Fenwick (9-9, 2-5 GCLC North) gave up a 3-pointer with 30 seconds to go and fouled shooter James Johnson, then failed to grab the rebound on the missed free throw.
Caleb McGee put the Spartans (14-4, 5-2) ahead on a free throw moments later, leaving Fenwick 5.8 seconds left to make something happen, but the Falcons turned the ball over on a travel to seal it for Bacon.
“We had an opportunity to beat a very good team and make a statement about where we’re going toward the tournament, and we didn’t get to make that statement because we didn’t do the little things at the end,” Fenwick coach Pat Kreke said. “We outplayed them most of the game, but we didn’t do the little things at the end. We didn’t get it done.”
PHOTOS: Nick Graham’s gallery from the game
Fenwick took the lead at 11-10 late in the opening period and held it most of the night, including taking a 29-21 advantage into halftime — a cushion that extended to a game-high margin of 10 points with the first basket of the third quarter.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
However, Bacon stepped up its full-court pressure on defense and slowly chipped away at the gap, making it a two-point game going into the final stanza. The Spartans briefly took a lead in the first minute of the fourth period, but Fenwick used five points from Sammy DeBiasi and a layup from Caleb Davis to regain a six-point lead at 43-37 with 5:08 left.
Bacon answered with a 6-0 run to tie it and had the score knotted two more times before finally taking the lead for good on McGee’s free throw. He added another one for the final point with 0.1 seconds left after Fenwick turned the ball over.
FHS finished with 18 turnovers, including 13 in the second half. Paul Blodgett had a team-high 12 points for the Falcons, with 11 coming before halftime.
“We followed the scouting report better, got to their shooters better, we scored the ball better so they had to go against our full-court pressure, and I think maybe they got tired,” Bacon coach Brian Neal said.
Neal said the Spartans were fortunate to get the rebound after Johnson missed the and-one following his 3-pointer, and even more fortunate to make a couple free throws down the stretch, as Bacon made just 13 of 22 attempts for the game.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The Spartans also were 3-for-12 from 3-point range, including missing all five attempts in the first half. Alec Pfriem had 16 points and Johnson 15 to lead Bacon.
“Thankfully we got the rebound because we shot poorly all night,” Neal said. “That’s something we have to fix, but Brandon made a great play on the offensive rebound, and they still had that five-second window, but we got the stop we needed to. That’s kind of been our trademark is if we stop them, we have a chance to win. The third and fourth quarter we finally played defense the way we were capable of, and that was certainly the difference.”
Fenwick will host St. Xavier on Saturday night. The Spartans will visit Purcell Marian on Tuesday.
Roger Bacon 10-11-13-18—52
Fenwick 13-16-7-14—50
ROGER BACON (14-4, 5-2 GCLC Central): Brandon Bibbs 0 3 3, Trey Hennekes 1 1 3, Alec Pfriem 6 3 16, Craig McGee 3 5 11, James Johnson 6 1 15, Nick Pfriem 2 0 4. Totals: 18-13-52
FENWICK (9-9, 2-5 GCLC North): Caleb Davis 2 0 4, Paul Blodgett 4 1 12, Sammy DeBiasi 1 3 5, C.J. Napier 2 2 6, John Engelmeier 2 0 6, David Luers 3 2 9, Luke Bradshaw 4 0 8. Totals: 18-8-50
3-pointers: R 3 (Johnson 2, A. Pfriem), F 6 (Blodgett 3, Engelmeier 2, Luers)
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