Last-second shot comes up short as Union City falls to Mendon
MENDON, MI. — Friday night’s nonconference boys basketball tilt featuring the Union City Chargers and the Mendon Hornets was a classic back-and-forth slugfest, a battle that saw numerous lead changes, a few ties, and some last-second excitement as the two foes played in early-season action.
The Chargers had several late looks to possibly take home the victory, with their final 3-point attempt falling just short with only seconds remaining, as Mendon escaped its home gymnasium with an exciting 44-42 victory.
“We had a chance at the end to win the game, we came up just a bit short,” said Union City coach Ben Chard. “It was a great game for our team to really learn from. We will use this game tonight as motivation to get ready for our conference opener next week.”
Scoring was at a premium from the opening tip, with both teams looking to get their offensive footing early. Both squads struggled a bit with turnovers in the opening minutes, as neither team could really seem to get comfortable on the court. The teams traded buckets throughout the quarter, with Union City’s big points coming from a pair of triples from Landon Galvin, while Mendon looked to a more balanced attack that saw buckets from five different players. The difference in the first quarter came on a clutch 3-pointer from Union City junior starter Jeremy Zehr with only seconds left in the quarter, with Union City taking a 12-11 lead after one quarter of play.
Union City came racing out of the gate in the second quarter with a quick 4-0 run, building a 16-11 lead early. Mendon did not panic however and relaxed, eventually tying the game up at 16-16 with a pair of free throws at the four-minute mark of the quarter. Union City managed to retake the lead just over a minute later with two free throws from senior Phoenix Elkins, only to see Mendon sink a triple on its next trip down, giving the Hornets a 19-18 lead with 2:30 left in the half.
Union City’s final points of the first half came on a tough drive and bucket from Galvin, pushing the Chargers into the lead at 20-19 with 1:30 left in the half. Mendon eventually went on to take a slim one-point lead into the break thanks to a 3-point play from freshman Owen Gorham with only seconds left in the half, giving the Hornets a 24-23 lead heading to the locker room for adjustments.
Union City came out of the half with newfound energy, opening up the third quarter with a 3-pointer from sophomore Eli Payne followed by a steal and a bucket from Nathaniel Maurer, giving the Chargers a 28-24 lead with 6:30 left in the quarter. In all it was Union City with a 7-0 run to kick off the third quarter over the first three minutes of play, building a 30-24 lead. Mendon responded, however, and it all started with a triple from Lucas Schinker, closing the score to 30-27 with 4:30 left in the quarter. Mendon completed the comeback and then some, using back-to-back steals and buckets in transition from Jack McCaw to propel themselves into the lead at 33-32, which is where the score would stand heading into the final eight minutes of the contest.
After a single free throw from Mendon extended the lead to 34-32 early in the fourth quarter, a pair of Alex Hull free throws for Union City quickly tied the game up at 34-34 with just under six minutes left on the clock. Union City ramped up the defense which led to a steal and a running bank shot from Payne, followed by a steal and bucket from Austin on the ensuing inbound, giving the Chargers the momentum and a huge 38-34 lead on a six-point swing, leading to a Mendon timeout with 5:11 left on the clock.
Mendon responded out of the timeout with an 8-0 run, capped by another McCaw steal and layup, giving the Hornets the 42-38 lead with under four minutes left on the clock.
Union City finally got back on the board with a bucket from Galvin on a tough drive, closing the score to 42-40 with 2:30 left in the game. After a defensive stop, Union City looked to tie up the game, however, the quick hands of McCaw led to another steal and a chance in transition to essentially put the game away. As McCaw cruised in for what would have been a huge layup it was the hustle of Jeremy Zehr that led to a big block from the Charger junior, keeping the game at one score at 42-40. On the ensuing possession, it was sophomore Aidan Decker driving hard to the baseline where he found a cutting Rick Austin for two big points, tying up the score at 42-42 with only a minute left in the game.
Over the next 40 seconds of play the Hornets sank a pair of free throws, one each from Dylan Cupp and Gabe Haigh, giving Mendon the 44-42 lead with just seconds left on the clock. Union City saw several solid chances at the bucket, including a 3-point attempt from Payne that went a little long, leading to a rebound by Mendon and a travel call, giving the Chargers one more chance. With just over 10 seconds left, the Chargers looked for their opening and seemingly found one as the ball landed in the hot hands of Landon Galvin at the top of the key. The shot came up just a bit short and hit iron, however, careening away from the play as time expired.
Union City saw eight players record a point, led by Landon Galvin who had 10 points. Also adding to the Charger effort was Rick Austin with eight points; Jeremy Zehr with six points; Alex Hull with six points; Eli Payne with five points; Phoenix Elkins with three points; Aidan Decker with two points; and Nathaniel Maurer with two points.
Mendon was led on the night by Noah Roberts with 10 points while Gabe Haigh and Jack McCaw added eight points each.
With the win, Mendon improves to 2-0 on the season while Union City falls to 1-1 on the year. Mendon will next see action Tuesday when it travels to Lawrence, while Union City will head to the court again next Thursday at Springport to open its Big 8 Conference schedule.
Union City JV routs Mendon
MENDON, MI. — The Union City JV Chargers used a huge second quarter and a big third quarter to pull away from Mendon on Friday night, going on to win big by the score of 58-22.
Union City held a slim 12-9 lead after one quarter but turned on the pressure in the second quarter, outscoring Mendon 17-2 to build a 29-11 lead at the half. Union City continued to roll out of the break, outscoring Mendon 19-5 in the third quarter to extend their lead to 48-16 after three. Union City put away the win with a 10-8 fourth-quarter advantage, finding the final score of 58-22.
Union City had three players hit double figures, led by Brendan Snyder with 15 points, Jason Shoop with 13 points, and Caden Hughes with 10 points.
Also adding to the Charger victory was Kent Robbins with two points; Bradley Hunt with four points; Zane Coppock with one point; Luke Fletcher with eight points; Brendan Labar with one point; and Willie Dunn with four points.
The Chargers are now 2-0 on the young season and will see action again next Thursday when they face off with Springport in their Big 8 opener.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Union City boys basketball falls to Mendon as last-second shot misses
