The Game of the Season (Thus Far)

That wasn’t the case in this year’s contest though. Led by Luc Stanley and a hot Chris Janssen, the Mustangs came back and won a thriller by a score of 62-60. 

The game seemed like it was too far gone for the Mustangs to catch up as the four-minute mark in the second quarter drew near and they were down 28-14. Almost as if an electric shock came through the gym, the Mustangs kicked into another gear for the rest of the half, going on a 14-4 run. They’d keep the momentum going through the third quarter, and it was a three-point game with eight minutes to go.

A one-score game with one quarter left can only mean one thing, it’s going to be a crazy eight minutes and it’s not going to be a quick quarter. Both were true in this game. Front Range got off to a fast start, increasing their lead before the Mustangs came roaring back. In an exciting battle between two rivals, the Mustangs and Falcons kept it close and played a back-and-forth end to the game before the Mustangs would eventually take the lead for good with just over a minute left.  

At this point, logic would say to force a turnover and dribble out the remainder of the game, so of course, the exact opposite happened. A shot was taken after Luc Stanley and Riley Allen took their time passing back and forth before passing the ball to Harrison Dority who let it fly. Front Range rebounded and then proceeded to get fouled and earned a trip to the free-throw line with less than thirty seconds left. Down by three, the game was now entirely out of the control of the Mustangs. The first shot was good. The second shot clanked loudly and everybody on the Mustangs’ side of the gym lost their mind. 

But somewhere in all the mayhem of the final minute, a foul so bad had been committed that a third free throw was in order. With all the drama of the evening, including poor officiating even by CHSAA standards (in the opinion of this writer), this seemed fitting.  

The third shot went up, off the backboard, and too far back. 

A collective sigh of relief went through the bench, but Front Range Christian had rebounded it and was trying to find a shot. Twenty seconds left. Still passing. Ten seconds left. The ball was thrown into the melee in the paint. Five seconds left. The shot goes up to tie.

Joel Decker was there waiting to collect the rebound. If it went in, a lob across the court to hopefully a waiting player would catch the pass and throw up a prayer of a buzzer-beater. If it wasn’t good, he would need to hold onto it and wait out the clock for the game to end.

With two seconds left, the errant shot fell into his hands as he out-jumped the competing Falcon, and the game ended. Mustangs 62-Falcons 60.

The next home game for the 6-5 Mustangs is on Friday, January 31 against the 6-3 Heritage Christian Eagles, so be sure to come out and cheer on the Mustangs!