The term heartbreaker can sometimes be thrown around too much in the sports world.
But when you have the No. 1 team on the ropes and blow a second-half 14-point lead with just under two minutes left in the game, it could certainly be defined as heartbreaking.
That’s what happened to Presbyterian Christian on Tuesday night as the Bobcats’ chance to upset Jackson Academy ended with the Raiders pulling off a 55-53 comeback win.
“I feel like for 95% of that ball game, we performed better and executed,” PCS coach Joshua Sherer said. “That’s what they do. That’s why they are 25-1. I think they are the best team in the state, private or public. I think that’s the best team in the state that we just went down to the wire with.”
Bittersweetly playing both the hero and villain of the game for PCS was Turner Vance, who scored a game-high of 23 points. But Vance went 1-for-7 from the free throw line and missed a potential game-tying free throw to potentially set up overtime, which overshadowed his brilliant performance.
“Turner is going to be really upset because he missed some stuff, turned it over, missed some free throws and a layup late,” Sherer said. “That’s not what the ball game is about. There were opportunities throughout the ball game. There is decision-making that I have to make that could have turned that game for the better.
“Turner is the guy. We depend on him to guard so well and handle the ball so much. When all things get crazy, we want the ball in his hands. But sometimes things don’t go your way.”
Vance spearheaded the Bobcats’ offense early on as he scored nine of his points in the first quarter, helped give PCS (21-7, 1-4) a 16-10 lead, and stayed ahead at 26-20 by halftime.
At the same time, the Bobcat defense kept Jackson Academy’s star player, Mike Williams, in check for the first half, as he averages 19.5 points per game.
“I don’t think he was as aggressive as he normally is,” Sherer said of Williams. “You saw him come out and look for more of his shot. He felt like he needed to take over, and he did. It was just making sure that we were making the right reads, being patient offense and not giving them short defensive possessions. I didn’t want to get into a full-length up-and-down game with them.”
The Bobcats maintained the momentum at the start of the third quarter and went on a 12-2 run to go up by 38-22.
But Jackson Academy (25-1, 5-0) responded with its own 12-2 run and, by the start of the fourth quarter, posted a combined 19-5 run to narrow the score to 42-41.
“I could have had an early timeout and stopped a run before the lead was cut to 10,” Sherer said. “I told myself I was going to, and then I didn’t.”
PCS managed to pull ahead with a 6-0 run, but the Raiders responded with a 12-0 run and took the lead for the first time with less than two minutes in the game. Williams also heated up as he scored 12 of his 21 points in the second half.
“We got a little bit sloppy and had three or four more turnovers in the fourth quarter that didn’t we have,” Sherer said. “I bet we doubled our turnovers just in the fourth quarter.”
The Bobcats did manage to steal the ball and gain possession with .6 seconds left in the game. The ball was inbounded but intercepted under the rim to end the game.
“It’s not the end of the world,” Sherer said. “We didn’t come out with it, and it’s not the end of the world. The season still rolls. I think we continued to show people what we are capable of, and we’ll keep doing that.
“We have not peaked. That was not a peak by us. I know they probably think it was us and that they took our best shot. They did not. We are still climbing, rising and getting better.”
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