LISBON

The upset win was within reach.

Lisbon held a four-point late in the third quarter after Lucas Francis broke hard to the basket for a layup. It seemed that 11-1 Madison was in trouble.

But a quick transition led to a buzzer-beating bucket for the Bulldogs, and Madison scored 25 points in the fourth quarter en route to a 54-45 Mountain Valley Conference victory over the Greyhounds, who fell to 6-6.

“Defensively I thought we played pretty well, but it came down to a two-minute stretch of the fourth quarter,” said Lisbon coach Jake Gentle. “Give Madison credit. They played really solid defense, especially in the fourth quarter. We had some turnovers. We would generate a turnover, but then turn it right back over to them.”

“Lisbon is a good ball club and did a great job getting the ball inside and hitting the shots that they needed to,” said Madison guard Evan Bess. “Eventually the shots were going to fall for us and we were going to turn them over. That is what happened in that fourth quarter for us.”

Early on, it appeared that the Bulldogs were going to repeat what happened on Jan. 12 in Madison, a 67-46 Bulldogs victory over the Greyhounds. Madison led 10- 2 early as Nick Morales and Mitch Jarvais each scored five points. Lisbon turned the ball over on five of its first six possessions, forcing Gentle to call a timeout.

Lisbon came out of the timeout strong, riding the hot shooting of Jonah Sautter and Henry Doyle as the duo combined for nine points to bring the Greyhounds to 11-9 after a quarter.

Madison led 17-10 midway through the second quarter when Lisbon caught fire. The Greyhounds reeled off a 9-1 run to close the half and led 19-18 at the break. Doyle led Lisbon with nine points through 16 minutes.

The third quarter began as a defensive struggle, with neither team finding much in the offensive end. Sautter put home his own miss, and Sean Scott answered a Jarvais trey with a long 3-pointer to put the Greyhounds ahead, 29-25.

Then came a frantic final seconds. Lisbon appeared to be holding for the final shot. Suddenly a lane opened up, with Francis taking it and scoring on a drive to the rim for a 31-27 Greyhounds advantage.

With seconds left on the clock, Lisbon fell asleep at the defensive end, with Sean Whalen finding Mitch Oliver for a basket to get the Bulldogs to within two heading to the fourth quarter.

“We tried to focus on taking the last shot of the fourth quarter, but in a situation like that Lucas had a lane that was wide open. It came down at the other end, not making a defensive stand in the final four or five seconds,” said Gentle.

“Momentum is huge and that basket was key for us. The swings in that game were apparent,” said Bess, who had nine points, including making 7-of-10 free throws in the fourth quarter.

Scott’s second of three 3- pointers gave Lisbon a 34-32 lead. But, Madison went to work, reeling off the next 11 points. Bess made four at the charity stripe during the spurt, and Jarvais stepped back and drained a backbreaking trey.

Lisbon, after turning the ball over just nine times through three quarters, committed six miscues down the stretch as Madison pulled away by making 12-of- 16 free throws.

“Madison did a real good job of blocking out,” said Gentle, whose Greyhounds were out-rebounded, 22-18. “It is tough to battle when giving up a few rebounds on one end and not getting one on the other end.”

Doyle paced Lisbon with 13 points, with Sautter and Scott adding nine points apiece. Tyrese Joseph pulled down nine rebounds and dished out four assists.

Jarvais had a game-high 15 points for Madison, with Whalen adding 13, and Morales and Bess picking up nine points each.

Madison 54, Lisbon 45

At Lisbon

	Madison —		11	7	11	25	—	54
Lisbon	—	9		10	12	14	—	45

Madison — Sean Whalen 6-1-13, Evan Bess 1-7-9, Nick Morales 3-3-9, Max Shibley 2-0-4, Mitch Jarvais 5-2-15, Matt Oliver 1-2-4, Cavan Weggler 0-0-0, Jacob Meader 0-0-0. Totals — 18-15-54. Lisbon — Henry Doyle 4-5-13, Jonah Sautter 4-0-9, Josh Huston 2-0-5, Sean Scott 3-0-9, Tyrese Joseph 1-3-5, Lucas Francis 2-0-4, DJ Douglass 0-0-0. Totals — 16-8- 45. 3-point field goals — (M) Jarvais 3; (L) Scott 3, Sautter, Huston. Records — Madison 12-1; Lisbon 6-6. Up next for the Greyhounds — Saturday at Dirigo, 7 p.m.