Donnie Bowling might not sleep well Monday night, but his Anderson boys basketball team made sure he’d at least catch a few winks.
The Indians shrugged off a game-tying corner 3-pointer from Pendleton Heights’ Isaac Wilson at the buzzer in regulation and outlasted the visiting Arabians 79-72 in overtime to complete by far the most dramatic game of the opening round of the Madison County basketball tournament Monday.
Had the defending champions failed to advance, Bowling would have been second guessing one big decision well into the wee hours of the morning.
“You have two ways you can approach it,” the third-year Anderson coach said of defending the game-tying shot. “You can foul early, which we didn’t choose to do because we haven’t practiced it. Next week, we’re going to be practicing that foul early, so they shoot the free throws.
“The kids, they knew it. I said, ‘That’s my fault.’ But the kids, they said, ‘We got you, coach. We’ll get it. We’ll go win it.’”
Both reigning tournament winners showed the heart of a champion in different ways during the boys-girls doubleheader at The Tipi.
The Pendleton Heights girls overcame a sloppy performance that included 21 turnovers and 4-of-12 free throw shooting to get past the Indians with a 56-33 decision in the opener.
It was far from the Arabians’ best performance, but – as the well-worn saying goes – good teams find a way to win even when they aren’t at their best.
“Not a perfect win by any means, but to able to kind of battle through some of those streaks where we were turning it over left and right and to kind of be able to get back to a point where we kind of felt like we kind of had control of the game, that’s what we’re looking for,” first-year PH coach Nick Rogers said. “We’re looking to just keep weathering the storm, battling through adversity, and we did that I felt like. So definitely a positive.”
While Pendleton Heights never trailed after scoring the first seven points of the girls game, the boys contest was a thrill ride from start to finish.
Anderson (5-3) never led by more than three points in the first half, and Wilson capped a 6-0 PH run with a pair of free throws to put the visitors ahead 29-25 at intermission.
The junior guard, who finished with a game-high 21 points, also made a 3-pointer at the first-quarter buzzer to give the Arabians (2-8) a 16-15 advantage.
Wilson was 5-of-9 from the field, 2-of-4 from 3-point range and 9-of-10 at the free throw line in a tour de force shooting performance.
Pendleton Heights’ biggest lead was five points, the last coming at 42-37 midway through the third quarter.
Anderson responded with a 9-0 run to take control of the game for the first time. Ja’Quan Ingram got things started with a free throw, Damien King added a putback basket, Ahmere Carson scored in the lane and Louis Jackson capped the spurt with back-to-back baskets with 46 seconds left in the period.
With the Arabians playing a box-and-1 defense to slow down Carson, the Indians needed other players to step up.
Ingram matched Carson for team-high honors with 20 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds. King added 14 points, with most of his damage coming in the first half, and Jackson finished with 12 points while shooting 5-of-6 from the floor and showing a knack for hitting big shots in big moments.
Jaylen Murphy also finished in double figures with 10 points, including some critical baskets in the extra period.
“Until we really start hitting the outside – like the 3-point shot – I think we’ll see (gimmick defenses) a lot,” Bowling said. “But, instead of shooting 3-pointers – like I told Ja’Quan and those guys – attack the basket. Even though somebody’s in a zone, it doesn’t mean you can’t attack it. I think they attacked it more on drives and stuff (in the second half).”
The Indians were just 2-of-14 from 3-point range, but they took control in the final quarter with their defense. Steals and deflections allowed Anderson to get out in transition and build a 61-54 lead with 2:16 remaining.
That could have been where the story ended, but PH never quit chipping away.
Carson had a chance to ice the game at the free-throw line with 14 seconds remaining, but he missed the first of two free throws to leave the Tribe with a 65-62 advantage.
That set up Wilson’s buzzer beater that nearly kept Bowling awake all night.
Like Anderson, the Arabians got contributions throughout the lineup. Evan Mozingo (18 points) and Aaron Cookston and Josiah Gustin (12 points each) joined Wilson in double figures as PH shot a blistering 62.9% (22-of-35) from the field.
The Arabians were 7-of-14 from 3-point range and 21-of-31 at the free throw line. But they were hounded into 18 turnovers and lost the rebounding battle 31-24.
The Indians took the lead for good with a 9-0 surge to open the extra period. Ingram got things rolling with a putback, Murphy followed with another putback and Ingram scored on short jumper off a Murphy assist.
A Jackson free throw and another Ingram putback made it 74-65 and gave Anderson its biggest lead.
True to form, Pendleton Heights fought back with 3-pointers from Cookston to cut the deficit to 74-68 with 48 seconds remaining and Mozingo to make it 76-71 with 30 ticks left.
But the Arabians couldn’t claw all the way back one final time.
Ingram finally put the game away with a dunk off a loose ball scramble for a 78-71 advantage with just 21 seconds left.
Pendleton Heights will face Alexandria in the consolation bracket at Anderson Prep on Wednesday, and Anderson will continue its title defense against Liberty Christian in the semifinals at Lapel.
“We’ve got to be ready for Liberty,” Bowling said. “I mean, (it’s) pretty much the same as last year. I think (it’s) the same draw as last year. So we’ll have to be ready for Liberty. They played Pendleton real tough (in a 56-53 loss Dec. 17). So we’ll see what we have.”
There was far less drama for the Arabians in the girls game.
Pendleton Heights led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter, and the lead never dipped below double-digits after the Indians opened the second period with an 8-2 run.
Whitney Warfel led the Arabians (8-7) with 17 points. Kaycie Warfel added 14 points, Olivia Jones finished with 10 and Berkely Shelton had six points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Zoe Allen was the only player in double figures for the Indians (4-11) with 10 points.
Anderson shot just 22.4% (11-of-49) from the field and was 0-for-16 from 3-point range.
The Indians await an opponent in Saturday night’s fifth-place game, where they will host the loser of Thursday’s consolation contest between Anderson Prep and Elwood.
Pendleton Heights continues its quest for a repeat championship against Alexandria in the semifinals Thursday at Lapel.
“Jacklynn Hosier, she’s as advertised,” Rogers said. “And I know Coach (Mickey) Hosier, with not having a first-round game, he’s probably been prepping for both us and Anderson for a long time. And we’re just gonna have to be on point and once again have poise and be able to handle whatever they throw at us.”
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin.