Crazy Finish

I caught the end of University's game at Gonzaga Prep today and it was crazy. I expected it could be close, but I didn't think it would necessarily be go to overtime close. I was wrong, it did go to overtime thanks to some clutch Conrad Bippes free throws to tie things up with 15 seconds to go.

In overtime University jumped out to a 6 point lead almost immediately and Lloyd looked as bad as I've ever seen him, missing a quick three and air balling another. Eventually when they made their run in the final two minutes it was Hodges Flemming who carried the weight and made a key three pointer. University got sloppy and just didn't handle Prep's desperation pressure traps at all.

University was up 1 with the ball and under 30 seconds. They didn't have to score, but they couldn't turn it over. So they turned it over with about 7 seconds to go. Lloyd raced up court and corralled the arching pass over the top as he raced to the basket. Somehow he managed to get it in control and lay it in with 3 seconds. University called a timeout, but didn't run a play that did much more than get it into Bippes who turned and awkwardly dribble up the court and hurled up a shot. It seemed like the kind of play where he should have received it and directed it to a wing racing up the sideline, but that wasn't how it went down.

At this point University has lost 8 games by 7 points or less. They're a very dangerous team and will probably give CV a stern test when they play next week. On a side note it's theoretically possible that Ferris, Mead, and Gonzaga Prep could end up with 9-5 records, but it's unclear how thay would break that tie. I kind of want that to happen because it means Ferris won out and Mead beat G-Prep twice back to back, but I think the odds of this playing out that way are approaching zero. I would expect Prep to lose at most once next week and to finish solidly in second behind Central Valley.