With a half second on the clock and the game tied, Malachi James stepped to the free-throw line with two chances to win the game for the Beresford Watchdogs. James missed the first shot, but sank the second free throw to give the Watchdogs a 52-51 win in a wild game on Saturday, February 3rd.
Beresford seemed to be headed down an easy path to their fourth straight win after the first two quarters of play. The Watchdogs led 14-10 at the end of the first quarter and then extended their lead to 32-21 by halftime. Things then started to change for the Cubs.
Alcester-Hudson chipped away at the lead in the third quarter and shrunk the lead to 45-40 going into the fourth quarter. The Cubs cut the lead to 47-46 with about 6:30 to play in the game. The score remained 47-46 for almost the next four minutes. Alcester-Hudson broke the scoring drought by both teams with a basket to take a 48-47 lead with 2:40 to go. Aidan Hamm put the Watchdogs back in front 50-48 after a three-point shot with 1:15 remaining. Hamm made one of two free throws with :21 on the clock to give the Watchdogs a 51-48 advantage. Dominic Van Egdom tied the game with a three-point basket with :05.7 left.
James took the inbound pass after a timeout and sprinted down the court. He leaped towards the hoop on a lay-up attempt as Van Egdom tried to slide in and take the charge. A blocking foul was called with :00.5 to go putting James on the free-throw line for the game-winning free throw.
Seth James had 13 points for the Watchdogs. Hamm had 12 points. M. James finished with eight points. Jon DeLay also had eight points, and Andrew Atwood tallied five points.
