By GREG MENGELT
JEFFERSONVILLE — Kegan Clark’s 3-pointer at the buzzer sent Jeffersonville into overtime, where V.J. Billups and Evan Maschmeyer had four points apiece to help the Red Devils to a 64-60 Hoosier Hills Conference win over Bedford North Lawrence.
Bedford’s Alex Pritchett hit 1-of-2 free throws to give the Stars a 56-53 with 6.5 seconds remaining in regulation. After a Jeff overtime, Clark turned a broken play into a 23-foot 3-pointer over Pritchett as the buzzer sounded to send them game into an extra session.
“It felt good as soon as it left my hand,” Clark said. “I knew it was going in.”
“It wasn’t the way it was drawn up,” Jeffersonville coach Tim LaGrange admitted. “(The intended play) got busted up, and they guarded it well. We had a kid step up and make a big shot.”
“Once I saw it go through the net, I was just extremely happy that we had a chance to win the game,” Jeff junior Evan Maschmeyer recalled.
“That was a phenomenal shot,” Bedford North Lawrence coach Jamie Hudson said. “A fall away 3-pointer over a 6-foot-8 player with a hand in his face. That’s the reason why he’s a Division I basketball player.”
Clark’s 3 made up for two earlier errors. With 41 seconds left and the Stars seemingly content to give Jeff the final shot with the score tied at 53, Clark took an ill-advise 15-foot shot that missed.
After BNL’s Dominic Newport’s layup gave the Stars the lead, 55-53, Clark’s 3-point attempt went in-and-out, leading to Pritchett’s free throw and a 3-point Bedford lead.
“They were content to let us run the clock out, and I thought Kegan went in and took a contested shot, which is not what we wanted at all,” LaGrange said.
“I knew it was a bad shot as soon as I shot it,” Clark admitted. “They weren’t guarding us, so I knew I should have waited until time expired, but I moved forward and hit the shot (at the buzzer).”
In the overtime, Billups hit the first two shots of the period, then Maschmeyer put the game away with four free throws, the final two coming with 1.2 seconds left.
Before overtime, Maschmeyer had scored just five points, going 2 for 9 from the field. Billup had just two in the first four quarter and was 1-of-6.
“I told them in the break, before the overtime, it doesn’t matter what you did before overtime, we’re in a four-minute game,” LaGrange recalled. “Have a bad memory right now. If V.J. had finished in regulation like he did in overtime, it wouldn’t have been a game.”
“I like having the ball in my hands,” said Maschmeyer, who also had two steals and two assists in the win. “I just tried to step up and knock them down. I haven’t shot free throws well all season, so this should give me some confidence.”
One of the key plays in overtime came with 41.4 seconds left and the game tied at 60 apiece. Jeff senior Drake Coleman knocked the ball out of Braden Knight’s hands. Coleman then dove to the floor, grabbed the ball and called timeout. On the next possession, Maschmeyer hit the go-ahead free throws with 26.3 seconds left.
“That’s just a great hustle play,” LaGrange said. “That’s a senior stepping up and making a big play.”
Bedford took an early 16-6 lead behind Pritchett, who scored 13 first-quarter points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Jeff cut the Stars’ lead to 20-15 with a 9-1 run, but the Stars scored the final five points of the quarter.
The Red Devils outscored Jeff 13-8 in the second quarter with Pritchett in foul trouble. A.J. Adams scored eight points and six rebounds in the third quarter, spurring the Devils to a 48-43 lead after three periods.
In the fourth, Pritchett scored five more points and grabbed four more boards — for a title of 29 points and 12 rebounds — to help the Stars take a late lead. However, the junior’s missed free throw opened the door for Clark’s heroics.
“He played great,” Hudson said of Pritchett, who went 11 for 16 from the field. “Sure, we would have liked him to score one more point, but he was phenomenal.”
“He’s hard to guard,” LaGrange said of the Star junior. “I think he is a Division I player. There’s no question about that. He’s very much improved from last year, especially in his perimeter game. I think they’re a dangerous team. They’re a lot better than their record. They’re putting things together at the right time.”
Jeff outrebounded the Stars 31-26 and had 13 offensive rebounds. In fact, 12 of Jeff’s 15 first-quarter points came on second opportunities.
“We made some gutsy plays,” LaGrange said. “I thought our effort won the game for us. It wasn’t execution. It wasn’t making shots. It wasn’t playing great defense, but we did have nice effort and that was obvious on the offensive glass. We had good energy.”
The defeat was the Stars’ first in the HHC, but they are only 6-7 overall against what has been a tough schedule.
“We’re all right. We haven’t been blown out yet,” Hudson said of the Stars 6-7 record. “We’re in all of those games. All of these guys are getting quality minutes, and I’ll have everybody back (next year). We’re going to be just fine down the road.”
Jeffersonville is now 11-4 overall and still in the HHC race at 4-1. The Red Devils host 9-3 Castle tonight.
BEDFORD NL 22 8 13 13 4—60
JEFFERSONVILLE 15 13 20 8 8—64
Bedford North Lawrence (6-7, 3-1 HHC) — Newport 4, Carrico 1, Roberts 5, Knight 14, Burton 3, Bailey 4, Pritchett 29.
Jeffersonville (11-4, 4-1 HHC) — Adams 16, Clark 16, Coleman 10, Billups 6, Jon. Ellis 5, Jor. Ellis 2, Maschmeyer 9.
3-point field goals — Bedford North Lawrence 4 (Pritchett 3, Roberts); Jeffersonville 5 (Coleman 2, Clark, Jon. Ellis, Maschmeyer).
Rebounds — Bedford North Lawrence 26 (Pritchett 12); Jeffersonville 31 (Adams 13).
Turnovers — Bedford North Lawrence 11, Jeffersonville 11.
