By DOUG DONNELLY
Advance Editor
OTTAWA LAKE – Luke Henegar didn’t hit the winning shot at the buzzer in regulation Saturday, but with the game on the line in overtime, Henegar was spot on.
“We ran a play and it kind of broke down and I was open,” Henegar said. “I don’t let missing shots bother me. I just have to be ready for the next one.”
Henegar’s shot early in overtime put Whiteford in front for good as they escaped a nail-bitter by beating Jefferson 55-48 in the finals of the first Advance New Year’s Basketball Bash.
“He hit a big three,” Whiteford coach Jordan Bollin said. “I run a lot of set plays for him to get threes. He’s been a reliable source of offense for us all season.”
The Bobcats are 6-0 after beating Blissfield in the semifinals and the Bears in the championship tilt.
It was a tough road to getting the trophy Saturday. Whiteford trailed early 5-1, 16-12 in the second quarter and 36-35 early in the fourth quarter, but mounted comebacks every time.
Jefferson almost made the biggest comeback of the game. The Bobcats led 41-36 with 2:21 left before the Bears got a 3-pointer by Luke Beaudrie with 1:55 to go and a basket by Bret Gennoe to tie the game at 41-41 with a minute left in regulation.
The Bobcats had the ball for the next 50 seconds but missed a layup. The Bears grabbed a rebound and got the ball under the Bobcat basket with 11.7 seconds to go. After an injury timeout then a full timeout, the Bears couldn’t get the ball in-bounds, however, turning the ball over on a 5-second violation when Whiteford’s defense stiffened.
“We decided to press,” Bollin said. “We had two fouls to give and that drove the decision to press and deny the in-bounds.”
The Bobcats got the ball back and set-up a play that resulted in Henegar missing a last-second shot.
In overtime, however, it was a different story.
Jefferson took a 45-44 lead with 2:51 to go on a bucket by Gennoe. The Bobcats went to their inside-outside game with center Cole Griffiths patrolling the paint. As a pass went inside, he’d pass it out. After doing that a couple of times, he found Henegar open for a 3-pointer and he connected, making it 47-45. The Bobcats never trailed again.
Free throws down the stretch by Drew Ruddy, Henegar and Caden Schroyer sealed the win.
Bollin credited rebounding and defense.
“Early in the game, I told assistant coach (Mark) Hubbard that this was going to be one of those game’s where we have to play great defense and thought we did,” he said. “They shoot a lot of threes. We locked them up in overtime.”
The Bobcats have won two overtime games this season.
“These games are great for us, win or lose,” Bollin said. “We get to play in these pressure situations and overtime situations and that pays off for us late in the season.”
Jefferson played without its 1,000- point scorer, Trey Oldenberg, who sprained his ankle in Friday’s semifinal win over Ann Arbor Greenhills.
“If this was a district final he could probably play,” Bear head coach Corey Wiley said. “But we have 15 games left and some big (Huron) league games coming up. No sense rushing him back.”
Jefferson was up to the task against the Bobcats even without Oldenberg. Hunter Barton scored 15 points while Beaudrie and Gennoe added 10 each. Freshman Brayden Burkmier hit a pair of 3-pointers for 6 points.
“I give a lot of credit to them,” Bollin said. “They are extremely well-coached and played tough.”
Schroyer had a big game with 18 points. In the two tournament games, he scored 26 points. On Saturday, Bollin had Schroyer on the inside rather than his usual spot on the wing.
“We started posting him up and that paid off,” Bollin said. “It was just trying to find the best matchup.”
Schroyer is one of seven seniors on the Whiteford roster. He said the Bobcats are happy with the 6-0 start.
“We’re really happy,” Schroyer said. “We have a lot of goals and being undefeated is one of them so hopefully that continues. We just need to keep playing defense and get better every game.”