
Buzzer beater by Belpre hands Waterford the loss
By: Abbey Kay, Jamey Spears
Posted on:
BELPRE, OH (WOUB)- The 3-6 Waterford Wildcats went on the Road in a in-conference battle against the 4-6 Belpre Golden Eagles.
Waterford started this game out hot going on a 14-3 run in the first quarter. Senior Cole Sparding led the charge in the first for the Wildcats scoring four points, collecting four rebounds, recording one steal.
Belpre finally got going in the second quarter making the game 17-11. The Golden Eagles eventually tied this game up 19-19 with a three. Belpre outscored Waterford in the second quarter 22-8.
Going into halftime the score was 25-19 Belpre
The Golden Eagles continued the momentum with freshman AJ Copen hitting threes left and right. Cole Sparding had seven points and three rebounds in the third quarter too help keep Waterford in the game
The largest lead of the game came at the end of the third quarter with Belpre leading 40-28 But with all hope seemed to be lost for Waterford they found a way to bounce back in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats went on a 11-2 run to start the fourth quarter to put the game within 3. Cole Sparding punctuated the run with an and-one. With 2:30 left in the game Waterford gained back the lead 44-42. 12 seconds later Belpre tied the game once again.
With 28.1 seconds left Reese Lang hit both free throws to put the Wildcats up 4. AJ Copen hit a three just a few seconds later to put the game within one. Sparding knocked down both free throws to stretch the lead to three.
AJ Copen off the inbound pass knocked down a three to tie the game once again 50-50. Belpre called a timeout to set up a full court press. Pressure by the Golden Eagles forced a travel from the Wildcats. 2.9 seconds on the clock gave Belpre one more chance to score and Malik Currie got the put back layup to win this game at the buzzer.
Currie’s buzzer beater gave Belpre the win 52-50 at home.
Cole Sparding ended the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.
Waterford will travel to Frontier on Saturday to take on the Cougars. Belpre will look to make it two in a row against Southern on Monday.