But for a Buzzer Beater…
December 31st, 2014
By Christy Cain
December 31, 2014
(SANTA BARBARA, Calif.) Everybody knows that in sports, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. At times you outplay your opponents and win. Other times your opponents outplay you, and you lose. But the hardest reality to accept is that sometimes your team can play an all-around solid, fundamental game and one lucky, last second shot can mess it all up.
That was certainly the case tonight in Murchison Gymnasium as the Westmont Warriors took on the Victoria (B.C) Vikes.
Coming out of halftime with a 32-27 lead, the Warriors seemed to step on the gas to expand the point gap a bit further. Two back-to-back three pointers by Britton Williams and Nate Marsing put the men’s team up by 11 points. Westmont was getting into a much needed rhythm on the court. This was the largest point differential of the game, and sadly would not last too long.
As the final 20 minutes on the clock wound down, so did the point margin between teams. The Vikes were continually working the ball down low to Chris McLaughlin, their 6-10 senior powerhouse in the paint. With McLaughlin going six for six from the field and one for one from the free throw line in the second half, he was a key factor in regaining control of the game.
The Warriors played the Vikes point for point in the final minutes—always keeping themselves within four points of a tie. With 25 seconds remaining, freshman Jerry Karczewski drained a three pointer from the left baseline to make it 61-62. Then a free throw made by Victoria’s Marcus Tibbs gave the Vikes a two point advantage.
With four seconds to go, Britton Williams pulled up in the paint and made a jumper to tie 63-63, while also drawing a foul. After a seemingly endless timeout, Williams stepped up to the line and as everyone in the gym held their breath, he made a nothing but net shot to put the Warriors up 64-63.
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