Sandwich Wins Another Close One
Indian Fourth Quarter Rally Keeps Plano Winless
By Bill Lidinsky
Throughout eleven games this season the Sandwich High School boys basketball team has compiled seven wins and four losses. In all but two of those contests has the margin of victory or defeat been more than seven points with the Indians being embroiled in three overtime thrillers so far in 2007.
Tuesday night would prove to be no different as Sandwich (7-4, 3-1) rallied back from a 38-34 fourth quarter deficit on the road to outscore arch rival Plano (0-6, 0-3) 14-5 during the final period for a 48-43 Interstate Eight Conference victory.
Indian senior guard Travis Anderson tallied 10 of his team high 17 points in the final stanza as Sandwich found a way to register a victory in yet another close ballgame.
“We’ve been able to stay composed late in ballgames and we did again tonight. Every game but two have been single digit contests and most have come down to the last few possessions,” said Sandwich head basketball coach Scott Bantz. “Kudos to Plano however. They had us staggered early by shooting the ball well and executing their offense. Fortunately, it worked out for us in the end after a rough start.”
Plano jumped out to a 13-7 lead after one quarter and kept pace with Sandwich in the second period despite allowing the Indians to tie the game at 15 on Anderson ’s three ball with 3:45 to go in the opening half.
But from there, the Reapers forged ahead once again to grab a 24-19 advantage at the intermission.
“We missed a lot of shots in the first half. As a result of that and some fine defense by Plano , we were staring at a deficit at halftime. But the kids didn’t give up once again,” Bantz said.
The third period was a scoring battle between Plano junior Ryan Campisi and Sandwich senior Tyler Bantz. Each registered eight points apiece in the quarter as the two teams battled toe to toe with the Reapers owning the four point advantage entering the final eight minutes of play.
“I’ve always seemed to play well in this gym. For a while in the first half it seemed like nothing was going to go down for us. But in the third and fourth period it turned around,” Tyler Bantz said. “One of these times we’d like to win somewhat easily. It seems like everyone we play, it’s a close game every time. Tonight was no exception and the rivalry with Plano is always strong.”
Anderson ’s heroics highlighted the final quarter of the matchup as the Sandwich senior standout scored eight straight points including six-of-six from the free throw line to break open a 40-40 tie at 4:10 of the period. When Anderson nailed his sixth straight charity throw with 45 seconds left to make the score 48-40, the Reaper fate was sealed.
“It’s a credit to our team for just hanging in there once again. We struggled early offensively, but we hung in there like we have a lot of times this year,” Anderson said. “Give credit to Plano . They brought out the best in us. The rivalry will always be there. The “War on 34” will always be tough games.”
“You can tell Anderson ’s been there before. He’s really a clutch player,” said Plano head basketball coach Eric Bryant. “When you get kids who’ve been in that position many times like he’s been in so far this season playing in those close games, the experience speaks volumes. It certainly did for Sandwich tonight.”
Campisi led all scorers with 18 points including five three-pointers. After Anderson ’s 17, Bantz paced Sandwich with 16 tallies including four three balls. Senior Jon Aubrey headed the Indian defensive attack with 10 rebounds as Sandwich snatched down 28 boards to Plano ’s 20.
Overall, Anderson and Bantz accounted for 33 of the 48 Indian points,
“Tyler and Travis are our top two scorers and they’re who we have to rely on in the tough games like we’ve had this year,” Scott Bantz said. “They both performed well tonight as did the rest of our team pulling out another close victory. Maybe one of these games I’d like to sit down and relax a bit. But every win is a good win.”