BARKLEY SHOWCASE: Hagadone’s incredible go-ahead 3 allows Steuben County to perform 1st ever 7-0 sweep of Barkley Showcase, as Rams escape B-R, hand Wolverines 1st loss with 69-66 double-OT win

BATH — Regardless of the result that would be obtained at the end of the long Saturday in Bath, a certain first in the Dan Barkley Showcase nightcap would occur for one side.

Bath-Haverling and Bolivar-Richburg put on a show that was worth every penny for the price of admission to wrap up the Showcase’s seventh installment. Not only did it see a constant battle for possession up and down the court unfold, but because of it, both teams tied twice in the final stages to force two extra sessions of overtime.

Talk about resiliency.

Like the rest of the action that had gone on across the contest from start to finish, the back-and-forth duel between the Rams and Wolverines would come down to the game’s final play. With 2.3 seconds staring directly down onto the court during double overtime festivities, something had to most certainly give.

Jake Hagadone had that sweet, sweet flush.

After a sequence of passes around the arc and back, the ball would land directly into his hands and with it, the Bath-Haverling sophomore controlled the pace at his own rate, taking his shot and hitting absolutely nothing but the breadbasket on the way down. It would remain as the nightcap’s game-winning shot, as Hagadone helps Steuben County record a first in Barkley Showcase history — a complete 7-0 sweep of the action, after a 69-66 wild finish.

“We talk about effort and outcome. The outcome wasn’t what we wanted it to be, but boy was the effort there,” said Wolverines coach Justin Thomas. “They worked their butts off all night long, and I am super proud of how we responded to every little stitch of adversity this game brought on. There were a lot of key learning moments that had come from inexperience, but they fought hard tonight. It stinks that we weren’t able to reward them for their effort.”

It was your true back-and-forth battle all throughout the opening quarter and into the second, with Aydin Sisson and Justin Yehl finding their rhythm to propel their offense. The Rams (5-7) lead during the frame would ultimately work its way towards five after some more assistance was garnered by Hagadone and the first of his three triples.

The buffer zone was maintained for much of the second quarter before Bolivar-Richburg (9-1) was able to slash it right back down with the help of the fouls beginning to mount up against Bath-Haverling to close out the first half. As a direct result of that, it gave the Wolverines a positive to end the half with, as David Baldwin forced a big half-ending turnover in their favor, and a runaway basket for Aydin Sisson to ultimately trim the deficit down.

Through the early portion of the second half back and forth war, the Rams would go on to record 11 points in the first 1:30 into the contest. But all would be lost later on by way of the Wolverines, who scored 13 unanswered points after a 51-40 lead for the Rams with nearly three minutes gone in the fourth quarter.

All 11 points that the Wolverines had to make up coming down the stretch, was accomplished by Landon Barkley with 28.5 ticks left in regulation, nailing the most clutch two shots of the night to ultimately force overtime.

“That’s all the boys did. They kept forcing, and they never went away,” Thomas said. “They never backed down against Bath. Finally, when they got that one big shot at the end, we ran out of time. That was one of just a couple of insane individual efforts we’ve seen. Landon had his moment to force overtime with his shots at the line. These kids love basketball, and they give it their all every time they come out. They got the lead on us to start, and then they settled in with some great experience on the floor and off.”

With regulation now in the books, the true back-and-forth battle would come around one more time in both overtime periods that were needed to determine a winner, with clutch free throw shooting once again setting the table for more free basketball. This time, they were served up by Kobe Moore, who tied the battle once again at 56 on each side to force a second overtime session.

Through the final four minute extra session, it would come down to who wanted it more, as both teams continued to wheel and deal, and dig in deep. In the end, it would all come down to one final shot. The Rams would have it after a series of passes around the arc ultimately landed in the wheelhouse of Hagadone.

The Rams junior, with minimal time remaining, knocked down an incredible three-point shot to break a 66-all deadlock with 2.3 seconds left to play. With one final attempt to try and work up some magic, the Wolverines made a heave down the court on the immediate inbound, where it was intercepted by Bath-Haverling to close out the game, and the Showcase’s very first 7-0 sweep of the action.

Austin Durand was awarded Player of the Game after his overtime efforts gave Bath-Haverling a much-needed spark to propel towards the top with the victory, netting a team-high 18 points. Cameron Seager was a force under the basket, as he recorded 12 points. Kobe Moore concluded with 13 points.

Bolivar-Richburg was led by another outstanding performance by Aydin Sisson, as he recorded a game-high 30 points to pace the field. Behind him was David Baldwin, who recorded 11 points. Landon Barkley finished with eight. The Wolverines are back on the floor come Tuesday night back home, as they look to bounce back with a 7:30 p.m. contest against Canisteo-Greenwood.

Bath-Haverling will now get set to try and build momentum of their incredible win on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. visit from Addison.

Bath-Haverling 17 13 12 9 5 13 – 69

Bolivar-Richburg 15 14 7 15 5 10 – 66

BATH-HAVERLING: Austin Durand 5 4-4 18, Kobe Moore 4 3-4 13, Caden Minnich 2 0-1 4, Justin Yehl 5 0-3 10, Jake Hagadone 4 0-1 11, Gavin Price 0 1-4 1, Cameron Seager 5 2-5 12. Totals: 25 10-22 69.
BOLIVAR-RICHBURG: Aydin Sisson 10 8-16 30, Landon Barkley 3 2-3 8, Reiss Gaines 1 1-6 3, Waide Karnuth 2 0-2 4, David Baldwin 4 3-8 11, Evan Pinney 2 0-0 4, James Margeson 3 0-1 6. Totals: 25 14-36 66.
3-point goals: B-H 9 (Durand 4, Hagadone 3, Moore 2), B-R 2 (Sisson).
Total Fouls: B-H 25, B-R 19. Fouled out: Moore (B-H), Minnich (B-H), Yehl (B-H), Barkley (B-R).