East Oregonian
PENDLETON — Before each Pendleton basketball practice wraps up, the boys shoot free throws. Dozens and dozens of free throws. Each miss buys that player a lap, down and back, back to the basket to shoot again.
“We run a lot,” Pendleton’s Zane Schnetzky said. “You have to shoot all those free throws before you can even get a drink.”
Perhaps trained to be wary of punishment, like a Pavlov’s dog in reverse, those trips must have been subconsciously perking up in the back of the Buckaroos players’ heads Tuesday night against Southridge (WA). The Bucks shot 19-25 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime to hold off a charging Suns squad 84-40.
Perhaps trained to be wary of punishment, like a Pavlov’s dog in reverse, those trips must have been subconsciously perking up in the back of the Buckaroos players’ heads Tuesday night against Southridge (WA). The Bucks shot 19-25 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime to hold off a charging Suns squad 84-40.
Perhaps trained to be wary of punishment, like a Pavlov’s dog in reverse, those trips must have been subconsciously perking up in the back of the Buckaroos players’ heads Tuesday night against Southridge (WA). The Bucks shot 19-25 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter and overtime to hold off a charging Suns squad 84-40.
Schnetzky and teammate Logan Anderson were responsible for nine of the 10 made free throws during overtime.
“That was huge, without those there’s no way we pull that off,” Pendleton coach David Norton said.
The Suns (3-3) of Kennewick, Wash., finished the game with 27 fouls as Southridge hoped to extend its own life. The Suns were banking on missed free throws, which were few and far between, but managed to pull themselves back to a tie from 12 points down in the final six minutes.
Leading 57-45, the Bucks (4-3) became a little too lackadaisical with their perimeter defense. Led by guard Nick Haberling, who sunk seven 3-pointers and finished with 26 points, the visitors to Warberg Court pulled to within a point with 25 seconds to go. There, Anderson made another pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 70-67.
When the next Suns’ possession yielded a makable lay-up under the basket that ricocheted off a Buckaroo player and out of bounds, Southridge called a timeout for a chance to pass the ball in bounds with 10 seconds remaining.
Coach Norton figured he knew where the pass was going.
“We were trying to overplay, a defense to overplay the 3-point shot,” Norton said. “But we let him get loose and didn’t find him on the reversal.”
But “him” wasn’t Haberling this time. The in-bounds pass hit Spencer Vorheis in the post and the Pendleton defenders crashed in on the 6-foot-4 Sun. Vorheis dished the ball out of the trap and off to the top of the arc. This time David Mazzei was the guard with the soft touch, draining a 3-pointer with five seconds to play.
The Bucks wouldn’t get a good look at the basket before the fourth quarter expired, setting up the nerve-testing finish.
But the Bucks had to play their final four-minute period without two starters. Post Joel Boozer had fouled out late in the fourth quarter — putting his 15 points and nine rebounds on the bench — and on the first possession of overtime, Pendleton lost Donte Robinson. The speedy junior missed a lay-up and twisted an ankle on the landing. Pendleton’s Tommy Lane got the put-back rebound and bucket, but the damage appeared to be done.
On a night when only seven Buckaroos were dressed for action, the bench depth for Pendleton sat at zero for the home stretch.
“It kind of busted our hearts but we fought back in the overtime and came back,” said Pendleton’s Quincy George, who led the game with 27 points.
“It was definitely killer,” Anderson added. “But it was good to have Isaiah (Polhamus) come in off the bench. He’s not much of a scorer but he hustles, lots of speed and doesn’t make stupid plays.”
Polhamus helped force a turnover on the Suns’ second-to-last possession before Schnetzky sealed the deal with his final two free throws.
Robinson and Anderson both finished with 13 points and Schnetzky scored eight — six coming from the charity stripe. Anderson also had five assists and eight rebounds.
Behind the Suns’ Haberling, Mazzei scored 19 points and Austin Molt had another 17. Molt, though, was one of two players to foul out in the overtime period for Southridge.
The Suns led only twice in the game: at 3-2 on a Haberling long-range bucket and at 73-72 early in overtime on a similar shot.
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Contact AJ Mazzolini at [email protected] or (541) 966-0839.