Ballard's Buzzer-Beater Lifts Braves Over Eskymos
ESCANABA---They've had so many near-misses that they were beginning to think that they were jinxed, and might not ever win another basketball game again. Blake Ballard's leaping rebound and shot off a Jared Vuksan miss as time ran out gave the Braves an emotional 66-65 win over an Escanaba team that left it all on the court. The buzzer-beater capped a game that saw both teams go on offensive spurts, but neither could pull away from the other. "They did a nice job of mixing up their defenses," Gladstone Coach Phil Griebel said. "They were confusing us, going man, then 1-3-1, then 2-3 (zones). We were trying to get Vucks the ball down in the block there, and he got it, and shot it, and Blake came out of nowhere. He got up there so high, and I was so happy for him. I was like 'please go in, please go in'." "Our kids played a great game," Escanaba Coach Tracy Hudson said. "Sometimes when you play in a rivalry games, it comes down to one shot. And Gladstone made the play. But I was happy with how our kids battled, and how they took the lead late. Some plays could have gone either way." Trailing 65-64 with eight seconds to play, the Braves inbounded the ball and moved it around to Vuksan. His shot popped out, but Ballard jumped up, got the ball, and sank the winner, delighting the large Braves student section. "Vuks had it the end and he missed it, and I just went for the rebound," Ballard said. "It was just luck. It came my way. I had no idea how much time I had left. This was a great win, after the seven losses we've had, especially coming against Esky." The Braves were in a similiar situation Tuesday night against Marquette, when Vuksan missed a shot at the end and Gladstone lost in overtime. But Griebel says that this time, the play call was a bit different. "We absolutely needed this one," Griebel said. "When they made their shot and took their lead, I was like 'oh no', here we go again. But Blake came out of nowhere. It was huge." How did Escanaba see that last play? "It looked like we tried to cover the perimeter," Hudson said. "They got the shot, and we kind of all helped on the shot. Then somebody (Ballard) came in from the left side, left the ground, and tipped it in. I tried to call time out, but, I guess time had expired, and that was the game." The game was full of streaks. Escanaba led, 11-6, in the first quarter, when sophomore Ben Kleiman nailed back-to-back three-pointers, and senior Dakota Tryan hit an old-fashioned three-point play. But the Braves went on a 15-2 run as Kyle Kleiman scored two baskets and four other players scored.
"I just told my kids how proud I am of them," Hudson said. "Gladstone deserved the victory. We're just gonna try to get better this next week." |