OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot Pictured above, Fredonia’s Alec Schrader (20) looks to outlet the ball up to teammate Ka’Rim Levens (10) during a basketball game on Thursday at Fredonia High School.

Down by one point with just 1.6 seconds left, the Fredonia Hillbillies had a chance to earn another CCAA Div. 1 West win over Maple Grove.

In the short time, the ‘Billies inbounded the ball to Tyler Putney, who sent up a contested shot that just narrowly missed going off the front of the rim as Maple Grove held on for the upset win over the Hillbillies on Thursday, 56-55.

Maple Grove came out strong defensively, reminding the Hillbillies that there is nothing easy in the CCAA Div. 1 West, regardless of record. The Red Dragons brought a tight man to man coverage which proved difficult as the Hillbillies were unable to score on their first three possessions.

The scoring did not begin to pick up until halfway through the quarter. Maple Grove’s offensive load early on was carried by Peter Auer, while the ‘Billies saw scoring from four different players. After one quarter, Fredonia trailed, 15-10.

Nate Shuart set the pace for the second quarter, as Fredonia wasted no time in scoring on their first possession. Soon the score was tied at 15, setting up for an exciting end to the first half. Both sides exchanged scores from long range, the only difference being that all of the Fredonia 3-pointers came from one player — Tyler Putney.

“We didn’t have the balanced scoring we needed,” said Fredonia head coach Nick Bertrando. “Regardless of one guy, we have been a team that has been successful by having multiple guys score. We had multiple opportunities that we did not cash in on as the team collectively.”

The Red Dragons closed the half on a go-ahead layup from Auer, his 14th point of the half, 28-27.

“Pete’s always consistent,” said Maple Grove head coach Rob Collver. “The last four or five games he’s made a focus to get his teammates involved.”

The second half started quick as both sides went back and forth. Maple Grove was first to take the momentum as they strung together consecutive scoring possessions. Halfway through the third the Red Dragons were up, 38-31.

That did not stop the ‘Billies, as they hung around headed to the fourth quarter down by two, 40-38.

“The never say die, never give in mantra we’ve preached all year,” said Coach Bertrando. “I don’t think we did. At the end of the day it came down to execution or lack thereof.”

It did not take long in the fourth quarter for Fredonia to even the score. After another Putney 3-pointer, Maple Grove took a timeout in an attempt to regain the momentum, trailing 50-46.

“That has been plaguing us all year,” said Coach Collver. “We have a great three quarters of play and then there is three or four minutes in there where we drop the ball.”

The Red Dragons battled back after the timeout, getting buckets from Crist and Reagle. With one minute remaining it was all tied up at 55-55. Maple Grove having relied on their shooting game early in the game found success at driving the basket.

“When we are hitting from three it expands out the defense,” said Coach Collver. “We have four or five guys that can shoot three’s and put it on the floor. That’s the benefit of our team because we are athletic.”

The Hillbillies, down by one, had a chance to win with a single shot. Fredonia was thwarted on their first attempt at the basket but maintained possession with 1.6 seconds left. Fredonia called a final timeout to draw up a final play as the inbound was sent to a covered Putney, who sent up a contested mid-range jumper that was denied by the rim.

“We talked about positive outcomes,” said Coach Bertrando. “Try to be more optimistic than pessimistic. Don’t worry about what defense they’re playing but just focus on form and the process more than the outcome.”

The ‘Billies leading scorers were Putney with 17 and Shuart with 18. Maple Grove saw great performances from Auer with 18 and Carson Crist with 14.