there, I thought,” said Aledo head coach JD Robinson after the game. “I thought we weren’t good enough defensively during regulation. I thought we weren’t good enough defensively in the first half. We turned the ball over too much. Every district ballgame is tough. The margin of error’s really slim.

“We’ve got to play really hard. We’ve got to play the right way every time and we’ve got to play smart. We didn’t do those three things collectively as a team tonight. I tell these guys all the time the great thing about this game and about athletics is you get what you deserve. If I didn’t have them ready to play, then we’re going to get what we deserve.”

Aledo came out to an early lead that was only minimized when Saginaw’s Donovan Palm knocked down a three-pointer in the final second of the first quarter to cut the Bearcat lead to 15-8 heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter saw a pivot away from the same Bearcat dominance that prevailed in the two teams’ first meeting back in December when Aledo went on the road to win by 30. Instead, the Rough Riders were not only able to overcome their early deficit, but ended up snatching the lead away from the hometown team in the closing moments of the half. As the two teams made for their respective locker rooms at the break, Saginaw led 25-24.

The Rough Riders were able to hold Aledo on their hip for much of the second half until Brant Tubbs converted both attempts from the charity stripe during a one-in-one foul with his team in the bonus and five seconds left in regulation. The two shots knotted the score up at 49-49 as time expired.

In the first overtime the Bearcats appeared poised to walk away with the win after Jackson Todd went one-of-two from the free throw line with eight seconds remaining and Aledo up by a 54-52 tally. However, on the other end of the floor Aledo’s Exavier Anderson lost containment on Saginaw’s Julius Brundage, who was able to knock down the desperation jumper from eight feet out to tie the game once again, forcing the second overtime.

The upcoming district schedule has been disrupted due to weather.

“It’s a gauntlet,” Robinson said of the District 5-5A schedule. “You drop any game in our league and the next one’s coming for you. It’s tough!”

Bearcats vs. Saginaw – Jan. 24

Varsity

Aledo scoring: Drew Clock 31, Exavier Anderson 16, Jack Sawyer 8, Brandon Fields 6, Brant Tubbs 2, Jackson Todd 1.