That's the spirit.
Preston McMeans grabbed a loose ball and drove to the hoop for a layup in the final seconds of an exciting 66-64 win over Bradford on Friday at Warren Area High School.
The non-region win over Bradford - out of District 9 -puts the Dragons at 5-1 overall heading into the Christmas break. Bradford is 4-2.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Tyson Himes
Shot in arm
Warren’s Preston McMeans shoots on Friday in a non-region game against Bradford at Warren Area High School. McMeans broke a 64-64 tie with 12 seconds left in a 66-64 win.
It was a closely contested game throughout the first quarter and the excitement built as the game progressed.
"We were not ready to play in the first quarter," said Warren coach Jeff Berdine. "When you play Bradford, you have got to be ready; they always play hard. We got lost a few times on some close-outs and they hit a few 3's."
The Owls got off to a good start by knocking down open shots and finished up leading 17-13 at the end of the first.
The WAHS student section was strangely quiet until the Dragons reached ten points. The students stood up in unison and gave the Dragons some momentum going into the second quarter.
Warren battled back in the second period, using a 1-2-2 zone defense and a fast-paced offense. Mark Davis hit a bucket with the foul to tie the game up at 30-30 midway through the quarter. After a few more scores, the score stood at 35-35 at halftime.
The Dragons came out of the half and dominated most of the third quarter until the 3:15 mark. With the score at 48-39, the Owls went on a 10-5 run to make the score 53-49 Warren at the end of the period.
"(Forest) Works had eight of his 24 in the third quarter; Bradford did a good job of isolating him on the block," said Berdine.
Warren tried to slow the pace down in the final quarter, but Bradford put the pressure back on the home team. The Dragons had a 1-of-7 stretch from the line, which kept the Owls in the game.
With the score at 63-62 Warren with one minute left, Hank Morrison got fouled and made a free throw to put the Dragons up two.
Warren then committed a foul and Bradford sank two free throw to tie the game.
After a time out, Warren took the floor for the final play.
"We were running a set play for Preston McMeans, but Matt Sandberg saw an opening at the top of the key and drove to the hoop, missed on a runner, and Mark Davis got the rebound and was fouled," said Berdine.
Davis missed the first free throw. He put the second shot up and missed again, but it was collected by Morrison, who lost control of the ball with time still ticking.
McMeans grabbed the loose ball and drove to the hoop, laying in the go ahead shot with 12 seconds left.
Bradford took the ball to its side of the court and called a time out. The Owls got to the top of the key and fired off a "3" to win the game, but it bounced off the rim.
McMeans ended with a game-high 27 points, and Morrison had nine of his 14 in the final quarter.
WARREN (66): Mark Davis 3 3-5 9, Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Austin Jerman 2 1-3 5, Ryan Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Matt Sandberg 3 1-3 7, Colin Fantaskey 0 0-0 0, Cody McGraw 0 0-0 0, Andrew Hammersley 0 0-0 0, Kory Thomas 1 0-0 2, Hank Morrison 6 3-5 14, Preston McMeans 9 6-7 27, Jack Daley 1 0-0 2, Tanner Stanz 0 0-0 0, Jacoby Passmore 0 0-0 0, Austin Schwanke 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 14-23 66.
BRADFORD (64): Wilber 0 0-0 0, Rinfrette 3 0-1 6, Holzwarth 0 2-2 2, Works 10 3-5 24, Ruffner 4 6-7 15, Teribery 4 0-0 12. Totals 21 11-15 64.
Warren 13 22 18 13 -66
Bradford 17 18 14 15 -64
3-pointers: W-McMeans 2; B-Ruffner 1, Works 1, Teribery 1.
Junior varsity game
WARREN (60): Grayson Foley 0 0-0 0, Derek Hanlin 0 0-0 0, Austin Schwanke 0 0-0 0, Ryan Gustafson 0 0-0 0, Colin Fantaskey 7 2-4 17, Cody McGraw 1 5-7 7, Andrew Hammersley 1 1-2 3, Jacoby Passmore 3 2-2 8, Tanner Stanz 8 9-10 25, Andrew Stanton 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 19-25 60.
BRADFORD (45): Riley 2 0-2 4, Carlson 3 4-10 10, Drehmer 2 0-0 5, Ackerman 0 0-0 0, Zimbardi 4 0-0 11, McCammon 2 5-6 10, Veite 0 0-2 0, Webster 2 0-0 5. Totals 15 5-10 45.
Warren 19 11 15 15 -60
Bradford 5 18 8 14 -45
3-pointers: W-Fantaskey 1; B-Zimbardi 3, Drehmer 1, McCamnon 1, Webster 1.
---
Smethport 58, Sheffield 56
Time ran out on Sheffield's furious fourth quarter comeback during a 58-56 loss to the Smethport Hubbers Friday at Sheffield Area High School.
"I couldn't be more proud of how the kids played tonight," said Sheffield coach Todd Fitch. "Every kid who stepped foot on the floor tonight poured their hearts into the game for the entire 32 minutes. The kids did everything they could. We as coaches didn't handle time management very well down the stretch and we just ran out of time."
The Wolverines (5-3) managed to hold a lead after each of the three quarters, leading 15-11 after one, 28-26 at the half and 39-36 after the third. However, the Hubbers got red hot to start the fourth and led by six with just under two minutes to play.
With just six seconds remaining and Sheffield down 56-50, Ike Nearing knocked down a three-pointer to get Sheffield within three at 56-53. After a timeout, the Wolverines were forced to foul in an effort to get the ball back and have the possibility of a game tying shot.
Instead, the Hubbers knocked down both freebies to extend the lead to five. Sheffield fought to the bitter end as Mark Sprandle knocked down a three with one second remaining, but the Wolverines wouldn't get another possession and the Hubbers won, 58-56.
"We shot the ball incredibly well tonight," added Fitch. "We knocked down a total of 10 three-pointers in the game. Mark had five and Ike had three. Everybody just played so hard."
Sheffield is next in action Tuesday and Wednesday, hosting the annual Sheffield Holiday Tournament. Kane and Cameron County will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday in one semifinal while the Wolverines and Youngsville will meet in the other semifinal at 8 p.m.
The Wolverines won the junior varsity contest, 46-40. Dylan McNeal scored 13 points and Noah Heeter added 11 in the win.
SMETHPORT (58): Shuler 9 2-3 21, Wilber 1 0-1 2, Smith 3 7-8 14, Lord 7 2-3 16, Duffy 1 0-0 2, Mott 1 0-0 2, Doutt 0 1-2 1, Totals: 22 12-17 58
SHEFFIELD (56): Ike Nearing 6 2-3 17, Mark Sprandle 5 0-0 15, Brendan Winslow 0 0-0 0, Kalil Slaughter 3 2-5 8, Dylan McNeal 0 0-0 0, Nick Bonavita 3 0-0 8, Josh Anderson 0 2-2 2, George Fitch 3 0-2 6, Tyler Fitzgerald 0 0-0 0, Totals: 20 6-12 56
Smethport 11 15 10 22 - 58
Sheffield 15 13 11 17 - 56
3-pointers: Smeth- Smith, Shuler; Shef- Sprandle 5, Nearing 3, Bonavita 2
Junior varsity game
SMETHPORT (40): Corbett 4 1-1 10, Masters 1 0-0 2, Caminitti 4 3-3 11, Stratton 0 0-1 0, Green 3 2-4 11, Woodard 3 0-2 6, Totals: 15 6-11 40
SHEFFIELD (46): Nic Confer 1 0-0 2, Brendan Winslow 3 2-2 8, Noah Heeter 3 5-5 11, Chris Pedersen 0 2-8 2, Dylan McNeal 4 5-5 13, Brandon Kipp 0 1-1 1, Travis Peterson 1 1-1 3, Tyler Fitzgerald 3 0-0 6, Totals: 15 16-22 46
Smethport 5 12 11 12 - 40
Sheffield 19 10 6 11 - 46
3-pointers: Smeth- Corbett, Green 3; Shef- None