The Stevenson boys needed a victory, and the Patriots had their chance
with Prospect paying them a visit. But instead of snapping their
eight-game skid, Tuesday night’s game became a microcosm of the Patriots’
season all within a matter of 25 seconds.
After trailing by 12 midway through the third quarter, the Patriots
went on an 8-0 run to cut Prospect’s lead to four by the end of the
period, then tied it with less than a minute remaining. Stevenson held
Prospect close but wound up dropping the non-conference contest 45-43.
Stevenson called a timeout trailing 43-40 with :45 seconds left. The
Patriots came out of the huddle and had plenty of time to tie the game
or draw a foul if somebody could drive through the lane. Instead, Evan
Linderman (eight points) stopped and popped a three-pointer to send
the crowd and his team into a frenzy with the game tied at 43.
“We were hoping to go up the lane, but a shot was open for (Evan)
Linderman right of the key and he pulled up and took it,” Stevenson
coach Ken Johnson said. “What surprised us on the bench and the kids
on the floor was that Prospect didn’t call a timeout after we tied
it.”
Anticipating that Stevenson might tie the game, Prospect coach Glen
Elms told his team to go for the win if they found themselves tied
with the ball.
“We told our kids during Stevenson’s timeout not to hesitate if they
tie because there was enough time on the clock for us to come right
back and score,” Elms explained. “We wanted Matt (Walpole) to have the
ball and he took his shot.”
While Stevenson was just glad to be tied and have a chance to end its
streak of futility, Prospect went in for the kill. Just as Elms had
ordered, Walpole (five points) took advantage of the Patriots’
on-court excitement and sank a 15-foot jumper from the free-throw line
to give Prospect a 45-43 lead with 2 seconds left.
Stevenson settled down enough to realize they still had a fight on
their hands and called a time-out. The Patriots, needing to go the
full length of the court, had an opportunity for the victory but came
up just short literally and figuratively. Linderman took the inbounds
pass and fired a three-pointer that grazed outside of the net.
“I think what happened was our kids were so excited to have a chance
to win, that after Linderman hit the three, they forgot their was
still :12 left,” Johnson said.
Linderman had some help in his team’s rise and near-conquering of
Prospect as Craig Lyerly and Keith Hood chipped in with eight points
apiece to provide balanced scoring for the Patriots, who fell to 4-14
on the season. The Knights were lead by Aaron Adams, whose game-high
17 points and 11 rebounds helped Prospect improve to 9-7.
