In a pair of back-to-back games for Bridgeport’s boys’ basketball team, Coach Mike Robey watched as a pair of shots seemed to be pivotal in what would prove to be the final result. While he admitted both switched the flow of the games, he said were other factors in Monday’s and Tuesday’s games that had mixed results.

 

The results saw Bridgeport drop a 56-40 score to Logan in Charleston Monday at the Little General Shootout, while coming back Tuesday to take a 67-62 home win against Lincoln in overtime. The win puts the Indians back above the .500 mark at 9-8.

 

Bridgeport’s first game this week was on a neutral floor and, for good portions of the first half, the game in question was neutral with the Wildcats. Although Logan led 22-10 early in the second period of the game, BHS rallied with a 13-2 run to make it 24-23 with a chance to draw even at the foul line just before the half.

 

Instead, the missed free throw turned into a half court buzzer-beater by Logan’s David Early that put Bridgeport in a 27-23 hole. Still, Robey didn’t feel too bad about his team’s chances heading into the break.

 

“I know it was a 50-footer and that can be deflating, but we’re still only down four points,” said Robey. “It was anyone’s game, but that didn’t stay that way long.”

 

Robey was correct. The third period saw the game go from contested to completely in Logan’s favor. Of course, when you go roughly half the period without scoring that’s what happens.

 

“The first four or five possessions of the second half we get the ball to the front of the rim or inside of 10 feet, good shots, and we can’t finish. We have five empty possessions and they start scoring and before you know it we’re down double digits,” said Robey. “We’re right back where we were at the start of the game and we were trying to play catchup the rest of the night and it was just an uphill grind we couldn’t complete.”

 

By the time the third period closed, Bridgeport was down 41-29. Logan would add to the lead in the fourth period.

 

Bridgeport’s woeful offensive night saw the Tribe get just two players in double figures. J.T. Harris and Brayden Lesher both finished with 12 points.

 

Less than 24 hours later, Bridgeport was back on the court at home and seemed to have control of its game with Lincoln late – only needing to inbound the ball and hit what would certainly be a chance at two free throws to completely ice the game.

 

The Tribe was up by three points with just seconds remaining. After a timeout, BHS turned the ball over and the Cougars quickly went into transition where Chase Riley was more than happy to line up and drain a game-tying 3-point field goal.

 

“We could have put it away, but in the end the big thing is to learn from it,” said Robey. “It’s easy to blame the inbounder there because he pass was tipped and stolen. You know in a situation where kids get excited when it gets tight, but everyone else could have done a better job.

 

“On the play, J.T. was to run through a screen and it wasn’t there and when that didn’t work everyone else just stood around,” Robey continued. “We still had a timeout, but no one did anything to help so it’s not on our guy inbounding the ball. I told our kids that after the game to learn from it because we got away with it.”

 

The Tribe was able to get away with it because they did something they haven’t done particularly well all season long – make free throws. Bridgeport finished the game 21-of-27 from the foul line. Most of that, a 12-of-16 total, game in overtime.

 

“(Free throws were) the difference in the ball game,” said Robey. “That’s a result of being aggressive offensively and going to the glass that led to a lot of opportunities. I’ll take those numbers every night.”

 

The first half was a back and forth slugfest. BHS led 15-10 after one period and then the Tribe was down 21-19 at the break thanks to a four-point second period. BHS regained the advantage in the third period and was up 36-31 going into the final period of play.

 

Bridgeport stayed in front most of the fourth period with the foul line continually pushing the home team in front. Things stayed that way until Riley’s late heroics.

 

“The game was the opposite of the Logan game in the sense that Lincoln was the one playing from behind and trying to catch us. The only difference was they actually caught us,” said Robey. “If we learn from it then the whole experience will turn out to be a good thing.”

 

Harris had another big game offensively for the Tribe with a team-high 17 points. Dylan Purcell, finished with 16 points, while Tyler Hardesty added 10.

 

Bridgeport's game tonight at Elkins was postponted. The makeup is set for Feb. 21. The team is back in action on the road Saturday at Class AAA power University and then visit Preston on Tuesday. All games are at 7:30 p.m.

 

Also, the latest edition of the MetroNews Power Rankings were released and Bridgeport has again climbed in the standings. The Tribe, at 9-8, is ranked No. 13 in Class AA and No. 32 overall.

 

Several area teams are also highly ranked. Click HERE for the complete standings.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo shows J.T. Harris going to the basket, while Dylan Purcell fires in a shot in the second photo. Bottom photo shows Coach Mike Robey in a recent team huddle. Photos by Matthew DeMaria of www.benqueenphotography.com.