A controversial no-call on a travel led to a game-winning shot in the final seconds by the Western Christian Wolfpack to beat the Dell Rapids Quarrier boys 65-64 at the Sanford Pentagon Classic on Saturday, January 2nd.
The Wolfpack had an inbound along the sideline near half court with just :10 to play in the game trailing by a point. After the inbound pass was received, it appeared a couple of steps were taken prior to a dribble, but no travel call was made. The Wolfpack were able to get a shot to go through the hoop just before the buzzer sounded to steal the win.
The game was a close battle all game long between the Quarriers and Wolfpack. Western Christian held a two-point lead at the end of the first quarter 20-18. Dell Rapids took the lead into the locker room at halftime by a score of 33-32.
The Wolfpack was able to grab the lead back at the end of the third quarter and led 51-50 heading into the final quarter of play. The Quarriers held a three-point lead at 64-61 after Coby Maeschen made two free throws with about :40 to play. After a Wolfpack basket to cut the lead to 64-63, they were forced to foul with about :15 to play. Dell Rapids missed the front-end of a one-and-one, and Western Christian grabbed the defensive rebound and called timeout after crossing half court to set up the game winning play.
The Quarriers had one more chance for a buzzer-beating shot. They had to throw the ball the length of the court, but that pass was unable to be handled and couldn’t take a shot before the buzzer sounded.
Dell Rapids finished the game shooting 47% (23-49) from the field, 40% (8-20) on three-point shots, but and 71% (10-14) from the free-throw line.
Three players finished in double figures. Carter Nelson had a team-high 16 points along with seven rebounds. Connor Rentz had 14 points. Brayden Pankonen had 13 points, two assists, and two steals. Colin Rentz had nine points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
Dell Rapids (4-1) will host the Canton C-Hawks in a double-header with the girls on Thursday, January 7th. Both games can be seen on Big Sioux Media.