OHS boys lose back-to-back heartbreakers; fall to 8-5
The Onaway High School varsity boys’ basketball team lost back-to-back home games, to Gaylord St. Mary and Mancelona, by a combined total of just three points.
The Cardinals had fourth-quarter leads in both games and had multiple shots at the end to win both, but couldn’t convert, falling to 8-5 (6-5 Ski Valley Conference).
The second of the losses came Wednesday against visiting Mancelona. Onaway led in that one, 14-8 after one period, and 36-28 at halftime. The Ironmen opened the third quarter on a 16-4 run to go up 44-40.
A three-pointer by Andrew Perry and a three-point play by Joe Sigsby helped the Cardinals reclaim the lead, 48-47, going into the fourth quarter, and things went back and forth in the final eight minutes.
Mancy led 58-54 midway through, but after Joe O’Bradovich split a pair of free throws, Andrew Prow nailed a three – his third of the game – to tie things at 58-apiece.
O’Bradovich knocked down a pair of freebies to put OHS up 60-58 with 1:46 remaining, but Chris Schepperly scored inside, and Brandon Dingman made two foul shots, to put the Ironmen back on top, 62-60, with 56 seconds left.
After Carlos Bautista split a pair from the line, trimming the gap to 62-61, with 39 ticks left, the Cardinals forced a turnover, regaining possession with a chance for the win.
Prow was fouled with nine seconds left, with a chance to go to the line to shoot two – and potentially put his team back on top – but the officials ruled that OHS had called timeout a split second before the foul occurred.
Coming out of the timeout, the Cards got a good luck on a jumper, which missed the mark, and a tip-in, which also missed the mark just as the final buzzer sounded.
Prow paced the Cardinals with 13 points. O’Bradovich finished with 11 points, Bautista had nine, Chris Cleaver had eight, and Joe Sigsby had seven. Dingman scored a game-high 22 points for the Ironmen.
Earlier in the evening, the OHS JV fell to 9-4 with a 56-43 loss to Mancelona. Onaway trailed 16-14 after one quarter, 25-24 at halftime, and 40-33 through three frames.
Patrick Dunn scored 16 points to lead the home team, while Cody Morell scored eight points. Nick Biehl finished with a game-high 18 points for the Ironmen.
Last Friday, the varsity Cardinals fell, 52-50, to visiting Gaylord St. Mary. Onaway trailed 16-8 after one quarter, but trimmed that to 24-22 by the half, and led 36-34 heading into quarter four.
As would be the case five days later, the final eight minutes saw the teams go back and forth, with the Snowbirds going ahead late and Onaway missing a pair of shots that could have w
O’Bradovich scored 16 points for the home team, while Bautista scored 14 points and Prow finished with 11.
Earlier in the evening, the OHS JV won its game with the Snowbirds, 81-65. Onaway led 24-14 after one quarter, 45-28 at halftime, and 60-45 through three frames.
Dunn scored 23 points for the Cardinals, while Morell finished with 16 points, Raymond Self scored 15, and Brad Boser scored 11.
The Cardinal boys are scheduled to travel to Inland Lakes tonight (Friday), travel to Central Lake on Monday, host Forest Area on Wednesday, and host Pellston next Friday.