Bulldogs dish out revenge: Last-second shot sinks Marcos in NUIC East battle

“That was the spark we needed, I guess,’’ Schmelzle said. “Right when Coach got kicked out, I told the guys that this had to stop. Our shooters got in the zone, Aiden was knocking down some big shots, and we finally got it going.”

But Geary and the Marcos weren’t about to go down without a fight. Polo still looked to be in good shape after Dylan Schoon (15 points, 7 rebounds) turned a Brady Bushman pass into a 15-foot jumper for a 56-51 lead with 1:59 to go.

But two Schmelzle free throws were followed by a 3 from Lucas Diemer (19 points, 6 rebounds) with 1:18 left to tie the score for the first time since 2-2. The two teams traded free throws in the final minute, and Polo’s last chance to win it – a 10-foot baseline jumper by Derek Ports (8 points, 13 rebounds) – bounced off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

“I thought it was in,” Schmelzle said, “and I can’t describe the relief when it bounced out. I came to the huddle and told the guys that we weren’t going to lose this game.”

Aquin took its first lead of the game at 60-58 on Brannick’s bucket from the block to start overtime, but Bushman’s 3 off a loose ball put Polo back ahead 61-60. Geary’s 3 with 1:23 left made it 65-62 Polo, then a free throw by Bushman (9 points, 3 assists) made it 66-62 with 1:03 to play.

But Schmelzle (12 points, 3 assists) got into the lane and lofted a runner over Polo’s post defenders, then Diemer hit two free throws after a Marco travel. Geary’s driving layup made it 68-66 Polo with 35.5 seconds to go, but Chang hit his sixth and final 3 of the night to put Aquin up 69-68 with 16 seconds left.

Geary was fouled in the backcourt and hit both free throws – he hit 15 of his 16 foul shots on the night –for a 70-69 Polo lead with 7.9 seconds to play, setting up Schmelzle’s game-winner.

“That was just crazy,” Geary said, echoing the sentiment of nearly everyone in the gym. “Obviously I want to win, but I’m not disappointed with the way we played tonight. We went 100 percent the whole game. They just got so hot that we couldn’t do anything about it.”

“That’s the greatest game I’ve been associated with since I’ve been at Polo, and maybe ever,” said Marcos’ sixth-year coach Matt Messer. “They hit big shots, we hit big shots, and it was just a phenomenal finish. It’s too bad we had to lose, but we didn’t do anything to lose that game. Those technicals energized them, and they came back and won it.”

Boys basketball

Aquin 71, Polo 70, OT