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Petersburg falls in the final seconds to Freedom in the Holiday Tournament in a back and forth battle; time to fight for third

Zoe Collins Rath

Dec 29, 2021

Petersburg's offense looked like it had a strong start with 75% free throw shooting, George Wilson III draining a shot from the corner, and Chris Fields Jr. and Jamari Garnett putting up easy points on the block.

But their efforts were not sufficient enough as the Freedom Eagles were catching fire. The second the Wave would score the Eagles would put up a shot and take over the game.

Petersburg has typically held control of basketball games but tonight was a bit different because the boys were playing catch up. Freedom's shooting is more consistent than Petersburgs and it was able to take control of the game.

Quickly.

"Their guards are small and they are quick," said Head Coach Ryan Massenburg.

It would start 4-2 Petersburg after the work of Fields (25 points and 17 rebounds) and Garnett (nine points and five rebounds). But shot after shot from Freedom's Jalen West from behind the arc and shorter field goal shooting put the Eagles ahead.

The Crimson Wave was forcing passes and not being fully aware of where the ball was going which would generate turnovers. While Petersburg was able to get possession back sometimes, Freedom would let the ball go or Petersburg would draw a foul.

Even though Wilson's corner shot was drained, the Eagles responded with their own shooting. At the end of the first quarter, Petersburg was down the biggest deficient so far this season, 24-14.

"They took us completely out of our defensive game," Massenburg explained.

But the Wave would build some momentum with a 4-0 run at the start of the quarter with Fields and senior CJ Claiborne going coast-to-coast on fast breaks. Jamar Hodges would get involved with the offense with his own jumper as the Wave tried to close the deficit in the middle of the second quarter. It started to look like the early Crimson Wave.

The Eagles would get the ball on a fast break and as they would go for a layup Garnett swatted the ball away. Petersburg would get the ball back after creating a turnover from the inbound pass but they needed more to play Petersburg basketball.

The third quarter was when Petersburg basketball showed up on the court. Finally, the team was in control of the pace of the game and pushed the ball the way they did all season.

Fields would get open down low and would spin for all the open shots. Garnett would jump out of the gym for put-backs shots. Lundy would start to heat up draining two three-point shots in the quarter.

"One thing about Lundy, night in, night out, he is going to play hard," said Massenburg.

The effort from the Wave on offense would not go unnoticed. Garnett would go to the free-throw line and sink his shots to extend Petersburg lead. But some open shooters kept Freedom on the game and at the end of the quarter, they were up 59-56.

"Small distractions could hinder us in the game...," Massenburg explained.

The fourth quarter came down to the wire and which shot would drop sooner. Petersburg would generate turnovers for themselves. A dribble in-between the legs for Freedom did not go as planned because Claiborne and Lundy both swarmed for the ball.

It would go to Petersburg.

The Crimson Wave had great success with their layups to generate points. But what did not help was missing four of seven free throws in clutch. However, they still had a chance with a drive from Lundy to tie the game at 71.

But time was still on the clock.

In the final seconds, the Eagles could not penetrate the paint. Petersburg's defense forced passes around the perimeter or a dribble in to dribble out. In the corner in front of the Freedom bench, they would drive and Garnett came to help. But that left an Eagle open for an easy layup to make it 73-71.

With three seconds left on the clock, Petersburg had to inbound the ball on a full-court press. Lundy got the ball to avoid a five-second violation and dribbled up the court. With the clock winding down he barely crossed half-court and let off a shot that was just short of going in.

With the loss to Freedom in the tournament, the highest place the Wave gets is third place. They play Brunswick Wednesday evening, a rematch from the first game of the season.

"We don't want to come in and drop our heads" Massenburg concluded.

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