Senators drop 54-51 thriller to Wooster

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for the Carson High boys basketball team, the Senators went out and laid an egg against Wooster.

Carson managed just two field goals in the final 3 minutes 52 seconds, and dropped a 54-51 decision to the Colts Friday at Morse Burley Gym.

"They outhustled us and outworked us throughout the game," Carson coach Carlos Mendeguia said. "They wanted the game more than we did. They were diving for the ball; wanting the ball. We're hunched over reaching for the ball and they're on the floor.

"There is no game on this schedule that we can take for granted. I told the kids that I was very disappointed. This was a game we should have won at home."

Carson had dominated the Colts in recent years, winning the bulk of the games by 10 or more points.

Carson led for the first 21-plus minutes of the game, but never by more than seven points.

Wooster took a 38-37 lead with 1:47 left in the third quarter on a basket by J.J. Harloff, but Bruce McIntosh's driving lay-up and a follow shot by Rafe King gave the Senators a 41-38 lead after three.

Wooster scored eight of the first 11 points in the fourth quarter for a 46-44 lead with 3:31 left in the game. Harloff had five points in the run and Jaymes Spang added a 3-pointer.

"We knew about Harloff," Mendeguia said. "Spang wasn't even on our radar. he made a couple of big shots."

McIntosh had a chance to tie the game at 46, but missed the second ree throw of a two-shot opportunity. Spang scored two straight hoops and Eddy Arista added a free throw to give the Colts a 51-45 lead with 44 seconds left.

Carson got no closer than three the rest of the way, 51-48 on three free throws by King with 29 seconds left, and 54-51 with :02 left on a basket by McIntosh, who finished with 10 points.

Ty Keefer, who led Carson with 18 points, came up empty in the fourth quarter. He missed all three of his field-goal attempts bfore fouling out late in the contest. The Senators didn't get a field goal from King, who finished with 10.

"We're asking a lot of Rafe," Menedguia said. "We're asking him to score, play defense and always bring the ball up. He may have been a little gassed."

The win was Wooster's first in league play, and they were whooping it up in the visiting dressing room.

Dean Whellams, Wooster's first-year coach, was ecstatic after the game. He felt defense was the key for his scrappy team.

"We talk about the 90-10 (rule), which is give 90 percent of the energy at the defnsive end and we can rest a little on the offensive end," the Wooster coach said. "Defense and rebounding were key. They didn't get too many second-chance points against us."