Almond-Bancroft comes on strong at end, falls short
By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Two free throws with 1.9 seconds left gave Gresham a 55-54 victory over the Almond-Bancroft boys basketball team Friday, Dec. 21.
The Eagles had taken a 54-53 lead with 7.7 seconds left when Adam Berry hit one of two free throws, but Gresham moved the ball down court quickly and Ryan Johnson was fouled while taking an inside shot. He made both free throws.
A three-point attempt from the right side by the Eagles' Matt Beigel bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
Missed free throws doomed the Eagles, who trailed by up to nine points and never led until late in the third quarter.
"That was the difference in the game," said Eagles coach Curt Lamb. "We got to the line but just couldn't make the shots."
Although the loss was disappointing, Lamb said he was pleased with the performance. "I can't complain about the effort in the second half," he said. "Our inexperience sometimes shows. We have the talent that sometimes overcomes that."
The Eagles, who start one senior and four juniors, are a young team. Beigel is the only senior on the squad, with seven juniors, one sophomore and two freshmen.
A game like Friday's, Lamb said, will toughen the team down the road. "I thought our post game was pretty strong," he said. "Our perimeter people started making passes where they could do something with it (the ball)."
Lamb said the major focus in the game was to move the ball inside. "I was happy with the way we executed inside the second half."
Gresham grabbed a 4-0 lead, and the Eagles came back to tie the score at 6-6, but then never got closer than two points until the third quarter. Gresham led, 16-10, at the end of the first quarter and, 28-24, at the half.
Gresham came out shooting in the second half and increased the lead to its biggest margin, 41-32, with four minutes left in the third quarter.
Then the Eagles caught fire and reeled off 10 straight points, on two baskets and a three-pointer by Zach Mykisen, a basket by Randy Berry and a free throw by Adam Berry.
The 42-41 lead with 2:06 left in the third quarter was short-lived, as Gresham held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the quarter and took a 45-42 lead into the final stanza.
The Eagles finally got the lead again, 51-50, on a basket by Randy Berry with 3:20 to play.
Gresham knotted the score on a free throw with 1:12 to play, and then a put-back on a missed shot gave the Wildcats a 53-51 lead.
Adam Berry tied the score at 53-53 with 38 seconds left, and the Eagles got the ball back when Gresham was called for traveling with 18.9 seconds left. Then Adam Berry was fouled as he attempted a shot.
Adam Berry led the Eagles with 22 points, and brother Randy added 17. Mykisen scored all seven of his points in that two-minute stretch in the third quarter.
The loss left the Eagles with a 4-2 mark in the CWC small and 4-3 overall.