HORACE, ND (NewsDakota.com) The final 46 seconds and inches on the rim on two occasions moved a win into the loss column for the Hi-Liners Thursday night.
After rallying from a 14-point second half deficit, Valley City forced a turnover leading 57-54 with 46.7 seconds remaining, and had a chance to push the lead to two possessions and take final control of the matchup with West Fargo Horace.
But an errant inbounds play saw the ball sail out of bounds untouched. Horace’s Carter Evenson would hit two foul shots to cut the lead to one. A Hawks foul would see Zach Sykora hit one of two for the Hi-Liners, only to watch Horace’s Carvin Fish score three on a hoop-and-harm for the gamewinning play with nine seconds left, giving the Hawks a 59-58 edge.
In the final nine seconds, the Hi-Liners would see a Sykora shot in the post go more than halfway down the rim, only to ring out, and, with a second left, an Aiden Jacobson three hit the front of the rim, the heel, the window, then hang on the front for a full second before falling off to secure the Horace victory.
It was the closest chance the Hi-Liners had at a win to date, falling to 0-8 overall, 0-6 in Eastern Dakota Conference (EDC) play. Horace improved to 2-3 in the league, 3-4 overall.
Sykora led the Hi-Liner scoring with 24 points, finishing 11-14 from the foul line. Carson Eggert scored all nine of his points after halftime, including two crucial foul shots to produce the Valley City 57-54 lead with 46 ticks remaining.
Fish, however, had a game-high 25, including the eventual gamewinner inside. Isaiah Williams added 16 in the win.
The Hi-Liners led 17-10, only to surrender an elongated 11-0 run that took some six minutes of game time in a lethargic, foul-ridden first half, giving the Hawks their four-point edge at halftime.
Horace’s lead would grow to 14 at 44-30, as the Hi-Liners were limited to just one three-point shot till the halfway point of the second half.
Then, three-point plays reversed the trend.
Carson Eggert hit from the left corner, cutting a lead to nine. Carver Peterson and Will Eggert went back-to-back from beyond to again turn away a Horace effort to rebuild the lead. Sykora was then fouled on a three-point shot, and hit all three shots, and followed with a three, lurching the Hi-Liners back in within four at 54-50.
When the Hi-Liners took a 57-54 lead in the final minute, it capped a 27-10 run. They shot 15-20 from the foul line in the second half.
Key to the effort was a defensive push head coach Ty Terry stated would be key for his team. Regularly, the Hawks were down to 10-or-less on the shot clock without a good look. Horace scored 89 points against West Fargo in their second game of the year, but were held to 18 field goals Thursday night, half of which were by Fish.
Sykora was named Ivy Real Estate Group Player of the Game.
Valley City hosts Lisbon on Saturday at noon, with the game aired on KOVC.