Franklin boys win on last-second putback

<p>For the Daily Journal</p><p>COLUMBUS</p><p>Drew Byerly was in the right place at the right time Saturday night.</p><p>Byerly got off a putback just before the buzzer sounded, and it banked in to give Franklin a 60-58 boys basketball victory at Columbus North, spoiling the Bull Dogs’ senior night.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>“The long rebound came to me, and I was able to get the shot in, and we were able to get the win,” Byerly said. “It was a cool experience and a good team win.”</p><p>The game featured four lead changes in the final two minutes. The Bull Dogs (15-6), who had trailed by as many as 10 points, took a 53-51 lead on a pair of free throws by Blake Barker with 1:50 remaining.</p><p>The Grizzly Cubs (15-7) regained the lead on a 3-pointer by Reece Thomson 10 seconds later. North got a basket from Reese Harmon to go back in front, but Thomson scored on a backdoor layup to give Franklin a 56-55 lead with 47 seconds left.</p><p>Thomson added a one-and-one for a three-point lead with 15 seconds remaining. Barker then was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three free throws to tie the game with 5.7 seconds left.</p><p>The Grizzly Cubs got the ball to Thomson, who missed a 3-pointer. But Byerly grabbed the ball at the elbow and banked it in.</p><p>“(Thomson) was the guy that we wanted,” Franklin coach Brad Dickey said. “We had a partner with him in front of him so he could shoot it or dump it down. He did a good thing by getting it up in the air, and then Drew cleaned it up.”</p><p>Thomson finished with 27 points, including 20 in the second half, to lead all scorers. Cory Richards added 16 for the Grizzly Cubs.</p><p>“We just had some good luck there at the end and got in the right spots a couple of times,” Dickey said. “We had played very well throughout the game and got maybe a little tired, a little weak with the ball on a couple of possessions. Then, we had to make up for it.”</p>