NAPOLEON — Depending on your loyalties, Bowling Green’s heart-stopping 70-68 win over Napoleon can
be summarized as either the best of times or the worst of times.The ultimate high point for BG came with the
game knotted at 68-all. BG sophomore LaMontá Stone’s driving assist on Nolan Dill’s only hoop of the night,
with 4.2 seconds to go, accounted for the winning margin.“There were eight seconds left and coach didn’t
call a play, so I knew I had to attack,” said Stone who finished with 17 points. “I attacked left and both
(defenders) came up to me to help, and I just assisted to Nolan and he laid it up.”“He’s (Stone) a hard
guard (to defend), and he did a nice job of dumping it to Nolan, and Nolan finished it,” said BG coach Von
Graffin whose team improved to 11-9 on the season and 8-4 in the Northern Lakes League, good for second
place.Another satisfying situation for the Bobcats was Stone nailing 7-of-9 free throws in the final 1:24 of
the game.“When your point guard hits foul shots like that, the guy you want the ball in your hands late,
that’s a huge plus,” said Graffin. “He’s a young man who has put in some time before and after practice (at
the free-throw line).”“I haven’t been shooting well from the free-throw line this season at all,” said
Stone. “I know, as a point-guard, that I’m going to have the ball at the end of the game, so I know they are
going to foul me most likely. I’ve been working on my free throws and it showed tonight.”Conversely,
Napoleon’s Jordan Lauf, who had game-highs in both points (34) and rebounds (15), was an anemic 3-of-16 from
the charity stripe after scoring 30 points and converting 9-of-12 freebies in the Wildcat’s loss to BG in
early January. With this loss, Napoleon falls to 6-12, 2-10.Down 62-55 after BG’s Vitto Brown (23 points)
fouled out with 2:04 to go in the game, Napoleon fiercely attacked the rim, hit 4-of-6 free throws, and
after a trey by sophomore Blake Dunbar (13 points), the Wildcats had closed to within 67-66 with 31.3
seconds to go.“I didn’t think we were very smart up seven,” added Graffin. “We could have done some things
with the clock better, maybe pulled them out. I hate to get tentative, but at the same time, you want to get
some touches and run some clock.”Stone hit a free throw with 25.4 seconds left to put BG up 68-66. Lauf
responded inside with 16 seconds left, setting up BG’s scoring play. Napoleon’s out-of-bounds play,
deflected by BG sophomore Mitchell Gardner, resulted in no Wildcat field goal attempt.“Our sophomores made
plays at the end and we’re glad to see that,” said Graffin whose team was 27-of-52 (52 percent) including
5-of-17 from downtown.While the ending sent BG home with the win, the early going was certainly the worst of
times for the Bobcats. Napoleon, which shot 50 percent for the game from the floor, jumped to a 16-4 lead by
the 3:29 mark. The Bobcats committed nine of their 15 total turnovers in the first six minutes of the
game.“We thought they were going to play man,” said Stone. “We didn’t plan for them to play a 1-3-1, so we
had to adjust to that.”“We weren’t sharp with passes,” said Graffin whose team has a number of sick players.
“It (our play) looked like kids on antibiotics.”Another pitfall for BG was Brown’s second foul half way
through the opening quarter. However, the Bobcats, with Brown on the bench, were able to pull within 18-11
at the end of the first quarter.Brown returned to start the second quarter and accounted for 13 of BG’s 17
second-quarter points. The Bobcats were within 32-28 at the half.“He (Brown) got us going offensively (in
the second quarter), and he was able to play with two (fouls),” said Graffin.Even better times arrived in
the third quarter as senior guard Andrew Herringshaw deposited 10 of his 20 points in the period.
Herringshaw’s 3-pointer at the 5:11 mark gave the Bobcats a lead, 36-34, they maintained until the 68-68
tie. The period ended with BG clinging to a 51-49 edge.“Andrew, in the third quarter, was big,” said
Graffin. “He’s attacking the basket really well.”In the end, a team win — clearly the best of times.Down
41-34 after three quarters, the BG junior varsity team battled back to nip Napoleon 56-53 in overtime. Trent
Hinton and Cam Carsey pace the Bobcats with 17 and 10 points, respectively.BGHS 70, NAPOLEON 68BGHSStone,
5-7—17; Donaldson, 0-0—0; Walker, 0-0—0; Herringshaw, 7-2-0—20; E. Gardner, 1-2-0—8; M. Gardner, 0-0—0;
Brown, 8-1-4—23; Dill, 1-0—2. TOTALS: 22-5-11—70.NAPOLEONHoman, 1-1-0—5; Dunbar, 3-1-4—13; Hunter, 0-0—0;
Gilliland, 0-0—0; Lankenau, 2-3—7; Willeman, 2-1—5; Lauf, 11-3-3—34; Schlade, 1-2—4. TOTALS: 20-5-13—68.BGHS
11 17 23 19 —70NAPOLEON 18 14 17 19 —68Junior varsity: Bowling Green, 56-53, OT.