Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Fort Sumner boys basketball team captured a regular-season district title Saturday with a 79-76 comeback victory at Logan in a clash of two highly ranked squads.
With the Foxes trailing 76-75 with less than a minute left, senior guard Joaquin Segura scored a driving bucket with 20 seconds left, then made two free throws with four seconds remaining.
A final play set up by the Longhorns gave senior guard Brock Burns a good look at what would have been a game-tying 3-pointer just before the buzzer, but his shot bounced off the rim.
Logan coach Kyle Griffiths noted three of his team’s four losses came down to the final possession.
“We have to be able to finish those close games down the stretch,” he said. “The guys are battling, and few plays here and there can make the difference in winning and losing.
“I’m proud of how we fought hard all night against a very talented team,” he added. “These tough games will pay off as we get closer to the state tournament.”
Fort Sumner, the defending state champion and ranked third in Class 1A by MaxPreps.com going into the game, improved to 19-4 overall and 5-0 in district. Its only remaining regular-season district game is at No. 1-ranked Melrose, which has a 3-2 record in district play for second place.
Logan, ranked second in Class 1A by MaxPreps, fell to 21-4 overall and 2-3 in district play.
It appeared Logan might notch its own comeback victory down the stretch. With the Longhorns trailing 73-66 midway through the fourth quarter, strong forward Hayden Bruhn scored seven of his team-high 28 points during a 10-0 run to give his team a 76-75 lead with 1:16 left.
Rebounding the ball after a missed 3-pointer by the Foxes with less than a minute left, the Longhorns seemed poised to run out the clock.
But they lost possession on a high pass that couldn’t be caught cleanly and dribbled out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Foxes.
That set up Segura’s heroics.
Both teams set high scoring paces in the first half, with Fort Sumner leading 22-21 after the first quarter and Logan leading 46-45 at halftime.
The pace slowed a bit in the third quarter, with Logan leading 61-58.
Early in the final period, the Foxes made a 15-2 scoring run to lead 73-66, before the Longhorns answered with their 10-0 run to retake the lead.
The game featured 15 lead changes.