Coldwater completes comeback, takes dramatic OT win over Marshall

COLDWATER – Good things happen when you keep your head, you keep grinding, and you make your free throws. Coldwater found that out Friday night in front of a capacity crowd at the Coach Floyd Eby Gymnasium, as they played host to bitter Interstate 8 rival Marshall for a conference showdown on Hall of Fame night.

Coldwater trailed the majority of the game, even finding itself down by double-digits late in the third quarter. The Cardinals continued to chip away at the Marshall lead before eventually tying things up with only a second to go to force overtime. In the extra period it was Coldwater coming through in the clutch, especially from the free throw line, as Niko and Austin Downs, along with Gavin Taylor, hit clutch free throws to push the Cardinals past Marshall for the 49-46 win.

“Tonight, we did a little bit of a better job at taking care of the ball in the second half, and I thought we did a really nice job defensively all night,” Coldwater coach Aaron Bucklin said. “Honestly though, we have been in these situations all season long and as we get closer to the end of the year we continue to learn how to win and close things out. Now that we have been through these battles and now that we have been tested the guys really believe we can go out and get the win. I am just so happy for the team, for them to just keep battling and having the heart to keep fighting, there is no quit in this group.”

So how did Coldwater mount this comeback and get the win? Let us take a look at the series of events that led to the big Interstate 8 win.

What Happened?

The two teams played nearly even basketball in the first half, with Marshall holding a slim 12-11 lead after one quarter and a 23-20 lead at the half.

It was at the start of the third quarter that Marshall caught fire, outscoring Coldwater 7-2 over the first two minutes of the third quarter to extend its lead to 30-20 with six minutes left in the third.

Marshall continued to hold that lead throughout most of the third period, keeping a 36-27 lead after three quarters of play.

Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the game came at around the 6:40 mark of the fourth quarter, as the tide seemed to turn on one blow of the whistle. After a bucket for Marshall a little bit of chirping from the Redhawks bench caught the attention of the officials, leading to a technical foul to be assessed on the Marshall bench.

Gavin Taylor calmly stepped to the line and made pair of free throws, cutting the lead to 36-31.

Coldwater had managed to wrestle away control midway through the fourth quarter, and it showed, as another pair of free throws, this time from Austin Downs, followed by a Zach Coffing triple at the two-minute mark closed the score to 38-35 in favor of the Redhawks.

After another defensive stand for the Cardinals, it was Coffing once again doing the damage, this time from the charity stripe, hitting a pair of free throws to close to within one point at 38-37 with just over a minute left in the game.

After Marshall answered with two free throws of its own to extend the lead to 40-37, it was Aydn Dirschell doing the damage with a big-time shot off the Cardinals’ “Belly” set, once again closing the score to just a point at 40-39 with 26.0 seconds remaining in the game.

Marshall was fouled on the inbound as Coldwater hoped to extend the game and give its team a chance to finish the comeback. Going to the line was Marshall’s Austin Miller for two big free throws in a clutch situation. Miller made the first of the two shots but missed the second, giving the Cardinals possession with 22 seconds left, trailing 41-39.

After a timeout, the Cardinals came out and ran an absolutely beautiful set that saw the ball swing around the perimeter until a back cut to Niko Downs looked to give the junior a path to the basket, however that was not the play call as the defense swung to cover Downs, it was Ayden Dirschell flying toward the basket on the backside who received a perfect lob pass from Downs for the game-tying field goal, knotting things up at 41 with only seconds left in the game.

Marshall had trouble getting the inbound in and never really got a good look, leading to overtime.

The teams traded free throws early in the extra period, followed by Marshall hitting a beautiful jumper from 15-feet out, giving the Redhawks the 44-42 lead.

On the ensuing possession it was Niko Downs heading to the line for two, a pair the junior would hit to again tie the game at 44-44 with 1:21 left in the contest.

Marshall took its next possession and looked to retake the lead, however a point-blank miss led to a defensive rebound for Coldwater and a foul in the backcourt by Marhsall’s Zavron Russ not only put the Cardinals back on the line, but disqualified the athletic Russ with his fifth and final foul.

Going to the line for Coldwater was Gavin Taylor who calmly sank both shots, giving Coldwater its first lead of the game at 46-44. Marshall answered quickly, hitting a layup in transition to tie up the score once again at 46-46 with 27.6 seconds left on the clock.

Coldwater stayed patient on its next possession, working the ball around until Austin Downs found his way to the hoop where he was fouled, giving the sophomore a pair free throws with only 4.7 seconds left. Downs did not bat and eye, sinking both from the charity strip to give his team a 48-46 lead.

Marshall had one last chance however the inbound pass was intercepted by Downs, who was then fouled again, sending him back to the line with only 2.3 seconds left. Downs hit the first but missed the second, giving the Cardinals the lead 49-46.

Marshall was able to gather the rebound and dribble down the court for a halftime heave that actually just rimmed out as the buzzer sounded, giving Coldwater the dramatic 49-46 victory.

Leaders

Coldwater was led on the night by Niko Downs and Gavin Taylor with 12 points each. Downs added two assists and two steals while Taylor chipped in with three steals.

Zach Coffing had a solid all-around day with eight points, eight rebounds and two steals while Ayden Dirschell and Austin Downs added six points each and six rebounds apiece.

More: Cold shooting dooms Coldwater girls varsity basketball in loss to Marshall

They Said It

“That last lob play in regulation is something we work on quite a bit in practice, and it is something we have done a few times this year and the kids get more comfortable each time they do it. Early in the year the kids were overthinking things and not just playing basketball and we are now getting to the point that we are comfortable with things and really starting to play well, meaning now they believe they can play. In overtime it was big free throws from a sophomore and his brother who stepped up in the biggest moments, really goes to show what happens when you hit your free throws.” - Coldwater coach Aaron Bucklin

What’s Next?

With the huge win the Coldwater Cardinals improve to 5-12 overall and 4-4 in the Interstate 8. The Cardinals will return to the court on Tuesday when they head to Jackson to take on the Northwest Mounties.

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Coldwater finishes off big comeback versus Marshall, takes win in OT