Runnin' and Gunnin' escape with a one-point win after late miss by Jaquan Carter
JW Dunbar (with ball) of Runnin’ and Gunnin’
A lot of times when two teams play in a classic game, you’ll hear people say that neither team deserved to lose. I think the opposite can be said about the game between Runnin’ and Gunnin’ and Bag Season in the Tempe Draft League last night, as both teams made some crucial mistakes in the final minute that could’ve resulted in a loss.
But basketball doesn’t care about who deserves what. You either do enough to win, or you don’t, and last night, Runnin’ and Gunnin’ did just enough to secure a 55-54 victory.
Here are some of the mistakes that occurred in the final minute of the game, which was live streamed on the UH Arizona Facebook group.
With 46 seconds left, Jesse Brittain missed the front-end of a one-and-one.
With 25 seconds left, JW Dunbar tried to make an outlet pass after securing a rebound, but he threw it into double-coverage and it was stolen by Jaquan Carter.
With 17 seconds left, Bag Season inbounded the ball to Isaiah Bolton, who dribbled backwards a few feet for a backcourt violation, despite not being pressured into it.
With four seconds left, and Runnin’ and Gunnin’ leading by four, Evan Blackwell fouled Juan Gonzalez shooting a 3-pointer (he made all three free throws).
With three seconds left, Chris Johnson missed the front-end of a one-and-one, keeping the score at 55-54 and giving Bag Season a chance to win the game.
The following inbound play was a nicely set up give-and-go between Carter and Terry Riley, which set up a 10-foot runner for Carter. He got a good look at the basket, but his attempt went off the backboard, off the rim and just missed, securing the win for Runnin’ and Gunnin’
It’s tough that Carter missed the game-winning attempt, but it was far from his fault that Bag Season was not able to get the win. He had a team-high 24 points (no one else on Bag Season had more than seven), adding 13 rebounds and six assists.
Dunbar led the way for Runnin’ and Gunnin’, as he had 17 points on 8-13 shooting from the field, plus 13 rebounds and four assists. He also buried a corner 3 with just over a minute left to give his team a 53-51 lead, which they wouldn’t lose from there.