Menu
Unkind overtime leads to Gideon's Class 1 semifinal loss to Walnut Grove
COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Through four quarters of last night's Class 1 semifinal at Hearnes Center, the Gideon boys basketball team twice held leads of at least seven points -- in the first and third quarters -- and never trailed Walnut Grove by more than three.
Overtime was a much different story.
After surviving an open 3-point attempt by Gideon's Dalen Hutchison that fell short in the final seconds of regulation, Walnut Grove scored the first five points of the 4-minute extra period and never trailed again to claim a 59-54 victory.
"We had our chances the entire game," Gideon senior Kason Lawrence said after totaling 20 points and 15 rebounds. "We had our chances in overtime. We just didn't finish.
"They got a couple buckets (in overtime), and we didn't respond the way we needed to."
The loss snapped a 15-game winning streak and ended the Bulldogs' run at the program's first state title in their first MSHSAA Show-Me Showdown appearance. Gideon (26-5) will now play Glasgow in the Class 1 third-place game tonight at Mizzou Arena.
"I thought it was a great ballgame," Gideon coach Keenan Buchanan said. "I hate that we got beat in overtime.
"We made a couple mistakes there in overtime, they battled through it, and Walnut Grove ended up beating us. I thought it could have gone either way."
Things went Gideon's way during surges in the first and third quarters that had the potential to put Walnut Grove (30-2) away. Eleven straight points early in the first quarter staked the Bulldogs to an 11-2 lead before Walnut Grove standout Logan Thomazin made his next three shots -- all from behind the 3-point arc. Thomazin's sizzling shooting started a quarter-closing string of five consecutive 3-point shots made by Walnut Grove that gave the Tigers a 17-15 lead.
"When we got up 11-2, I thought, 'Here we go,' " Buchanan said. "Then he (Thomazin) came out ... and hit three good jump shots."
Thomazin, the Tigers' leading scorer through district play with a 23.4 average, finished the first-quarter flurry by draining his fourth 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining. He had 12 points in the quarter and, despite a scoreless second frame, finished with a game-high 29.
"I'd take Logan in a horse game against anybody," Walnut Grove coach Darin Meinders said. "He can shoot it, and our kids do a good job of getting it to him."
Gideon did its best to take Thomazin out of the Tigers' offense in the second quarter by having a defender shadow the sturdy 6-foot-3 sophomore no matter where he was on the floor. Dylan Pickard face-guarded Thomazin through most of the second quarter, and Glenn Redden took several turns guarding Walnut Grove's top threat after halftime.
"We tried to keep him from getting the ball back," Buchanan said of Thomazin. "I thought they (Pickard and Redden) did pretty good. He had 12 points the first quarter. What he end up with? 29? Well, I guess that would be 48 if he went for 12 every quarter."
With Thomazin held scoreless in the second quarter, the two teams entered halftime tied at 25. A Thomazin free throw opened the third-quarter scoring, but Gideon surged in front by scoring 10 straight points to build a 35-28 lead. Allen Earnheart was instrumental during the run, dropping in a long 3-pointer and delivering two slick assists on Hutchison layups. Earnheart finished with 11 points nine rebounds, while Hutchison continued his strong postseason play by adding 18 points and nine rebounds.
"I really thought when we got up by seven there, if we could get up by nine, we were about ready to go and maybe put them away," Buchanan said. "But we turned it over, and they came down and got a three-point play. I thought that was a big moment in the game."
Dallas Meinders' three-point play trimmed the score to 35-31 at the 3-minute mark, and a driving basket by Thomazin closed the quarter with the teams tied at 37.
The lead changed hands four times over the first two minutes of the fourth quarter before Gideon made 6 of 8 free throws to take a 46-42 lead with 4:09 remaining. Once again, the Bulldogs appeared on the brink of putting Walnut Grove away, but the Tigers knotted the score three more times over the final 3:42 to send the game into overtime.
"We played a heck of a team that had us on the ropes two or three times, and these kids just would not quit," Coach Meinders said.
Walnut Grove almost had its championship hopes dashed anyway when Hutchison fired up a 25-foot jumper off an inbound play from halfcourt with 3.2 seconds left. The play was designed for Earnheart but, unable to penetrate past the Walnut Grove defense, he kicked it back to Hutchison for a long 3 just before the buzzer that bounced off the front iron.
"It's not what we were looking for, but when the play breaks down and time's running out, you have to put something up," Earnheart said. "Dalen's a good player, and it just fell a little short. When that shot doesn't go down, you have to take care of business in overtime, and we didn't."
Walnut Grove wouldn't let Gideon get in front again. Meinders dropped in a basket while getting fouled 41 seconds into overtime and a three-point play by Thomazin at the 2:14 mark extended the lead to 56-51. Hutchison hit a 3-pointer to close the margin to two entering the final minute, but it was the final points Gideon would score.