OT defeat

A referee's decision made for some mad cats Tuesday night.
After 32 minutes, the Arlington boys basketball team's game against North Bend Central continued on into overtime despite the Tigers' disdain. They angrily questioned whether Isaac Foust's game-tying putback evened the score before the buzzer, but, ultimately, left AHS with a win all the same.
NBC (8-2 overall) beat coach Tyler Spitser's shorthanded Eagles (6-6) 60-54 with a 12-6 extra period.
“You'd hate to be the guy who has to say if it's good or not because one coach is not going to be happy,” Arlington's man in charge said afterward, explaining that he'd have to watch film before providing his opinion on whether Foust got the equalizer off in time.
The 5-foot-9 senior started Tuesday night, filling in for the absent Dustin Kirk — a top scorer. He notched eight points, scoring a go-ahead bucket before halftime and the game-tying shot at the end of the fourth quarter — even if North Bend Eagle footage confirmed his last-second efforts were, technically, a bit late.
“(Foust) did a great job coming in defensively,” Spitser said. “And, then, he stepped up with a big rebound and finish at the end of regulation.”
The Eagles led for much of the fourth quarter, earning a 39-38 advantage with more than 6 minutes to go on Barrett Nielsen's 2-point basket. The lead swelled to five points twice, but North Bend battled back and earned a 48-46 margin when Tyler Hellbusch scored two of his 28 points with just 59 seconds to go.
Arlington would force overtime, but the fourth-period lead it lost was the second in as many games. The Eagles also led last Saturday's loss to Fremont Bergan late.
“We've got to be able to step to the line and knock down free throws,” Spitser said. “It's two games in a row that late free throws came back and haunted us.”
All told, Colby Grefe led AHS with 12 points Tuesday night. Nick Smith and Nielsen notched 11 in defeat, too.
The Eagles next play 5 p.m. Saturday at Syracuse.