MT. PLEASANT – Spotting a team a 12-0 lead to start the game is not the way Head Coach Ryan Wilson wanted the Hounds to start against Mt. Pleasant Friday night.
It took the Hounds three quarters to dig out of the hole and they came up just short as Mt. Pleasant escaped with a 52-50 win over Fort Madison in boys Southeast Conference basketball action Friday night in Mt. Pleasant.
“We just finally played hard. First half we weren’t playing hard, we weren’t being aggressive, we weren’t attacking with a purpose,” Wilson said.
"I don’t know if we were intimidated by their size and physicality or what. That last minute and a half we played hard, we got in position, we got some help and we got some stops. Obviously it wasn’t good enough, but we finally started clicking.”
The Hounds didn’t start clicking until the final quarter again trailing by the same 12 points.
Hunter Cresswell scored inside on a nice move to get things going for Fort Madison in the fourth. The senior got into foul trouble early and had to be taken out to save him for the second half.
Fort Madison would miss their next four shots from the floor, while senior Nate Stroud scored inside to get Mt. Pleasant back up by a dozen.
But Nolan Guzman hit a three to cut to nine with 3:43 left. After a defensive stop, Carson Rashid slashed inside from the right side to score and get fouled on a close play at the basket. He would miss the freebie, but then would get a steal on the Panther’s next possession and score in transition to cut the lead to five at 44-49.
The Hounds defense would hold Mt. Pleasant to just one shot from the floor the rest of the way, but the one bucket the Panther’s did get proved to be just enough when senior Payton Hagans scored on a drive around the right side. The bucket came with the shot clock at :01 and four seconds left on the game clock. Fort Madison would get the ball down to the right wing where Leif Boeding buried a three to cut the lead to two. Wilson would call timeout as the ball slipped through the net at the buzzer.
Referees conferred and put :00.6 back on the clock. Mt. Pleasant threw an inbound half court pass that went awry. The ball was loose and Cresswell scooped it up and threw it back at the Hounds basket only to come up short.
Wilson said the Hounds played well in the final period, but that can’t be the way going forward.
“It takes four quarters of basketball. You can’t just show up and play the last eight minutes of the game,” Wilson said.
With Cresswell on the bench in foul trouble in the first half, junior Dayton Lamar took over defensively inside for the Hounds and changed the Panther’s dynamic in the paint.
Lamar was able to effectively neutralize Stroud, a 6’6” senior inside, with three blocked shots causing Stroud to make adjustments inside and throw off his game. That forced Hagans into doing more off the dribble in the second half with Lamar inside.
But not having Cresswell in the game hurt the Hound scoring inside. Fort Madison had trouble getting the ball inside in the half court instead choosing to stay on the perimeter, a hindrance Wilson brought up in an early time out.
“I called them out for it. We had to start attacking. We got in foul trouble because (Mt. Pleasant) drove with a purpose and drove hard and our defenders were late to get there and were called for the blocks,” he said.
“We let them do what they wanted to do offensively and went into the half down 12.”
Fort Madison wouldn’t make any headway in the third period and just ran out of time in the fourth despite the furious rally in the final minute.
The Hounds fall to 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Both of Fort Madison's losses have been by a combined six points, one in double overtime against Williamsburg last week.
The Panthers are 2-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
Fort Madison plays Pella Saturday in Fort Madison.
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