Times Observer photo by Cody Elms Sheffield sophomore Jack Chapman operates the offense Friday night inside Ralph J. Santo Gymnasium against visiting Smethport.

SHEFFIELD — Sheffield was on the losing side of another nail-biter Friday night, falling to visiting Smethport 47-45.

“Hustle,” Sheffield head coach Jordan Copley said of the Wolverines staying in the game until the final seconds despite poor shooting throughout the night. “Doing the things that matter. Wanting the ball. Putting ourselves in position to force the turnovers that we needed to make the pushes in the moments that we needed. In games like these you need hustle and discipline. Tonight, I think we lost sight of some discipline in some moments, and it cost us.”

Leihden Wotorson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the first quarter and pull the Wolverines within two going into the second.

Less than a minute later, Wotorson dropped another from beyond the arc to give Sheffield its first lead since midway through the first quarter, 16-15. The Hubbers’ Owen Rounsville responded with two of his own, followed by Jack Chapman seconds later hitting a third three in a row for Sheffield, and what would be the final time the Wolverines would lead on the night.

With a minute to go in the third, the Wolverines found themselves down by their largest deficit of the night at seven. Alex Richards dropped in a bucket, followed quickly by Smethport’s Colin Okerlund, however, Dylan Hardwick was able to cut the lead down to five with 22 seconds remaining, 37-32.

Wotorson again would start a quarter off big, hitting his third 3 of the night to pull within two. The two teams dawning orange and black would trade baskets a few more times, until found himself shooting up a 3 with just over two and a half minutes to go. Wotorson missed the 3, followed the shot, missed the layup, rebounded again, and drew the foul to go to the line down 41-38. The junior hit both free throws, and the Wolverines found themselves within one.

Smethport again, pulled away on the back of Brentton McDowell, who scored 8 in the final quarter, until Chapman hit a jumper. The Wolverines in full press were able to steal the ball quickly off the inbounds by the Hubbers, leading to Allen Eaton sinking his only 3 on the night, pulling within one again, 46-45. Even with several opportunities in the final 30 seconds, Sheffield was unable to get its shots to land.

“The more we can do, the more opportunity that gives us,” said Copley when speaking on Chapman’s contributions throughout the game. “Basketball is situational, so if we have that in our back pocket and need to use it, it’s a good thing to have. Jack’s a very fast kid. He can get up and down the court, and he plays strong defense too. He played very good defense today when we needed him.”

Wotorson led the Wolverines with 17 points and pulled in seven rebounds. Hardwick three of four at the line, scoring 13 points on the night.

The loss was only Sheffield’s second of the year, but the fourth game in a row where the margin was less than seven.

“They’re a good group of kids that know they can win basketball games,” said Copley. “Coach Fitch and I do a good job of staying on them, keeping them focused, and trying to understand the situations that we’re in. Again, we lost sight of that in moments today, and that’s part of growth as a team. We’re going to keep making them aware of those situations so they can get better and better throughout the season.”