TUKWILA - Anthony McCluskey's basket at the ending buzzer of a four-minute overtime on the Tim Parker Court sent Kennedy Catholic to a 54-52 Seamount League boys basketball win at Foster High School on Friday, Dec. 7, in a tussle that each team was in position to win throughout.
Kennedy raised its league record to 2-0 and 3-0 overall while Foster dropped to 1-1 and 2-3 respectively.
"I'm really proud of our guys," said Bulldog head coach Isaac Tucker. "They persevered and fought back. For our kids to fight back and take it to them helps in the long run. Well be so much better for what happened. Our team had three chances to take the lead and turned the ball over each time. We'll work on what we need to improve. Better to find out now than in late season."
Overtime was a true microcosm of the entire regulation game action.
Despite nearly one and one-half minutes of ball possession on the initial overtime possession, the home Bulldogs were unable to score. Cole Madison was fouled inside and converted two free throws at the 2:38 mark. Following a Foster missed shot, Josh Sierhuis scored a Lancer field goal for a 50-46 lead with 1:54 left. Fifteen seconds later, Ronnie Roberson horsed home a Bulldog rebound basket.
After a Kennedy back court turnover, Foster returned the favor by losing the ball to set up Michael Sasonoff's driving lay up with 1:14 showing. The resilient Bulldogs closed in on Adem Suta's pair of charity tosses and just missed a tie score when Jimaun Horton's inside leaner failed to drop.
With 8.4 seconds remaining, Suta popped home a short basket for a 52-52 stalemate. KC inbounded from back court and barely delivered the ball to McCluskey in time for the quick pop shot that bounced gently off the inside rim and back down into the basket.
"We turned the ball over too much, but our kids kept playing and playing good defense," said Lancer head coach Don Hoffman. "Foster was able to pressure us. This was a good game for both teams to learn. I think Foster feels the same way. Each gave a great effort."
Madison mined the middle for Kennedy Catholic's first six points as a catalyst for Lancers. McCluskey, Sierhuis and Steven Yanak joined the charge for a 10-0 run and a 13-3 KC margin. Horton homed in 3-pointer only to have the lightning Lancers retaliate with a seven point blitz. Chris Jamison hit a 3-pointer for Foster, but Kennedy headed into the second quarter with a 20-9 advantage.
Bludgeoning defense brought the Bulldogs back into the fight by way of forced turnovers that triggered transition open shots. Salvos of 3-point goals fired up the offense as well in the din of Foster supporters chanting "Bulldog Power".
Foster outscored Kennedy 10-3 to trail only 23-19 at the half.
Suta's 3-point bomb pulled the Bulldogs within 32-22 to open the second half before momentum moved back to the Lancers for a 39-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Trailing 43-32 with 4:57 left in regulation, the Bulldogs revived their attacking defense and running game. Tyerel Brown flipped in a five-foot basket to tie the score at 43-43 with just more than two minutes in regulation.
Foster called a time out after regaining the ball and set up a play. Drew Cusack stole the ball eventually leading a Madison standard 3-point play and a 46-43 Kennedy lead.
With 1:14 left, Jamison notched a lay up following his half court steal. Two missed KC free throws and a prolonged Bulldog possession resulted in no points.
After Kennedy Catholic missed the front end of a one-and-one foul line chance, Jamison drove the lane and was fouled with 7.2 seconds remaining. His first shot missed off the back rim, but his second shot was true to the mark, necessitating overtime.
Madison had a big game for Kennedy Catholic, scoring 20 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Sierhuis had nine rebounds to go along with eight points. McCluskey finished with eight points.
Suta (15), Jamison (11) and Horton (10) were the trio of double figures scorers for Foster.
