HOLMES TOWNSHIP — Wynford trailed Van Buren by one point with 1.9 seconds left in the game. The Royals had possession of the basketball and a chance to win the game.
With 0.8 seconds left, a Wynford player had a shot from the left corner and he knocked down the 3-pointer, potentially giving Wynford a win.
But the officials ruled that the player stepped on the sideline before the shot was taken, and Van Buren came away with a 44-43 in the Division III sectional tournament game at Wynford High School.
With the win, the Black Knights (3-20) advanced to Friday’s sectional final at 21-0 Colonel Crawford. The Royals finished the season with a 3-19 record.
The last-second shot was a microcosm of the entire game for the Royals, according to Wynford coach Steve Mohr.
“We never got it going,” Mohr said. “We were getting stops early and we didn’t get out and go. We played a great first quarter defensively, but we want to take advantage of that. We didn’t. And we went through a stretch where we made too many turnovers. We don’t convert inside. You saw our season during those 32 minutes.”
The Black Knights, who went winless during the Blanchard Valley Conference portion of their schedule, has had difficulty closing out games, according to coach Tyler Niekamp.
“I really feel happy for our players, getting in this situation and getting a tournament win,” Niekamp said. “It’s really important for us this season; we haven’t had a lot of them. And we’ve had a lot of situations like this, and they haven’t gone our way.
“So, I’m glad it did tonight.”
The Royals opened an 8-2 lead early in the game and led 8-6 after one period.
But, for the rest of the game, Wynford had to play catch up. Van Buren led, 22-18, at the half, and 34-30, entering the final frame.
“We had a bunch of guys hit some pretty big shots when we really needed them,” Niekamp said. “And we were able to at least keep the lead or keep them from taking the lead. We hit some big shots, particularly from the outside, at very important times in the game.”
The tempo was particularly important as well. The Royals wanted to pick up the pace, Mohr said.
“We had signs of good basketball and signs of bad basketball,” Mohr said. “Compete. It’s disappointing. I just feel bad because we’re not going to have an opportunity to move on.”
Niekamp said the Black Knights’ game plan was to slow the game down and play half-court basketball.
“Their two big guys are pretty dang good and athletic. I knew we would have a tough time matching up to them, so I wanted to give us a chance inside,” Niekamp said. “I think controlling the tempo gave us a chance to have the lead at the end and we were able to hang on to it.”
Wynford post Jaron Filliater led the Royals with 17 points and running mate Dustin Brady added 14.
Van Buren guard Landon Miller came off the bench and knocked down five 3s and finished with 15 points. But no other Van Buren player scored more than eight.
“I thought we played well defensively, for the most part,” Mohr said. “The defense was pretty solid. We basically challenged our kids; we were playing man-to-man defense. We just have to get up and get into people.
“I just feel bad that the season ended the way it did,” Mohr added. “I feel bad that we weren’t able to give these kids what they deserve, in terms of wins and losses. I’ll carry this to the grave and we weren’t able to get these kids what they deserve.”
Box score
Van Buren 6 16 12 10 — 44
Wynford 8 10 12 13 — 43
Van Buren (3-20): Shots 16-36; 3-pt shots 7 (Landon Miller 5, Trey Rampe, Peter Harrigan); Free throws 5-13; Rebounds 22; Turnovers 14. Scoring: Peter Harrigan 2 1 6, Reece Reichley 1 0 2, Clarence Durlitt 2 0 4, Landon Miller 5 0 15, Hudson Sandelbach 1 0 2, Andrew Schroeder 4 0 8, Trey Rampe 1 3 6, Jackson Gregory 0 1 1.
Wynford (3-19): Shots 19-46; 3-pt shots 1 (Lucas Hackworth); Free throws 4-8; Rebounds 25; Turnovers 13. Scoring: Dustin Brady 7 0 14, Lucas Hackworth 2 0 5, Grant McGuire 1 0 2, James Schifer 0 1 1, Jaron Filliater 7 3 17, Toby Butterfield 2 0 4.