Leopold claws out 50-49 win over Oak Ridge

DELTA, Mo. -- There's always that one shot in a big game that people remember.

The one that's talked about between a player and his father on the way home.

The one that's discussed the next morning by co-workers.

That shot came with 6 seconds left in regulation and Oak Ridge trailing Leopold in a semifinal of the Class 1 District 2 tournament.

It's the shot every kid dreams of in a game against their rival.

Andrew Puchbauer had that shot.

And it was the perfect shot.

The rim just failed to let it sink.

Puchbauer's game-tying 3-pointer was halfway down before rattling out, and Leopold held on for a wild 50-49 victory Monday night.

The Wildcats (19-4) will take on Scott County Central for the district title on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Delta. Leopold is seeking the school's frist district title in basketball while the Braves, winners of 16 state championships, will be vying for a 10th consecutive district crown and a 29th overal.

For Puchbauer and the Blue Jays (15-10), Monday's shot was a moment of elation followed by devastation.

"It looked good going in," Oak Ridge coach Adam Stoneking said. "When it left his hands I thought 'That's money.' That's just how it goes. Sometimes they fall, and sometimes they don't. You just have to hope for the best when you put them up."

The final sequence capped an incredible fourth quarter that saw six lead changes and one tie.

"You have to give credit to coach Stoneking and those guys," Leopold coach Andy Beck said. "They played their butt off. They gave us everything we could handle, and it came down to the guts, and we finally found a way to pull through."

Leopold's Zach Beel missed the second of two free throws with 12 seconds left to give Oak Ridge a chance.

Puchbauer ran down the court and received a pass on the right side near his team's bench and fired a contested 3-pointer that was pure until the final second.

Oak Ridge's Jake LeGrand grabbed the rebound and scored with two seconds remaining, but the Wildcats found an open man after an Oak Ridge timeout and the clock ran out.

"Earlier in the game we didn't execute real well, but the last minute or two we did good," Beck said. "We did the things we were supposed to do."

The hero of the game was found in Leopold guard Austin Bucher.

Bucher tallied a team-high 17 points, including five 3-pointers -- none bigger than his last.

The Wildcats trailed 47-44 with just under three minutes to play when Bucher took a pass at the top of the key and hoisted a 3-pointer.

The shot was short and left, but Leopold secured the rebound and several passes later Bucher took the same shot, this time burying it to tie the game.

"An old friend of mine -- Kyle Stroder -- he always told me to keep shooting no matter what," Bucher said, recalling advice from last year's Southeast Missourian player of the year.

After two consecutive Blue Jay misses, Leopold's Cameron Davis hit a layup with two minutes left to give Leopold the lead.

Oak Ridge proceeded to turn the ball over, but Leopold gave it right back. The Blue Jays then threw the ball into the stands setting up a wild last minute.

Leopold once again turned the ball over, this time when Oak Ridge forward Ryan Below slapped the ball off Davis' knee.

Kelby Brown missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and Oak Ridge managed to get the rebound, but Leopold came up with a block under the goal and the ball fell into Beel's hands.

Oak Ridge attempted to foul but Below was called for an intentional foul, resulting in two Leopold free throws and the possession.

"It was just kids making plays," Stoneking said. "That's what I told them, it's great as a coach when you can just almost sit back and let you guys play. To the point where you take control of it and you run the team and you go out there and you know what to do offensively and you know what to do defensively. It was nothing in particular, just kids making plays."

Beel missed both free throws, but Leopold maintained possession due to the intentional foul.

Beel was sent to the line again after an Oak Ridge foul, making the first to make it a 50-47 game before missing the second and setting up Puchbauer's attempt.

It was a fitting fourth quarter between two rivals.

The teams were neck-and-neck throughout the entire game, with Leopold claiming a 15-12 lead after the opening eight minutes.

The Wildcats took a 19-12 lead to start the second quarter, but he Blue Jays managed to shoot 10 of 13 inside the arc in the opening half and took a 29-28 lead at the half.

If it wasn't for Leopold reserve Wesley Stoverink, the Wildcats may have been in bigger trouble.

Stoverink was vital off the bench, snagging numerous offensive rebounds and getting to the charity stripe.

Stoverink was 3 of 4 from the line in the second quarter and added another deuce to keep the Wildcats close.

"Wesley's a beast," Beck said. "He's one of the strongest high schoolers I've ever seen. Him coming in and being as physical as he is and as strong and as big as he is, he gets a lot of rebounds. It makes so many more things happen because he takes up so much space and takes up so many bodies in there banging around. He was great coming off the bench and lifting us up and getting our momentum going."

Bucher carried the rest of the load, constantly making big shots and swinging momentum.

"That's his role, he's a shooter," Beck said. "We tell him every day. He's had pretty much a slump the first part of the season, the last couple of weeks he's really turned it on."

Leopold won the battle in the third quarter and claimed a 39-38 lead heading into the final eight minutes. Both teams tallied 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Leopold 15 13 11 11 -- 50

Oak Ridge 12 17 9 11 -- 49

LEOPOLD (50) -- Austin Bucher 17, Dillan Vandeven 6, Zach Elfrink 4, Cameron Davis 11, Zach Beel 5, Wesley Stoverink 7. FG 13, FT 9-18, F 10. (3-pointers: Bucher 5. Fouled out: none)

OAK RIDGE (49) -- Andrew Puchbauer 4, Kelby Brown 8, Ryan Below 20, Jake LeGrand 13, Kolt Metje 4. FG 17, FT 6-9, F 13. (3-pointers: Brown 2, Below 1. Fouled out: none)