A short-handed Camelot basketball team survived a furious rally to win in OT on a last second layup for a thrilling 68-66 victory against Jessie’s Brook 1st Ward on Saturday.
Jessie’s Brook got on a roll early, getting several easy scores on fastbreaks. Camelot was able to overcome their slow start and cut the lead to one until Jessie’s Brook nailed a 3 at the end of the 1st half, to take a 37-33 lead.
After some halftime adjustments, Camelot came out and moved the ball well, penetrating the lane and dishing to open men for easy buckets. They quickly erased the halftime deficit.
Jeff Michaelis and Brandon Milner had key steals in the second half that led to fastbreak points as Camelot took a 45-37 lead with 12 minutes left in the game. Mike Jensen was a monster on the boards, grabbing a game-high 19 rebounds, 10 of which were on the offensive end.
Camelot was hot from beyond the arc, shooting 46.7%. After a Landon Stabenow three, Camelot extended their 2nd half lead to 53-41 with 7 minutes left.
Jessie’s Brook would not give up, and began chipping away, cutting the lead to 9 points with less than 1:30 left. After committing fouls to stop the clock, Jessie’s Brook roared back to take a 66-65 lead with 8 seconds left by draining four heavily contested 3 pointers on four consecutive possessions.
A Jessie’s Brook player, not aware that they were ahead by one, fouled Brian Peterson with just seconds left in regulation, sending him to the line. Peterson was able to knock down one of the two free throws to send the game to overtime.
The game remained tied in overtime at 66 until a Brandon Milner steal with 12 seconds left. Milner found an open Jeff Michaelis who laid it in with the left hand with 0:04 seconds left to seal the win.
Game Notes:
Four of the six Camelot players scored in double figures. Mike Jensen led the way with 15 points and 19 rebounds, Landon Stabenow dropped in 14 points and 6 rebounds. Brian Peterson and Brandon Milner chipped in 17 points and 16 points, respectively.
The 8am game time made it a challenge to get enough players, as Adam Provance, who is out with an Achilles injury, had to play for the first 7 minutes before Jeff Michaelis was able to come in.
Camelot’s next game is this Saturday, February 24th at 10am vs Spring Creek 19th. Tournament play will begin on March 2nd.