BARTLESVILLE HOOPS WEEKEND: BTW stings Bruins with heartbreaking loss

"Inches make champions."

• Vince Lombardi

Or, the lack of inches at the right moment are an itch one can't scratch.

But, regardless of how Friday's contest against No. 1 Booker T. Washington ended, the No. 13 Bartlesville High Bruins had every reason to hold their heads to full measure.

One couldn't have asked for a prettier drawn-up play in the final four seconds to try to rescue the win for Bartlesville.

But, the shot flat-lined and bounced off the rim as Booker T. Washington escaped the Bruin Fieldhouse with a 54-53 victory.

It has been a classic battle - highlighted by a gritty, clawing effort by Bartlesville - which nearly produced an outcome that would shattered the Class 6A basketball landscape.

The Bruins scrambled into the lead with a mighty rally in the fourth quarter - only to see inches make the difference.

Twice in the final minute they had the ball and a three-point lead - and turned the ball over.

Even so, Bartlesville - which had lost by 33 points when the teams met in Tulsa - clung to the lead as the clock wound under five seconds and the Hornets on the attack.

Bartlesville led throughout the entire final minute - until a Bruin turnover in the backcourt set up Washington's Marques Smith's bucket to push the lead in favor of Washington, 54-53. Prior to that, Bartlesville had turned the ball over twice in 27 seconds, squandering two chances to go ahead by five or six points.

After Washington took the late lead, Bruin head coach Clent Stewart dashed down the sideline to call timeout. The clock showed 3.7 seconds by the time it stopped. But, the officials readjusted it to 4.0 seconds.

Senior guard Aadhi Ayyappan was set to inbounds the ball along the Hornet baseline. He received the ball but couldn't find the right target and burned Bartlesville's last timeout.

Coming out of that break, Ayyappan got the ball into David Castillo on the left side of the court. Meanwhile, Bruin forward Michael Smith III blitzed up the right side. The Hornet defenders sandwiched Castillo as he dribbled up the left side, crossed midcourt and then zipped a cross-court pass to Smith, who had an open shot from the right side of the key, from about 13 feet out. He let the shot go quickly and the ball drew the front of the iron - just an inch or two from the top - and bounced off.

The Hornets (11-6) buzzed away with the 54-53 win; the Bruins (7-13) left the Bruin Fieldhouse court - to the appreciation a Bruin home crowd that had supported them thunderously throughout the evening - knowing they could be capable of doing something special in the upcoming Class 6A regionals.

Castillo canned 19 points and Ayyappan added 10 to lead the Bruins in scoring. B.J. Harris hammered in 29 points for the Hornets.

Washington came out at game's start looking to deal a flurry of haymakers and decide the outcome early by pounding out to a 15-6 lead. (Jack Wahl tallied one of Bartlesville's early buckets on a stick-back.)

Bartlesville began to punch back on Riley Duong's three-pointer - set up by Castillo's assist. But, Washington still led by two possessions at the end of the opening period, 15-10.

The Hornets continued to extend the lead, going up by 10, 22-12, on two free throws by L.J. Scott, with 5:41 left in the first half.

But, the Bruins toughened with raw determination and stirred the team chemistry to a 15-4 run.

It began when Ayyappan dropped in a pull-up shot. Bartlesville got the ball back quickly, leading to a spectacular Caleb Rogers basket off an equally adroit pass by Smith. That cord-cutter narrowed the Hornets' lead to 22-16.

An offensive board and stick-back by Cooper Wood, followed by two Castillo free throws - after he was fouled on a 1-on-3 fastbreak - made it a four-point game, 22-18. Bartlesville tied it, 22-22, on Castillo's driving layup.

By halftime Bartlesville owned the lead, 27-26.

But, Washington snapped the momentum around to win the third quarter battle, 12-6, to grab a five-point lead, 38-33.

The Bruins clawed back. Smith's two-pointer trimmed the Hornets' lead to 38-37. Moments later, Ayyappan drew a foul, while aided by a screen by Rogers, and drilled both free throws to elevate Bartlesville back ahead, 39-38.

A pitched battle ensued. Smith scored to put Bartlesville on top, 45-43, but Lathan Boone answered with a couple of free throws for the Hornets.

A combination of Ayyappan free throws and a deuce provided the Bruins their biggest lead down the stretch, 51-48.

Washington scored two points, but the Bruins went back by three on a Rogers basket, off a seeing-eye bounce pass by Ayyappan.

When Washington turned the ball over, on a dribbling violation, with 59 seconds left, Bartlesville possessed a 53-50 lead and a chance to run clock and force fouls by Washington. But, the Bruins turned the ball over twice in the next half-minute, leaving the door open for the visitors.

Washington took advantage to eke out the win. But, the Bruins have other nights upcoming to learn from the experience and hammer the coffin nail next time.

Bartlesville travels Tuesday to Muskogee and ends the regular season next Friday by jousting Jenks.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Washington edges Bartlesville by 1 point in boys hoops thriller