BISON BASKETBALL ON A ROLLLLLLLLLLLLL! New Buffalo edges Bridgman in district thriller New Buffalos Marques Artz (left) draws a foul from Matt Hendricls of Bridgman in the late going Wednesday. Hotwagners buzzer-beater completes 51-50 upset By David Johnson News Editor Published: Thursday, March 6, 2014 7:37 AM EST NILES — New Buffalo sophomore center Jarek Hotwagner saved his biggest offensive rebound and put-back of the season for the last moment of Wednesdays Class C district semifinal game against Bridgman. Hotwagners buzzer-beating bucket, scored off a missed free throw by teammate Marques Artz, was the difference in a thrilling 51-50 Bison triumph over a Bee squad that had beat them handily twice during the regular season. When I came down with it, as soon as I caught it I put it right back up ... off the glass, right in, Hotwagner said. When they say you cant, you have to. Bridgman, ice-cold from the field all evening in the Niles Brandywine gym, trailed by nine points (46-37) with a little over two minutes remaining in the game. Senior Matt Hendricks began the Bee comeback by sinking a long jumper and moments later made New Buffalo pay for missing the front end of a one-and-one opportunity by swishing a three-pointer. A Bison charge and a tie-up with the arrow pointing Bridgmans way led to a Dan Koziel 3 that left the Bison clinging to a 46-45 lead with 1:45 remaining in regulation. Koziel put the Bees on top 47-46 at the free-throw line with about a minute to go, a Marques Artz hoop had New Buffalo back in charge 48-47 at the 26-second mark, and Tyler Gnodtke made it 50-48 in Bridgmans favor with a clutch three-pointer as the clock neared the 10-second threshold. Marques Artz drove into the paint and drew the all-important foul with just 2.7 seconds remaining. He sank the first free throw to pull the Bison within a point, but missed the second chance. Not to worry. I knew he was going to go get it, Artz said of Hotwagner. Coach told him to go get the ball all game, and he finally did! Hotwagner actually got after the ball pretty well prior to the big finish — he totaled 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. If you believe in yourself you can go a long ways, said New Buffalo coach Randy Mast. I think it was a big inspiration watching the (New Buffalo) girls beat Brandywine — a lot of the boys were over there (on Feb. 28) and I think they realized that when you believe in what you want to do you can do it. New Buffalo scored the games first five points on a Hotwagner field goal and Zach Workmans three-pointer. Hendricks finally got Bridgman on the scoreboard by knocking down a trey at the 3:29 mark, but another 3 by Workman pushed New Buffalo on top 8-3. The Bees reeled off seven straight points to finish the opening period, with Shivam Patel and Jay Lowery scoring before Gnodtke connected from three-point land. Neither squad could break away during the second quarter. A steal and lay-up by Hendricks gave Bridgman a 16-13 lead, but Hotwagners late basket left the Bees clinging to a one-point advantage at half-time. Bridgman seemed to be taking control in the third stanza. A Koziel three-pointer launched a 10-2 run that saw Cooper Mojsiejenko tally the final five points with strong moves inside. But the Bees 28-21 lead was short-lived. A Marques Artz score, a 3 from Travis Maddux and John Paul Perezs scoop shot tied things up with a little over one minute subtracted from the clock. A steal and lay-up by Workman, another Maddux three-pointer and Hotwagners jumper helped the Bison carry a 35-32 advantage into the fourth quarter. New Buffalo spent the first five and a half minutes of the period building a nine-point margin (46-37) thanks to scores from Clayton Artz, Elisha Dryden and Hotwagner, followed by yet another three-point basket from Maddux. Maddux finished with 12 points. Koziel led Bridgman (17-5) with 14 points, Hendricks scored 11 and Gnodtke had 10 points. The Bees made 7 of 31 three-point attempts and were 6-for-25 on shots taken in the paint. We had a bad shooting night. New Buffalo out-hustled us and out-worked us and had a lot of clutch rebounds that made the difference in the game, said Bridgman coach Mike Miller. New Buffalo (14-7) advances to face Cassopolis for the district title at 7 p.m. Friday, March 7. The Rangers advanced with a last-second free-throw to beat district host Brandywine 48-47 in Wednesdays other semifinal.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 14:08:12 +0000
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