MAXWELL, CA (MPG) – It’s always difficult to predict what will happen in a rivalry game, and such was the case last Friday night, when a short-handed Williams squad came from behind to stun the hometown Panthers 45-43 in the final seconds of the Mid-Valley League contest.
Down two points at halftime, Maxwell had outscored Williams 12-3 in the third quarter to take an eight-point lead into the final period, after big-man Macklin Kuska drained a three at the buzzer.
Yet, it wasn’t enough cushion, as miscues by the Panthers allowed the Yellowjackets to fight back and ultimately get the go-ahead bucket with just 2.5 seconds remaining.
Although it was a competitive contest throughout, things got really interesting with 1:40 left on clock, when Williams’ Kyden Bowen hit a long range three to make it a one-possession game.
One minute later, Bowen came up big again, drilling another three to knot the score at 43-43.
Unfortunately for Maxwell, a turnover on the ensuing inbounds gave the ball back to the Yellowjackets with 34 ticks left on the clock.
Managing the time well, the ‘Jackets executed to perfection as Jose Martinez laid in what proved to be the game-winner off a feed from Diego Ambriz.
It was just what the Williams squad needed, after a rough outing earlier in the week where they lost 27-44 to Los Molinos in its first MVL game, as coach Jeff Lemus explained.
“We are technically still on winter break, so we haven’t had much practice at all,” said Lemus. “We have only six guys because some haven’t returned yet and we also lost Daniel Brunner to an injury in our game with Los Mo. We really needed this one to stay competitive in the division.”
Sophomore Diego Ambriz had a big night for the ‘Jackets with a game-high 18 points, in addition to assisting on the game’s final basket, while Bowen pumped in 17 points.
Still, according to Lemus, the key to the win rested with Martinez, who had 10 points in the contest.
“We said at halftime that we needed Martinez to step up in the second half and that’s exactly what he did.”
For the Panthers, who logged an easy 50-38 win over Hamilton City earlier last week, it was a gut-wrenching loss on their home court.
Cristian Lara finished with 14 points, and Tanner Vierra added 11 points, but excitement got the better of Maxwell down the stretch as they did not use enough clock in their late possessions, giving Williams the time it needed to get back in the game.
While the Panthers (7-11, 1-1) looked to get back on track with games against CORE Butte on Tuesday and Biggs tonight, the Jackets’ (4-12, 1-1) hoped to have a full complement of players at home against Hamilton City on Jan. 16 and CORE Butte this evening.