Lady Falcons 21 – Shield of Faith 19
Falcons 46 – Lake Park 42
I am not sure there are words to explain yesterday afternoon. ARBORBROOK ROCKS! The fan support was tremendous once again. Both teams played their first ever tournament games. Both teams came away with victories that were not decided until the final seconds. Both teams refused to break under extreme pressure.
I do not have the stats from the girls game and I missed a good part of the second half so I cannot give it the write up it deserves. What I do know is this team has improved so much since the beginning of the season that the parents, coaching staff, and school should be proud to have them wear the Arborbrook name. The Lady Falcons could not have won this game two months ago, in fact they could not have won this game last month. They pass the ball well, take good solid shots, rebound well, play great defense, and never give up. This game was no exception. They fell behind 7-1 at the end of the first quarter but increased the intensity of their defense and went into half time with a 9-9 tie. They looked nervous in the first quarter and when they relaxed they relized they could play with Shield of Faith. The girls took a 13-9 lead in the 3rd quarter and the next time I saw the score it was 19-17 with one minute left in the game. Shield of Faith tried everything they could do to score but the Lady Falcons did not fold. That last minute seemed to take forever, the clock just wouldn’t move more than a couple of seconds at a time. I am sorry I do not have the stats but from what I saw, every girl on the floor contributed to this victory. I know at least four different players put points on the board for a balanced scoring attack. This was a great game and set the tone for the boys game that would be played next.
The boys game against Lake Park would be the third time we have played them in the last four weeks. It is difficult to beat the same team three times in a season let alone a month. We didn’t exactly blow them off the floor the first two games so we new the odds were against us and it would be a tough game probably not decided until the 4th quarter. We had to keep Nate out of foul trouble and box out to have any chance of winning. Of course we didn’t expect Mitch and Trey to both get into foul trouble by the middle of the 2nd quarter.
The first quarter started out as planned. Nate concentrated on offense and backed off on defense to eliminate fouls. The remaining four players picked up their intensity on defense to protect Nate. Nate ended up scoring 10 points in the quarter as only Nate can and Mitch made a great shot from just inside the 3 point line. We had a 12-8 lead when everything changed. Lake Park made a last second basket that was more luck than skill and the quarter ended with the Falcons up 12-10.
The second quarter was tight but the coaches felt we were controlling the game. Mitch and Trey spent more than half the quarter on the bench. Matthew and Ryan gave us some true quality minutes when they were asked to step in. Both of them boxed out much larger opponets and drew fouls while being knocked to the floor. Both of them blocked shots and created steals. We ended up scoring 8 points in the quarter and Nate scored all 8. Believe it or not, we were controlling the boards and Lake Park had picked up 5 or 6 over the-back fouls. We had a 20-16 lead with one second left when a Lake Park guard threw up a wild three pointer that banked in. They had now scored 5 points on last second shots.
Coach told the players at half time Lake Park could not continue to shoot that well and their shots would start to miss. I believe that was the only thing he was wrong about all night. They came out smoking in the 3rd quarter and knocked down almost everything they shot, including 2 three pointers. Mitch and Trey picked up another foul and Caleb Farmer picked up two fouls. We scored 8 points and once again Nate scored all 8 but still had not committed a foul. We were trailing 30-28 with one second left when Lake Park put in another prayer and we were suddenly down 32-28. They had now scored 7 points on last second shots.
Coach told the players we had been down before and not to panic. We quickly fell behind by six. Nate tried to do a little too much and the rest of the team looked a little out if sync. Coach called time out and told Nate to trust the other players. Nate switched modes and became a defensive monster. He blocked three shots one time down the floor and forced Lake Park to stay out of the paint. In the meantime, Mitch put back an offensive rebound and Josh added two baskets. Caleb Farmer picked up five assists in the quarter and took a charge from a guy that out weighed him by 100 pounds. Caleb is not very tall but plays big. Lake park hit another three and matched us basket for basket. We were still down by six with three minutes to go. Trey Barnes time.
Earlier in the game Trey had put up the two worst three point shots I have ever seen in a basketball game. Now was cruch time and Trey came through. His first three pointer pulled us to within three and the crowd erupted. His second three pointer tied the game and you could feel the building shake. Momentum had changed. Lake Park wasn’t done. Their big guy was fouled with one minute left in the game and made two line drive free throws. (no arc, unbelievable). We got the ball over half court and passed to Josh to the right of the lane. Josh hit his biggest shot of the season to tie the game with 47 seconds left. Our defense held and Nate was fouled. When Nate stepped to the line I looked at the faces of the Lake Park players. They were dejected and their shoulders were slumped. They had already accepted defeat and for the first time that night, I knew we would win. Of course Nate made it interesting by having his first shot bounce around the rim. Nate would make two more free throws, his only points of the fourth quarter and there would be no more last second shots that banked in. Coach and I looked at each other, and I said: “can we breathe yet?” When I got home, I tried to give my wife the short version of the game but it took two hours.
Team Stats: Nate Johnson scored 28 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals, 5 blocked shots, and 1 assist. Trey Barnes scored 8 points with two huge 3 pointers and 3 rebounds. Josh Black scored 6 points including the game tying shot with 47 seconds left, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot. Mitch moore scored 4 points, grabbed 8 rebounds, had 3 steals, and 2 assists. Caleb Farmer did not score but had 6 assists and 1 rebound. Caleb also controlled the game on offense. Matthew Pedemonte and Ryan Brown both had 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot, and 1 assist. Both of these players provided quality minutes. Alan Fox, Daniel Zangmeister, Joel VanDusen, and Caleb Robinson did not get as much playing time as the other players and that can happen in a tournament. Their contribution however did not go unnoticed. They practiced hard all week and cheered their teammates on from the bench. Their time will come.
