GROVE – Tuesday’s rematch between the Grove Ridgerunners and the Jay Bulldogs ended much the same way the first matchup from Feb. 1 did, but with a twist.
With the score tied at 56, the Ridgerunners held the ball for the last shot, only to turn it over with five seconds left. The scoreboard showed Grove with five team fouls. Thinking they had a foul to give, the Ridgerunners fouled Jay guard Jordan Sweeney near midcourt with 1.5 seconds left.
“I thought they had a foul to give,” Jay head coach Jeff Gibe said. “I was drawing up a play for a last-second shot then they said one-and-one. It’s a tough way to lose.”
A tough loss, but a fitting end as Sweeney led the Bulldogs with 18 points on the night, including 8 in the final period.
“He’s been helping us out all year like that,” Gibe said. “Jordan’s a good ballplayer. He knows when to hold it and when to take a shot. It’s one of those deals where he’s just feeling it. I’m proud of our effort.”
The game featured four ties and 13 lead changes, with the Ridgerunners and junior forward Jake Spychalski earning a lot of their points at the free throw line. Grove (4-16) made 11-of-13 at the line in the second quarter alone and 22-of-29 for the game. After trailing 17-11 late in the opening period, the Ridgerunners went on a 10-2 run to take a 21-19 lead with 5:02 left in the half. From there the two teams would exchange the lead four times before Grove took a 29-28 lead at the break.
The Bulldogs (5-17) seemed to take command midway through the third quarter and into the fourth, outscoring the Ridgerunners 15-7 over a six minute span to take their largest lead of the night at 47-40 with 6:20 to play.
Grove would counter with a 12-4 run highlighted by a three from Spencer Londagin and a three-point play by Reid Williams as the Ridgerunners eventually took a 52-51 lead with 2:30 to play.
The lead would exchange hands twice more before a bucket by Spychalski made it 56-53 with just over a minute to play. A three-point play by the Bulldogs tied the score moments later, and the Ridgerunners held the ball for most of the final minute of play in an attempt to get the last shot, only to lose the ball out of bounds, setting up the confusing finish.
Spychalski led all scorers with 21 points for Grove, while Taylor Foster scored 13 for Jay. Tyler Busch finished the night with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists for the Ridgerunners.
Gibe pointed to his team’s defense and rebounding as keys to the win.
“That’s kind of been our downfall this year. We’ve been trying to stress that in practice heading into the playoffs. That’s where the game was won when we needed it.”
