ARBUCKLE >> Trailing by 10 points most of the game and by eight with only 1:30 remaining, the Middletown Mustangs stunned Colusa 63-60 in the third-place varsity boys game of the Pierce Tournament on Friday night in Arbuckle.
“It was a fantastic team effort,” said Middletown coach G.J. Rockwell, who is on the mend from a burst appendix. “These guys played hard to the end.”
Ricardo Chaires sank one of two free throws with seven seconds left to knot the score at 60. Thomas Cook, who was later named to the All-Tournament team, stole the inbounds pass and fed the ball to teammate Beckett Hoage for the go-ahead layup and a 62-60 lead. What followed was something Rockwell said he has never seen before.
Trying to conserve time on the clock with only a few ticks left, a Colusa player rolled the ball in the direction of a teammate on the inbounds play. It’s a common practice since the clock doesn’t start until the ball is touched, but in this instance there was a glaring deficiency.
“The guy they were rolling the ball to was being guarded by Thomas,” Rockwell said.
An alert Cook simply broke down on the floor to grab the rolling ball and he was immediately fouled by a Colusa player. Cook sank one of two free throws to account for the final score. He finished with 17 points to lead the Mustangs.
Trevor LaFave also came up big for Middletown, scoring 11of his 13 points in the final period to fuel the Mustangs’ 25-point fourth-quarter surge.
Middletown plays tournament host Healdsburg on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in the opening round of the Redwood Empire Invitational at Healdsburg High School.
JV bracket
Powered by the Cervantes twins, Samuel (19 points) and Andres (15 points), the Middletown Mustangs’ junior varsity squad won the Pierce Tournament championship with a 58-46 victory over Colusa.
The Mustangs (3-0) led 42-36 entering the fourth quarter and padded their advantage with a 16-10 final period.
Noah Brown also scored in double figures for the Mustangs with 12 points.
No All-Tournament awards were given in the JV bracket.
Middletown is off until the Dec. 15-17 Record-Bee Hoop Classic at Kelseyville High School.
