SOUTH WAYNE - A different bounce of the ball here or some preferential treatment from the iron there and the Panthers would have remained the hottest team in the Six Rivers East.
Instead, Juda (7-4, 3-3 Six Rivers East) could not steal a victory on the road against Black Hawk in a 46-42 barnburner.
After Warriors junior Shane Jackson, who struggled shooting throughout, buried two bonus free throws for his only points of the game to seize a four-point lead with 32 seconds left, several Panther near-misses denied the upstart club a shot to upset.
"I know he's a great free throw shooter, and I knew the pressure wouldn't get to him," Black Hawk's Joey Hartwig said. "I did my best to calm him down, but I couldn't say much, because I was missing my free throws too."
Curiously, Panthers senior point guard Kurtis Mansfield brought the ball up slowly on the following possession.
"I was wondering what was going on and that maybe he thought they were down just three," Hartwig said.
Juda coach Andy Werner used a timeout with just under 20 seconds to play, but Taylor Goodman poked free the Panther inbounds pass and junior Michael Place saved the loose ball along his own baseline.
Kurtis Mansfield stepped into the junior's emergency passing lane just inside the timeline before elevating and unleashing a 25-foot shot that drew not only glass, but virtually every part of the rim before rattling out.
"That was a scary shot, if he hits that we're in deep trouble if they take a quick timeout," Hartwig said.
Juda couldn't get a quality look thereafter despite a Black Hawk travel that gave them new life with 12 to play.
Nothing came easy for Black Hawk (11-1, 5-1 Six Rivers East), which only built its lead to eight points once midway through the third when Hartwig hit two free throws after tearing down an offensive board.
But Mansfield pulled up and drilled a triple from a couple extra feet beyond the arc and followed it up with a rebound and coast to near-coast pullup from 18 feet that drew front-iron, bounced high and fell home to cut the deficit to 33-30 for Juda.
"I've never seen a Juda team like this," Hartwig said. "We weren't ready for them at all. They're always in their games."
Senior Taylor Goodman led Black Hawk with 13 points by working inside and out while Hartwig and Place added 11 apiece.
"We don't have that main scorer who averages 20 points per game," Hartwig said. "Anybody can go off when it's their night."
Hartwig was a human fly-swatter on the defensive end as he blocked five Panther shots, two of which ended up out of play on the fly.
His last rejection came on the heels of a 4-0 Goodman surge that built a 43-38 lead with 4:39 left in the fourth. After Goodman earned a tough hoop inside, Hartwig made his next hoop easier as he dummied a shot at the left elbow, only to hit Goodman all alone at the right block.
To fully-showcase his versatility after the helper, Hartwig swatted a Mansfield attempt before some confusion over a foul among the officials. It caused a stoppage in play that led to some restless fans getting a bit verbal with the Black Hawk bench.
"When fans get into it with the coaches or players, you've got to calm each other down," Hartwig said. "It's one thing for the student section to yell, but for a parent ... I don't know why, but lately we've been hearing a lot more from the crowds."
"They want to see us get beat," Hartwig said. "We've got the targets on our back and we haven't been used to that."
The ballclubs will lock horns again in just 10 days on Jan. 24, as Saturday's game was a makeup of Dec. 11's snowed-out affair.
The Panthers had won five of their previous six games, including a 67-63 breakout performance Thursday night at home against Barneveld.
They'll try to recapture the magic Tuesday when the host another rival with a 5-1 league mark in Monticello. Black Hawk travels to Argyle Tuesday.
Instead, Juda (7-4, 3-3 Six Rivers East) could not steal a victory on the road against Black Hawk in a 46-42 barnburner.
After Warriors junior Shane Jackson, who struggled shooting throughout, buried two bonus free throws for his only points of the game to seize a four-point lead with 32 seconds left, several Panther near-misses denied the upstart club a shot to upset.
"I know he's a great free throw shooter, and I knew the pressure wouldn't get to him," Black Hawk's Joey Hartwig said. "I did my best to calm him down, but I couldn't say much, because I was missing my free throws too."
Curiously, Panthers senior point guard Kurtis Mansfield brought the ball up slowly on the following possession.
"I was wondering what was going on and that maybe he thought they were down just three," Hartwig said.
Juda coach Andy Werner used a timeout with just under 20 seconds to play, but Taylor Goodman poked free the Panther inbounds pass and junior Michael Place saved the loose ball along his own baseline.
Kurtis Mansfield stepped into the junior's emergency passing lane just inside the timeline before elevating and unleashing a 25-foot shot that drew not only glass, but virtually every part of the rim before rattling out.
"That was a scary shot, if he hits that we're in deep trouble if they take a quick timeout," Hartwig said.
Juda couldn't get a quality look thereafter despite a Black Hawk travel that gave them new life with 12 to play.
Nothing came easy for Black Hawk (11-1, 5-1 Six Rivers East), which only built its lead to eight points once midway through the third when Hartwig hit two free throws after tearing down an offensive board.
But Mansfield pulled up and drilled a triple from a couple extra feet beyond the arc and followed it up with a rebound and coast to near-coast pullup from 18 feet that drew front-iron, bounced high and fell home to cut the deficit to 33-30 for Juda.
"I've never seen a Juda team like this," Hartwig said. "We weren't ready for them at all. They're always in their games."
Senior Taylor Goodman led Black Hawk with 13 points by working inside and out while Hartwig and Place added 11 apiece.
"We don't have that main scorer who averages 20 points per game," Hartwig said. "Anybody can go off when it's their night."
Hartwig was a human fly-swatter on the defensive end as he blocked five Panther shots, two of which ended up out of play on the fly.
His last rejection came on the heels of a 4-0 Goodman surge that built a 43-38 lead with 4:39 left in the fourth. After Goodman earned a tough hoop inside, Hartwig made his next hoop easier as he dummied a shot at the left elbow, only to hit Goodman all alone at the right block.
To fully-showcase his versatility after the helper, Hartwig swatted a Mansfield attempt before some confusion over a foul among the officials. It caused a stoppage in play that led to some restless fans getting a bit verbal with the Black Hawk bench.
"When fans get into it with the coaches or players, you've got to calm each other down," Hartwig said. "It's one thing for the student section to yell, but for a parent ... I don't know why, but lately we've been hearing a lot more from the crowds."
"They want to see us get beat," Hartwig said. "We've got the targets on our back and we haven't been used to that."
The ballclubs will lock horns again in just 10 days on Jan. 24, as Saturday's game was a makeup of Dec. 11's snowed-out affair.
The Panthers had won five of their previous six games, including a 67-63 breakout performance Thursday night at home against Barneveld.
They'll try to recapture the magic Tuesday when the host another rival with a 5-1 league mark in Monticello. Black Hawk travels to Argyle Tuesday.
