Franklin’s Nate Corley, left, and Grant Hunter, right, knock a rebound away from Columbus North’s Tyler Blythe during Tuesday’s sectional game.
Mike Wolanin | For the Daily Journal
COLUMBUS
Talk about a wild finish.
Franklin had several opportunities to get the game-tying basket to send the game into overtime, but the defense stood its ground in the end as host Columbus North survived for a 40-38 win in a Class 4A sectional opener on Tuesday night.
With 1:03 left to play, the Grizzly Cubs (10-14) had possession of the ball. They took a couple shots that were off the mark, but the offensive rebounds kept the possession in their favor. With 19.1 seconds left following a Franklin timeout, North’s Luke Harmon tipped the inbounds pass to Tyler Blythe to give the Bull Dogs the ball.
The problem for the Grizzly Cubs was that they had 13.1 seconds to commit six fouls because they only had one foul prior in the second half. On the fourth inbounds pass, Franklin’s Grant Hunter stole the ball and created an opportunity for a jumper just inside the 3-point line. That shot and then a putback attempt by Dylan Beverly were both off the mark, and North’s Cooper Horn rebounded and threw the ball ahead to Tyer Blythe as the buzzer sounded.
“That’s how it goes sometimes,” Franklin coach Adrian Moss said. “Wyatt Nickleson and Grant Hunter, I’ll take those shots any day of the week. I saw them going in, but it wasn’t meant for us this year.”
The Bull Dogs (15-8) shared the ball early with several players contributing in the scoring column to go ahead 9-5. Micah Davis was quiet for much of the first half for Franklin, but he made his presence felt towards the end. The Grizzly Cubs closed out the opener quarter with a 7-0 run that ended with a buzzer-beater from Davis just inside the midcourt line to put themselves ahead, 12-9.
Beverly hit a 3-pointer from the right side of the arc during a 7-2 run by Franklin that made it 19-11. Following a timeout, the Bull Dogs started settling down and getting into their offensive groove. Damon Edwards was open for a couple buckets in the paint, and Luke Harmon drained two 3-pointers to end the first half on a 10-0 run that gave North a 21-19 edge at the break.
Momentum looked to be in the Bull Dogs’ favor to start the second half, as they led 27-23. Hunter stalled that momentum with a 3-pointer for Franklin, then also nailed a 3-pointer late in the quarter to make it only a 32-31 deficit heading into the fourth quarter.
Blythe said the defensive effort in Tuesday’s game was 98% executed, with the hiccup being a Nickleson 3-pointer to start the game.
Harmon led the Bull Dogs with 13 points, and Damon Edwards added 10.
“We did a great job of playing with poise. There were moments in the game that we didn’t play very well; that first quarter was terrible,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We kept saying to the guys, ‘Boys, we‘ve got this. Listen to our coaching,’ and they did. I’m really proud of my seniors tonight for the way they gutted out a game when they didn’t have their best stuff tonight.”
Davis led Franklin with a game-high 18 points. Beverly, the team’s lone senior, added seven points and seven rebounds.
“We lost to seven seniors, and I think those guys deserved it,” Moss said. “I think if we can give those guys that type of battle with one senior, I think we’re going to be tough to beat next year. That’s my focus as of now. I appreciate everything Dylan Beverly did for us this year. I appreciate our team, but we have to get better. But I thought we played our butts off.”
The Grizzly Cubs committed 17 turnovers to only six for North.
“We have to take that step not only maturity-wise physically, but also mentally, just growing up a little bit,” Moss said. “I think you have to go through moments like this to do special things. If you want to be a state championship team, you have to go through the lows to get to the highs. We won sectional last year, and we came back this year. We didn’t get it done, but we’re going to focus on next year and try to come back and get it done.”