After leading throughout the game and building a nine-point lead with six minutes left, it appeared that the Douglas boys' basketball team was in fine position to claim the Northern 4A Regional title Saturday at Spanish Springs High School.
The Tigers had their way with the Galena Grizzlies early on, building a 10-2 lead through the first five minutes of the game, pushing it to 35-26 by halftime and coming into the fourth with a 45-38 lead.
Galena put things together when it had to though, outscoring the Tigers 14-6 over the final stretch to hand Douglas a heartbreaking 56-55 loss.
Galena's Eric Maupin hit the front end of a pair of free throws with 51 seconds left to give the Grizzlies the 56-55 lead, but Douglas maintained possession of the ball for the next 48 seconds as its final shot went just short.
The Tigers fouled Galena star Luke Babbitt with two seconds left, but Babbitt missed the shot.
Keith Olson leaped up and grabbed the rebound, but time ran out as he attempted to take a shot from the other end of the floor.
Olson led the Tigers with 20 points while Kevin Emm had 17 and Mike Gransbery finished with 16.
Galena was led by Babbitt with 25 points.
Douglas (23-9) had its first 20-win season and its first regional title game appearance since 1979 as it beat Reed and Reno to advance to Saturday's game. With the win, Galena will advance to the state championships in Las Vegas next week.
-- Joey Crandall can be reached at jcrandall@recordcourier.com or at (775) 782-5121, ext. 212.
