Gibault tops Mater Dei in thrilling fashion
They did it again.
For the third game in a row and now several times this season, the Hawks (13-2) pulled one through in the last few seconds of the game Friday night against Mater Dei (8-8), 60-59.
“We probably didn’t deserve to win that game,” Gibault boys basketball coach Dennis Rueter said after the game.
The Hawks were down by nine-points at one point in the game and seven-points with two minutes to go when Brendan McFarland came in for a layup and put one in for the Hawks at the 1:30 mark. That sparked a streak of fouls on both sides of the ball, with Mater Dei missing five of their last six free throws of the game.
“We choked, ” Mater Dei coach Brian Perkes said in disappointment.
At the end, Nick Row put the Hawks within two-points with a much needed three-point shot with 34.5 seconds left in the game. A few fouls by both teams followed with a forced turnover by Gibault, which led to a McFarland layup with 10.5 seconds left in the game– the Hawks were down by one-point, 59-58. Therefore, Gibault had to foul on the following Mater Dei possession. Lucky for the Hawks, Mater Dei missed both free throws giving Gibault possession of the ball with 7.9 seconds on the clock.
Gibault rushed the rock down the floor with Wes Degener catching it on the run and laying it in for the win. (Wes Degener, along with teammate Matt Schreder are this week’s Republic-Times Athletes of the Week.)
Waterloo’s Justin Kretchmer started Friday’s game off with a bang, blocking the first shot of the contest and a dunk, pictured here, later in the first quarter. (Teryn Schaefer photo)Gibault will travel to New Athens on Saturday.
Also giving its fans an exciting game, the Waterloo Bulldogs boys basketball team (9-5) took Mascoutah (4-10) into overtime on Friday.
Waterloo was down three points with a little less than a minute left in the game. The Bulldogs had a missed shot and then called a time out in the final 15 seconds of the contest. They then attempted another shot and followed it with an offensive rebound. Waterloo couldn’t find an open shot and was forced to call a timeout with four seconds left in the game. The Bulldogs came out of the timeout with senior Jared Lengacher draining a three-point shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime.
Waterloo pulled through in overtime, defeating the Indians, 55-52.
Columbia (8-6) fell to rival Breese Central (11-5), 51-35.
To read more on these games, pick up a copy of the next edition of the Republic-Times– out Wednesday. Or subscribe online today!
