SAND ROCK – Sand Rock senior guard Justin Mackey knew he had to do something.

With his basketball team down 13 points to Class 2A, Area 12 rival Geraldine in the fourth quarter, he took matters into his own hands and almost single-handedly got his team back even.

However, his career-high 39 points wasn’t enough as the Bulldogs escaped in overtime with a 76-70 victory Friday night.

Geraldine (9-7, 4-0 Area 12) built its largest lead midway through the fourth quarter at 56-43. Sensing things could get even more out of hand, Sand Rock coach Brian Mackey switched to the press.

The strategy worked. The Wildcats (10-8, 1-3) forced several crucial Bulldog turnovers and cashed them into points with Justin Mackey leading the charge.

Mackey, who scored 25 points in the second half and overtime combined, tied the game at 60 by nailing a 3-pointer with 10.3 seconds remaining in regulation. Geraldine turned the ball over on its ensuing possession, setting up another Mackey shot to win the game with 5.6 seconds left.

This time, however, Mackey’s layup at the buzzer rimmed out to force overtime.

Mackey couldn’t help but wonder ‘What if?’

“I was pretty mad about that layup,” he said. “If I would have hit all of my free throws, we would have won, and if I would have hit that last shot (in regulation), we would have won. I don’t like to put it all on me, but everybody was getting rid of the ball, and I just sort of took over.”

Brian Mackey has come to expect big things from his senior guard.

“He stepped up,” he said. “It was a team effort, but you’ve got to go to your strengths, and you’ve got to feed off of that. They (Geraldine) were missing free throws, and then Justin got hot. He hit some 3s to cut it down, and we ended up with a shot to win it. It would have been nice, but our guys battled and played and had a shot to win. That’s all you can ask for.”

In overtime, Geraldine built a four-point lead at 65-61 before Mackey nailed his third 3-pointer of the night with just under three minutes left in the extra period. That bucket made it 65-64 Bulldogs.

Mackey gave the Wildcats the lead at 67-65 with his fourth 3-pointer at the 2:15 mark of overtime, and then the lead shifted back and forth. The difference was the Bulldogs’ free-throw shooting down the stretch. They hit eight consecutive free throws with under a minute to go for the final.

Colton Harris led Geraldine with 24 points. Tyler Malone added 17 points and James Roe finished with 13 points. Clint Willoughby and Shawn Paul Love came away with eight points apiece.

Brannon Burt added 12 points for the Wildcats. Justin Kyser netted eight points and Matt Graham finished with six points.

Girls

Geraldine 55, Sand Rock 50 – Just minutes after the Sand Rock boys lost a thriller in overtime, Lady Wildcat coach Lisa Bates had her girls back out on the court shooting free throws.

That’s what proved costly for Sand Rock in its loss to Geraldine. The Lady Wildcats (10-9, 2-2 Area 12) were only 11 of 24 at the free-throw line.

“We missed 13 free throws, and that really hurt us,” Bates said. “We had lots of chances to really seal it with free throws (in the second half), but we kept missing them. We didn’t have anybody step up and handle the ball under pressure.”

Things started out well for the Lady Wildcats. They built a 29-16 lead at the break before their fortunes turned for the worse.

Geraldine (12-8, 4-0) cut Sand Rock’s lead to 43-40 at the end of the third, and the Lady Bulldogs continued pouring it on in the final quarter by outscoring Sand Rock 15-7 down the stretch.

Amber Henderson led Sand Rock with 16 points, including 11 in the first half. Despite foul trouble, Lauren Bell finished with 14 points. Tiffany Prince netted seven points and Tessa Pendergrass finished with six.

Caitlyn Roe’s 18 points led the Lady Bulldogs. Kristen White added 16 points and Raney Body finished with 11.