Twice in the fourth quarter Bruton junior Mike Sangalang converted an offensive rebound into points. They were his only scores of the game, but they also happened to be the two biggest plays of the entire contest.
In a game that fittingly came down to the final seconds, Bruton’s boys basketball team edged cross-town rival Lafayette 70-68 in thrilling fashion Friday night.
With the game tied 64-all and a little less than three minutes left in the final period after host Lafayette rallied from a seven-point deficit, Sangalang stuck back Lonnie Swinton’s missed 3-point attempt to put the Panthers back on top 66-64.
After Rams’ star John Fitchett (27 points) buried a deep two to tie things 68-68 roughly two minutes later, Bruton had possession with 45 seconds on the clock and elected to hold for one shot. That shot ended up being a contested mid-range pull up by Kapri Doucet, which ricocheted off the back of the rim. As the final seconds ticked off the game clock, Sangalang corralled the ball at the free-throw line just in time to turn around and convert the game-winning layup at the buzzer (see video below).
“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Sangalang said after the game. “We were trying to hold for the last shot, it wasn’t drawn up for one person or anything we were just trying to run the offense.
“When I saw the loose ball, I wasn’t looking at the clock; I just went for it and put it up.”
Sangalang’s game winner capped off what was a truly entertaining, back-and-forth contest that had the environment – especially in the final stages – of a late-season showdown with postseason implications on the line.
After Bruton won the first meeting of the season between the two sides 63-46, never was a deficit for either team more than seven this time. There were 10 lead changes in the first half alone.
“Anytime you put two rivals on the court you’re going to get the best of both teams,” Bruton coach Joe Dillard said. “I commend Lafayette. They sold themselves on defense and staggered our offense a bit, but at the end we still mustered ways to make shots.”
Defense was the story early as both teams opened with heavy pressure, which led to 19 combined turnovers in the first half.
Fitchett, Lafayette’s leading scorer at right around 20 points per game, struggled finding his jumper in the first half but did what all good scorers do and got to line where he earned seven of his 11 first-half points. Fitchett, who was 5-14 shooting from the floor, finished an impressive 15-16 from the charity stripe.
Bruton also struggled with its shooting touch early as the Panthers connected on just two first-half 3-pointers. But Bruton did an excellent job crashing the offensive glass for second-chance points, thanks in large part to Marcus Carter (25 points) and Chad Simmons (10 points), who combined for 22 of the Panthers’ 33 points in the first half.
The score was 33-33 at the break.
While Carter continued his strong play in the second half with eight third-quarter points, Bruton also got a big lift off the bench from Swinton, who knocked down a pair of 3’s in the third quarter, the latter coming at the horn as the Panthers led 56-52 heading into the final eight minutes.
Lafayette coughed up five turnovers in the third quarter, but remained in it thanks to point guard Logan Buchanan, who buried a trio of 3-pointers in the period to help keep the Rams close.
Swinton opened the fourth with his third long ball of the game to put Bruton on top 59-52, but four consecutive free throws from Fitchett followed by an Aaron Ashlock layup brought Lafayette within one, 59-58.
Bruton would go up four, 62-58, after Carter earned two-straight trips to the line and knocked down 3-4 attempts.
With under four minutes to play, Buchanan misfired on a 3-point attempt from the wing, but Fitchett soared for the tip-in to make it a one possession game.
The Rams missed another 3-point shot on their ensuing possession following a Bruton layup, but Marc Rivera was there to haul in the offensive board and finish from inside to make the score 64-62.
After Fitchett tied the game with a pair of free throws, Sangalang delivered his first game-changing play with an inside bucket following a big offensive rebound.
Trailing 68-66 with under a minute remaining, Fitchett buried a long jumper from the wing with 47 seconds left to square things 68-all.
After Bruton called a timeout, “I told my guys to just be patient and run the offense,” Dillard said of the game’s final possession. “We didn’t draw anything up for one player, we just wanted to hold for one shot, and luckily we were able to get two.
“Mike [Sangalang] is a hustle guy and he came up with a huge play. I’m proud of how my guys fought through adversity.”
Bruton 70 Lafayette 68
Bruton- 15 18 23 14 – 70
Lafayette- 16 17 19 16 – 68
Bruton (10-1 BRD)- Carter 25, Swinton 14, Simmons 10, Hill 6, Rice 6, Sangalang 4. Totals 27 10-18; 70.
Lafayette 5-8, 4-7 BRD)- Fitchett 27, Buchanan 11, Rivera 10, Hayes 7, Ashlock 6, Aman 7. Totals 22 19-25; 68.
