It was possible that some fans attending Thursday’s Unified Basketball League game between the host Brunswick Dragons and Poland Knights may have thought they were in a scene from a movie.
With one second left on the clock, Brunswick’s Jackson Gordon was fouled while putting up a shot with the game tied at 31 apiece. It was either overtime or win it at the line. Gordon became the hero, sinking one of a pair of free throws to help lead the Dragons to their fourth straight victory, 32-31.
“They played great,” Brunswick head coach Chris Baribeau said. “We have athletes and we have partners. Our partners scored one point, it being the differencemaker in the game, but that’s how it should be. It’s a fun game, back and forth, it’s a lot of fun. As long as we can rebound, because a lot of shots go up, it’s always going to be close.”
However, it didn’t start out as a close game. The first quarter belonged to the Dragons as they compiled 12 points to the Knights’ three. It appeared that the Dragons were going to run away with it, but the Knights had a different plan. They limited Brunswick (4-0) to just four points in the second quarter, while putting up 10 of their own after starting with a 6-0 run to bring the game within three, 16-13.
“This has been the best experience coaching-wise that I think I have ever had,” Poland (2-3) head coach Danielle Hunt said. “I’ve done a ton of coaching, middle school, high school, varsity, I’ve been a referee for a while and hands down this is the best experience that I’ve had in basketball. The kids appreciate every second that they’re out on the floor and they just have fun, it’s a ton of fun.”
Second half battle
The second half was one that appeared to have everyone on the edge of their seats. The Knights continued to battle, bringing the game within one with 5:59 left in the third quarter, but the Dragons continued to sustain their lead. However, with 4:41 remaining, Poland’s Alec Burnell hit a shot that gave his team its first lead of the game, 19-18.
It became a back and forth affair the remainder of the quarter, with the Dragons keeping their three-point lead at the buzzer, 26-23. But, Poland continued to battle with an astounding transition in the fourth quarter, going on an 8-0 run to pull ahead, 31-26 with 4:14 remaining in regulation.
Brunswick chipped away, with Dragon Tad Hugo making a crucial steal at the 1:55 mark before he dished to Alex Larson to pull the game back within one. Just over a minute later, Brunswick’s Dalton Voidanoff was fouled in the paint and was sent to the line. After missing his first shot, he sunk his second to tie the game at 31, with the crowd roaring behind him.
Poland worked the ball around, draining time off the clock and hoping for one last shot to take the lead and end with a win, but after Larson grabbed a rebound with less than 10 seconds left, Baribeau called a timeout with just three seconds to go. Soon after was when Gordon was able to put a shot up with one tick remaining before getting fouled, going to the line and winning the game for the Dragons.
“It’s been a lot different than I thought,” Gordon said of the experience with the team. “But I love working with the kids, because you get to see how they act toward each other and they’re just so nice. You can learn a lot and they can learn a lot from you. This means the world to them and just that we’re doing this means the world to them. If we could win the championship I would love that, they would love it.”
“It’s more than just about winning,” Hunt said. “It’s about accepting defeat, it’s about learning how to multitask sometimes. It’s about learning how to play as a team, accepting direction. It’s been cool to bring it down to the most basic steps of the game and remembering what it’s about it and why it’s fun.”
“It’s been fantastic, I mean who would have guessed?” Baribeau said about his coaching experience. “This is our first season, 15 guys coming together and it’s been nothing but fantastic.”
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less