Sophomore forward Will Marsh took center stage on both offense and defense in the final seconds of overtime to help Bulloch Academy nip St. Andrew’s School 31-29 Saturday afternoon.
With the score tied 29-29 with under a minute to go in the extra period, the lanky Marsh pulled down an offensive rebound and put the ball back up, banking it through the net with 31.7 left for the Gator lead.
The Lions from Wilmington Island brought the ball down court and worked it around, burning time off the clock while looking for the easy shot. Bulloch’s defense tightened and SAS called timeout with 10.9 left.
St. Andrew’s inbounded the ball and made a few passes around the perimeter. Guard Nate Mayo saw an opening and began to drive the lane. But Marsh planted himself and stayed erect as Mayo crashed into him. As both young men hit the floor, the whistle blew and a referee motioned for the offensive player control foul with 1.1 seconds left. Marsh took the hard charge and gave the Gators back the ball.
Bulloch sophomore guard Smith Reeves flung it past half court on the inbounds. Junior guard Bill Sheppard leaped high to retrieve it and pushed it toward the middle of the floor. A SAS player caught it as the buzzer sounded.
In the girls’ game, BA head coach Paul Webb played mix-and-match with his players from the opening tip as the Lady Gators overpowered the Lady Lions 46-30.
In the finale, Bulloch (9-5) trailed the entire first half.
Senior Forest Spence took the reins at point guard and worked hard to keep the Gators close in the defensive battle. While the Bulloch boys played heads-up defense, baskets were few and far between for them. Layups rolled in and around while the high-percentage shots clanged off the rim.
The quick St. Andrews’ squad battled hard with the Gators and took a 9-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. Bulloch got more aggressive in the second quarter and outscored the Lions 7-4 to trim the SAS lead to 13-9 by halftime.
In the third, Smith and Marsh added buckets early as BA knotted the score at 13. The Bulloch’s shooting woes continued and SAS (6-11) went up 22-17 at the end of the quarter.
The Gators seemed to double their efforts on offense and defense in the fourth. Bulloch went on a 5-0 run to knot the score at 22. Spence, who led the Gators with nine, hit two foul shots with 3:02 remaining.
St. Andrew’s got up by three and held that lead until late. With 21.8 seconds left, Sheppard drove the lane and was fouled as his shot went in. His free throw tied the contest at 27. Sheppard had eight points for BA.
SAS got the ball and got crossed half court, calling timeout with 8.0 seconds left to set up a game-winning strategy. But the BA defense rose to the occasion again as SAS couldn’t find an open man and was called for the five-second violation. BA got the ball in but couldn’t get a game-winning shot, sending the game into overtime.
In the girls’ game, Bulloch shuffled players in and out and used modified lineups in their victory. But, they still used the same tactics.
The Lady Gators (16-2) charged out to an 8-0 lead with just 40 ticks off the clock. Quick guards Ashley Burke and Brooke Gilbert had backcourt steals and two buckets each. Bulloch took a 19-5 lead at the end of the quarter.
Webb emptied his bench early and often in the second quarter, giving every girl a chance for quality minutes. The Lady Lions (6-8) didn’t roll over though and battled hard in the eight-minute span. Bulloch took a 30-14 halftime lead.
In the third, senior forward Anna Newton led the charge, netting eight of her team-high 16 points. She didn’t play in the fourth. But SAS freshman guard Kate Maner matched her, scoring eight of her team-high 16 in the third as well.
In B-team boys’ action, Ivan Chen, a junior foreign exchange student from China, scored 14 points to lead Bulloch to a 36-19 victory.
Bulloch has three home games next week. The BA boys host Bethesda Monday while both squads are back in action Tuesday when Mount de Sales from Macon comes to call. Bulloch gets back into Region 4-AAA action Friday, hosting Augusta Preparatory School.
Gators take down St. Andrew's in OT, girls win big