BATTLE GROUND — As Battle Ground drew up its final play in the timeout, trailing by one point with 14 seconds left in overtime, there was no question where the ball was going: to junior guard Brendan Beall.
“He does it every day in practice,” Battle Ground coach Manny Melo said. “He was the guy.”
The Tigers were forced to change the play they drew up, but the ball got into Beall’s hands and he hit a deep 3-pointer to lift Battle Ground over Prairie in overtime 69-68 in a non-league rivalry game at Battle Ground High School on Tuesday night.
“Big players make big shots,” Melo said.
Such was the case for both teams in a game that went back-and-forth throughout its entirety and was capped by come-from-behind game-winners at the end of regulation and overtime.
The Tigers (4-2) led by three in the final seconds of the fourth quarter when Prairie senior Thomas Hapgood hit a 3 at the buzzer to force overtime.
— Andy Buhler (@AndyBuhler) December 12, 2018
And when the Tigers turned to their guards after 6-foot-9 forward Kaden Perry fouled out with 2:30 left in the fourth, they delivered. Battle Ground was led by Vincent McCormic’s 16 points, Perry’s 15, and 14 from Nate Millspaugh. Five Tigers scored in double figures. Kameron Osborn led Prairie (1-4) with 19 points, Bronson King added 15 and Aidan Fraly added 14.
Osborn, a returning All-Region guard, missed the two games leading up to Tuesday with a tweaked back. He played, though not without pain, according to coach Kyle Brooks.
Still, the senior guard proved a tough mark, hitting an isolation jumper to tie the game going into half before logging 13 of his 19 points in the second half.
That helped Prairie maintain a one-point lead after three quarters. But BG began the fourth quarter with a 13-4 run to lead by as much as eight with 2:30 left in the fourth quarter.
Prairie inched back, thanks in part due to repeat trips to the free throw line, where they were 5 of 6 in the final quarter.
They also drew five total charges — one more than their team goal, Brooks said. That helped take Battle Ground’s centerpiece out of the mix.
“We knew we had to get Kaden out of the game, get him in foul trouble, we thought maybe a little earlier we’d get him out, and he played a heck of a game, but we were able to foul him out,” Brooks said. “At that point it was anybody’s game.”
Osborn hits a pair of free throws with 34.6 left to pull Prairie within two. BG hit one of two free throws on the other end before Prairie got the ball back on the last possession of regulation leading up to Hapgood’s game-tying 3-pointer.
Osborn often saw double teams and extra pressure, which left King open to hit key shots, which Brooks said proved pivotal.
“They sort of chose that he was going to be the guy they would leave open and they left him open quite and bit and he knocked down some big shots for us,” Brooks said.
Melo told his team, particularly the seniors, before the game about his final game against Prairie as a Battle Ground senior. BG lost by three, and he reminded them how that felt. Hunter-Holliday took that to heart.
“To win it the way we did, the back-and-forth, it’s like a movie,” Melo said. “You can’t draw that stuff up. That’s what I expected coming into tonight. It’s a rivalry game. You throw the stats out, records out, personnel out.”
BATTLE GROUND 69, PRAIRIE 68 OT
PRAIRIE (1-4) — Aidan Fraly 14, Kameron Osborn 19, A.J. Dixson 7, Zeke Dixson 8, Thomas Hapgood 3, Mark Frazier 0, Gabe Lilly 2, Brady Gagnon 0, Bronson King 15. Totals 21 (6) 20-26 68.
BATTLE GROUND (4-2) — Jaiden Linville 0, KeAndre Hunter-Holliday 10, Vincent McCormic 16, Colin Barton 2, Nathan Millspaugh 14, Brendan Beall 12, Kaden Perry 15, Lukas Karlsson 0. Totals 21 (6) 18-27 69.
Prairie 12 18 15 20 3—68
Battle Ground 14 16 14 21 4—69
