Bulldogs’ last-second bid misses mark

Friday, January 29, 2010

By JOE MARCHILENA

Correspondent

BEDFORD – Joe Kegler got everything he wanted, down to the final possession of the game.

Everything he wanted, except the win.

With his Bedford High School boys basketball team trailing Milford by three points with 13.8 seconds left, Kegler called a timeout and drew up a play in the huddle. The play was executed as well as could be and Trevor Glassman wound up with an open 3-pointer from the corner.

The shot clanged off the rim, the rebound going to Bedford’s Michael Marinelli, who missed on a layup. Glassman found the loose ball and put up another layup while trying to draw a foul. He got neither and time expired on a 50-47 victory for the Spartans in Class I action Tuesday night.

“We wanted to run a double curl to Trevor Glassman,” Kegler said. “He got a good look, he just came up short on the shot. We ran the play that we wanted to run and next time, he is going to make that shot.”

The Bulldogs (7-2) got 16 points from Tyler Weber while Joseph Maher had 11 points and 23 rebounds. Marinelli chipped in with 10 markers.

Milford’s Mike Mitchell led all scorers with 18 points, 10 of which came in the third quarter as the Spartans built a 12-point lead. But none of his points were bigger than the four that came in the final 2:30 of the game.

Jamie Holder added 10 points while Mike O’Loughlin had just six for Milford (8-1), which was held to under 70 points for just the third time this season.

“In other games, those guys get on a roll and (Mitchell) is giving them the ball,” Milford coach Dan Murray said. “He doesn’t mind not scoring as long as the other guys are. Tonight he kind of took it on his shoulders, which is pretty awesome.”

Mitchell seemed to have control of the game in the third quarter, scoring eight points on a 10-2 run by the Spartans. His 3-pointer with 4:08 left in the quarter put Milford up 34-22 and the Spartans appeared to have things well in hand.

But Bedford went on a run of its own, outscoring Milford 21-6 over a seven-minute stretch at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth.

That run turned a 12-point deficit into a three-point lead and forced Murray to take a timeout with his team down, 43-40, with 5:21 to play. At that point, Milford had gone scoreless for nearly five minutes.

“We had a little spell at the end of the third and beginning of the fourth where we oopsed,” Murray said. “A lot of that was we rushed our offense. One guy dribbles and shoots and they come right back. It’s hard to defend that.”

Part of Milford’s struggles were caused by Bedford’s ability to control the defensive glass.

“We bore down defensively and we were limiting them to one shot,” Kegler said. “When you’re able to limit teams to one shot, good things are going to happen.”

Milford finally scored when O’Loughlin drove to the basket and laid it in, pulling the Spartans within one with 4:13 left. Bedford pushed the lead to four with a three-point play from Maher, but back-to-back baskets by Kyle Nelson and Mitchell tied the game.

Mitchell sank two free throws with 13.8 seconds remaining to put the Spartans up three and set up Bedford’s final possession.

“It was an intense game,” Kegler said. “When you’re playing the No. 1 team in Class I, you have to step up to the challenge, and I think our kids did that.”

The crowd added to the game’s intensity. The parking lot near the Bedford gym was full 20 minutes before the scheduled start and students from both schools packed the bleachers. Enough Milford fans made the trip that the Bedford administrators had to pull the bleachers as far out as they could.

“When we came in, they didn’t have the bleachers pulled out very far,” Murray said of Milford’s cheering section, which was behind both benches. “The student body has bonded well with the team. The fans are proud of their travel. (Bedford) had a huge crowd. When you start winning games, that happens.”

The crowd got a little too involved early in the third quarter.

As Holder lined up for two free throws, two people dressed in neon green Spandex suits that went from head to toe, ran out onto the Milford baseline and waved at Holder before he took his first shot. The duo moved before the officials noticed them and went over to join the Bedford student section.

When Bedford went to the free throw line for the first time in the half – two shots for Weber – a Milford student made it to the Bedford baseline and stayed there for the first shot before being escorted by a police officer back to the stands.

As the crowd noise grew, players on the floor began jawing with players on the benches and before Weber could take his second shot, Murray called a timeout.

After the break, both sides cooled off, and the game continued without further incident.