3-pointer leads to victory —Last-second shot nets Freddies a win

FREDERICKTOWN — It seems as though every kid in America has spent a moment or two on the playground, imagining what it would be like to have a chance to make the game winning shot. That wish came true for Shawn Johnson on Friday night.

Johnson nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to give Fredericktown a 42-39 victory over Danville in front of an ecstatic home crowd. The final shot capped an 11-point fourth quarter as the Freddies came back from as many as seven down to pick up the win.

“It’s not really a position I had ever been in before. I just had to make the decision whether to pass or shoot, and I put the shot up and it went in,” said Johnson. “I was just happy to be able to pull out the win and stay in MBC contention.”

In the opening quarter, the action belonged to Fredericktown (12-3, 10-2 MBC), in large part because of its domination on the boards. The Freddies managed to outrebound Danville (5-9, 5-7 MBC), 12-2, leading to second chance after second chance on offense. Though it could have been worse for Danville, Fredericktown did break out to an 11-5 lead at the end of the quarter. Shawn Johnson led the way with six points in the quarter for the Freddies, followed by Ryan Hathaway, who tallied the other five.

“We came out really flat in the first quarter. Fredericktown is a tough place to play, and we struggled out of the gate,” said Danville head coach Jason Crawford.

The Blue Devils went behind the arc in the second quarter, and quickly pulled themselves back into the game. Danville grabbed the first four points of the quarter to pull within one. The next three Blue Devils baskets would come from behind the arc, as Zack Mowery knocked in a trey, followed by a pair from Tyler McFadden. A Brad Bertrand putback put Danville up 20-17, but Fredericktown would tie the score at the half compliments of a 3-pointer from Kyle Pelc.

“We were able to hit some big shots in the second quarter from outside,” said Crawford. “We started getting good penetration, and that helped open up some kick-outs and get our offense going.”

It was Danville that came out strong in the third quarter, tallying the first seven points of the half. Logan Snell added four straight points for the Blue Devils to stretch the lead to 29-22. The Freddies came right back with a run of their own. A Johnson three-point play pulled Fredericktown within one, 29-28. McFadden answered with a drive to the basket with 10 seconds left in the half to give Danville a 31-28 at the end of the third.

Fredericktown worked quickly to get the lead back as Johnson made a pair of baskets in a span of 16 seconds to provide the Freddies a 32-31 lead. Devon Balcom returned the lead to the Blue Devils with a 3-pointer. Two and a half scoreless minutes later, Pelc answered for Fredericktown to retake the lead, 35-34.

“Danville had some big shots, and made really made a run on us,” said Fredericktown head coach Kirk Manns. “We stayed in it, and kept it close down the stretch.”

The game swung back and forth over the final moments as each team picked up the tempo to try and get quick baskets, and quick answers. Entering the final minute, however, Danville chose to slow it down. With 1:01 on the clock, the Blue Devils ran their offense, never going past the three-point line running the clock down to 23.6.

After a Danville timeout, they went back to work. A McFadden 3-pointer was off target with just seconds left. Johnson took the pass and dribbled up court and launched a 3-pointer, which banked directly in to give the Freddies a 42-39 victory.

The final play did not go as planned for Danville.

“We were trying to get the final possession, and try and get the ball to Mowery, and let him make something happen,” said Crawford. “Fredericktown’s defense didn’t allow that to happen, and Tyler (McFadden) was forced to take that shot.”

Manns was proud of the poise that his team showed in the final moments that lead to the victory.

“We did a good job on defense, but the big key was not quitting after the shot was taken,” said Manns. “Hitzfield picked up the rebound, and did a good job of finding Johnson up-court. It was a good heads-up play by the whole team.”

Johnson led all scorers with 20 points. He also finished with four rebounds. Pelc added six points and three rebounds in the victory. Zollars finished the evening with three points and four rebounds.

Danville was led by McFadden, who had 13 points on the night. Mowery added eight points. Balcom added seven points in the loss.

“It was a good night for the team. The defense and rebounding really helped out,” said Manns. “Sometimes you just get those shots to go your way.”

“We’ve really come a long way,” said Crawford. “We’re much improved through the second time through the MBC schedule.”

Danville returns to action next Friday as it hosts Loudonville at 6 p.m. Fredericktown returns on Monday, playing a makeup home game against Marion Pleasant.