Sports
Bounce, Bounce, No Good: Drake Boys Fall Short
The Pirates lead in the final minute, then can't get a potential game-tying three-pointer to drop in a narrow MCAL boys basketball loss to Marin Catholic.
TUESDAY'S SCORE: Marin Catholic 32, 29
DRAKE'S RECORD: 10-8 overall, 3-3 in MCAL
GAME SUMMARY: It took Drake's boys basketball team just over 31 minutes in its 32-minute contest to finally take its first lead of the game against Marin Catholic on Tuesday evening.
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Less than five seconds later, it was gone for good.
The Pirates, who came from six points down, lost a heartbreaker when junior guard 's three-point attempt bounced off the backboard, the side of the rim, and to the floor at the buzzer in a thrilling Marin County Athletic League defensive battle.
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Neither team began the game able to sink a shot. The highly contested first period rarely left a shooter open, and when either team looked as though it would get that rare chance, it would often commit a turnover.
At the end of the first period, the Wildcats had a scant 6-5 lead with a lone made free throw being the difference in the game.
Drake began the second half down by six points, and finished the third period down by three.
Euphrat finished with a team-high eight points, five in the final period, and senior 's four points in the fourth made him the second-leading scorer with six on the night.
In order to inch closer to a physical Wildcats team, the Pirates were forced to press and harass on defense. Much of that led to fouls that had the home crowd loudly booing the officials.
At one point in the second half, Drake coach pulled an official aside and asked, "Is it me or my team you don't like?"
The official just laughed and moved on with his business. That's exactly what the Pirates will have to do after such a tough loss.
REACTION: "You know, I thought we played a great second half, after the first three minutes. But you know, we buried ourselves with that 11-point deficit at 23-12. It makes it awfully tough. There's no room for mistakes. We just gotta come out better from the start. Offensively, we were in a rutt all game, but the kids battled and really made a great run of it," said Donnellan.
"[The Drake coaches] know [our players] have heart, and we know they're going to compete every night. We've been doing it all year. We come back whenever we're down, because we fight, so I'm real proud of that."
DRAKE'S NEXT ACTION: Friday at home vs. Tam, 7:30 p.m.
