Washington Evening Journal
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IMS boys basketball team loses in overtime at Winfield
WINFIELD ? With the Wolves trailing by three points and seconds ticking down on the clock, Winfield-Mt. Union senior Brock Fricke hit the biggest shot of the year so far.
Fricke let a 3 fly that tied the game with five seconds left in the fourth quarter, and helped the Wolves get the game to overtime where they?d pull out a 67-59 win.
W-MU had a good start to the game, outscoring IMS 12-9 in the first quarter, ...
Andy Krutsinger
Sep. 30, 2018 9:09 pm
WINFIELD ? With the Wolves trailing by three points and seconds ticking down on the clock, Winfield-Mt. Union senior Brock Fricke hit the biggest shot of the year so far.
Fricke let a 3 fly that tied the game with five seconds left in the fourth quarter, and helped the Wolves get the game to overtime where they?d pull out a 67-59 win.
W-MU had a good start to the game, outscoring IMS 12-9 in the first quarter, thanks in part to seven points from B.J. Rodgers.
The Wolves held onto the lead for most of the second quarter but IMS stormed back to steal the lead right before halftime, at 24-23.
Reggie Borntrager had eight points in the second quarter to lead the way for IMS.
IMS was able to parlay that momentum into the third quarter, where they seemed to be running away with the win. Nick Yutzy and Caleb Gingerich scored six points apiece in the third and IMS led, 42-34, after three periods.
Rodgers and Bryce Robison each scored six points in the fourth quarter as the Wolves clawed back in the final minutes. Five of Robison?s points came in the last two minutes.
After two free throws by Robison cut the IMS lead to 52-51 with 28 seconds left, Yutzy found himself at the line for a one-and-one.
He missed the front end, but managed to steal the ball from Rodgers on the next possession and get fouled again.
This time, with 13 seconds remaining, Yutzy hit both free throws, which gave IMS a 54-51 lead.
Rodgers had the ball in his hands in the final seconds and found Fricke on the wing. The senior guard stepped up and sent it through the nylon with 4.9 seconds remaining, igniting the W-MU crowd in the process.
?He was probably the fourth option,? said Wolves? head coach Brad Doerring after the game.
?He knew that if they took away our other options, he was going to be the shower, and he stepped up. I loved it. I?m so happy for him that he hit that shot.?
Doerring said Fricke?s extra work in the gym was a big reason he was on the floor in the final seconds.
?I just love that kid,? Doerring said. ?He?s in the gym two or three mornings a week putting up tons of shots. Four years ago, if you would have asked me if he would start varsity, I would have said no way. He worked, worked, worked and kept asking what he needed to do.?
Borntrager almost played spoiler for the home crowd with a shot attempt from inside at the buzzer. The ball rolled off the hoop and the teams headed to overtime.
In the extra period, W-MU was able to capitalize on the momentum. Cody McCreight hit a shot inside and Jordan Hudson knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Wolves a 59-54 lead, and IMS was never able to get it back.
IMS scored just five points total in overtime. Cole Ours had a shot inside and Yutzy knocked down a 3-pointer. W-MU had four more points each from Fricke and Rodgers to close things out.
?I?ve been doing basketball for eight years now (at) two different schools,? said Doerring. ?This is the best win I?ve been a part of as a coach, player, anything. It was just amazing to see kids get knocked down, knocked down, knocked down and pick themselves up every time, and finish it with a win.?
Rodgers finished with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, to lead the team in scoring. Robison was second on the team with 17 points, including a 7-11 mark from the charity stripe.
Fricke had three makes from down town en route to a 15-point night. McCreight and Hudson each finished with six.
Yutzy finished with 19 to lead IMS. Borntrager had 12. Ours scored eight. Gingerich, Mitchell Schmieder and Cole Yoder scored six apiece and Finny Lackender rounded out the scoring with two.
After the game, IMS coach Dwight Gingerich spoke about the nail-biting loss, thinking back to the shot that sent it into overtime.
?The unfortunate thing is, we were trying to make sure Rodgers didn?t get something easy and I think we left Fricke open,? Gingerich said.
?Rodgers found him and Fricke made a huge shot. No two ways about it.?
Gingerich said his team struggled with playing from behind in overtime after leading for almost the entire second half and gave W-MU credit for making big plays late.
?There?s just a lot of things you wish could have gone differently,? he said, ?but it is what it is and we?ve got to turn the page.?
IMS fell to 2-3 after Tuesday?s game and will host English Valleys Thursday, Dec. 12. W-MU moved to 2-4 with the win and will play Louisa-Muscatine on the road on Friday, Dec. 16. Both games are set to tip off at 7 p.m.