Sports
Jacks earn inspired win over Royals
Tyler Ohmann
02/04/2014
“Big time players make big time shots in big time games,” stated
Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) head coach Cory Fehringer. The time was its biggest last Monday night against Lake Region State College (LRSC).
A heroic heave from freshman Xavier Cruz kept hopes alive for DCB.
Cruz’s shot at the end of regulation buzzer forced overtime, but he wasn’t the only hero for the Jacks who won 118-115 in overtime over the Royals in front of a big crowd at The Woodshed in Bottineau.
The other hero was sophomore Julian Vasquez who set a school record with 53 points, and carried the Jacks to the win in the process.
Vasquez was on fire from the beginning, and a 7-for-11 night from beyond the arc kept the Jacks in the game, which saw the Royals travel to the free throw for 53 attempts (DCB had 27).
DCB appeared to have command of the game early on as they opened a 13-point lead in the first half with strong shooting, much of it coming from Vasquez. However, the Royals clawed back to within four by halftime, and fans were in store for a second-half treat.
DCB would hold a slim margin throughout the second half until LRSC captured the lead with a little more than a minute left.
Down 94-93 Vasquez was whistled for an intentional foul after the Royals grabbed a rebound. That’s when the crowd stepped in.
“Noise grew louder, intensity peaked, and luckily enough the shooter would miss not just one free throw, but two,” Fehringer stated. “There is no doubt The Woodshed was the loudest, craziest, most exciting gym we have competed in at this point, and I find it hard to believe many facilities compare to the unique environment available at DCB.”
The Royals missed both free throws, but they still got the ball due to the intentional call.
DCB appeared to have stolen the inbounds pass, but were called for a foul with 3.6 seconds left.
LRSC hit both free throws and went up three.
That’s when Cruz took the inbounds and launched his fateful shot from well behind the three-point line.
“All anyone heard in the town of Bottineau was the ball striking the bottom of the net which simply meant, five more minutes of basketball in overtime,” Fehringer stated.
Vasquez and the Jacks maintained a lead throughout the overtime period, and held off a last-second attempt of the Royals to claim the three-point OT win.
“Much is to be made of resiliency (the) Lumberjacks showed facing adversity with a big chest, chin-up, and never quitting on the game,” Fehringer stated.
Vasquez finished not only with the school-record 53 points, but also pulled down a team-best 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. He shot an impressive 18-of-28 from the field.
“(Vasquez) played one of the most phenomenal games any coach or crowd could ask for,” Fehringer stated. “He scored when he wanted and where he wanted throughout the entire game.”
In total the Jacks shot 45.3 percent from the field, less than the 46.1 percent from their opponents, but an impressive 17-of-34 night from three-point range kept them in it. They also dished out 27 assists as a team.
Cruz led the team with nine assists, had 15 points and, of course, hit that game-tying shot.
“Cruz sped the game up for good and bad at times,” Fehringer stated. “As the season goes on he is learning from mistakes while changing the game nightly.”
“Most importantly there would not be an OT without Cruz coming through in the clutch. He is a bold player who moves on to the next play with a short-term memory,” Fehringer added.
The win was the third in the MonDak Conference this season for DCB, who is now 21-4 overall.
They played another important MonDak game last night against former BHS standout Justin McCloud and the Bismarck State College Mystics. Scores and stats were unavailable by press time.
At 8 p.m. on Thursday the Jacks will travel to Bismarck and take on United Tribes Technical College for another key MonDak match up.
Their next home game will be at 8 p.m. on Feb. 17 as they host North Dakota State College of Science.
Fans only hope that it will be as exciting as the win over LRSC.