Falcons Hold On For 70-68 win over Fort in Region 2B semifinals

WOODSTOCK – A torrid long-range shooting display by Central put Fort Defiance in an early hole Thursday night and the Falcons held on in the fourth quarter for a 70-68 victory in the semifinals of the Region B boys basketball tournament.

The Falcons hit 6-of-9 3-point attempts in the first quarter, five of the makes by guard Haiden Click. Click scored 19 points in the first eight minutes, leading the Falcons to a 28-16 lead.

“Those things can happen,” said Fort head coach Mike Gale. “Earlier this year I think Turner Ashby hit six or seven 3-pointers in the first quarter against us. I reminded the guys of that game in between quarters and reminded them those shots were not going to keep falling all night. 

“You have to make adjustments and keep playing. Things could have gone bad at that point,” Gale added. “I’m proud of the guys, the way they kept playing and kept fighting.”

The Indians ratcheted up the pressure to start the second period and scored the first eight points, five by Gio Armendariz Cruz, to pull to within four, 28-24.

The Falcons then used a 10-3 spurt that included 3-pointers by Joefred Menendez and Maddox Davis, to push the margin back to double digits, 41-30.

Jasigh Ransome knocked down a 3-pointer and Rhylan Martin battled for an offensive rebound and scored with five seconds left, trimming Central’s margin to 41-35 at the half.

Fort struggled to score early in the third quarter and Central built its lead back to double figures. The Falcons outscored the Indians 14-4 early in the third quarter, taking their biggest lead of the night, 55-39.

The Indians closed the quarter with a 9-2 run to stay within striking distance. Cruz hit two free throws and Elijah Pultz added a bucket to make it 55-43. After an inside bucket by Central’s Dereck Batiz Lugo, Ransome connected from long range and Cruz beat the buzzer with a floater to pull the Indians back to within nine, 57-48.

Tripp Hanger buried a 3-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter to move Fort to within six. Central led by 10 points, when back-to-back threes by Martin and Cruz closed the gap to four, 65-61, with 3:09 left.

After a bucket by Central’s Joseph Pan, Cruz stepped into another 3-ball, making it a one possession game, 67-64.

After a Central miss, Fort had the ball, but a turnover kept the margin at three. Fort controlled the rebound after another Central miss with 1:24 left, but a shot by Cruz rolled off the rim with the Falcons gaining possession.

Maddox made two foul shots for a five -point Central lead with 1:11 to go but once again Fort failed to convert. Central turned the ball over with 47 seconds left and Cruz scored after grabbing an offensive rebound, to pull Fort back to within three points, 69-66, with 29.6 seconds remaining.

Fort worked feverishly to force a turnover, but the Falcons kept the ball moving until Click was fouled with 11.3 seconds on the clock. Click missed the first foul shot but hit the second to put the lead at four, 70-66.

Cruz scored with four seconds left, but Fort was out of timeouts and the Falcons did not have to inbound the ball as the home team escaped with the two-point victory.

“There was never a doubt that we would make a run,” said Gale. “I thought everybody gave great effort. We adjusted well and got back in the game. We just didn’t have quite enough.”

Cruz scored 12 points in the final quarter and led Fort with 23 points. Hebb also reached double digits with 13. Ransome scored nine points and Martin added eight.

Click cooled off after the first quarter but still led the Falcons with 25 points. Williams scored 14 points and Lugo added 12. 

Fort finishes its season with a 15-10 record. The Indians will graduate a solid senior group in John Whetzel, Hebb, Carter Berry, Martin and Gus Gutshall, but plenty of firepower will be returning, including all-district performers Cruz and Hanger.

“We’re losing a good group of seniors who have set a solid foundation of what we want to do,” said Gale. “We’ll regroup. Hopefully, we’ll put the work in during the offseason and come back next year and take the next step.”