Mustangs withstand Indians’ fourth-quarter rally, survive with one-point victory

MENDON, Ill. — If Mendon Unity boys basketball coach Keith Carothers was spotted at a local pharmacy early Saturday morning in search of some sort of magic hair-growth potion, there was a specific reason for his being there.

“I’ll tell ya what, I’m a lot balder now than I was before the game,” said the follically challenged Carothers late Friday night.

Carothers’ team was able to emerge with a hair-raising 58-57 victory over Payson Seymour in front of a crowd of about 725, but not before a wild fourth quarter caused the Mustangs coach more than a few anxious moments.

Unity (6-2) looked to have the game safely put away by midway through the final quarter, having held a double-figure lead from early in the second period until the closing minutes of the game.

Payson (1-5), however, forged an impressive rally by outscoring Unity 14-7 over the final three minutes of the game before missing a potential go-ahead shot near half court just before the buzzer.

Payson registered 28 points over the final eight minutes after scoring just 29 points during the first three quarters. 

The victory was Unity’s second straight over Payson, the first time the Mustangs have accomplished that feat in 14 years. Prior to Unity’s back-to-back victories, Payson had defeated the Mustangs 15 consecutive times.

Unity led 52-44 with a little more than three minutes to play, but after the Mustangs’ Sawyer Allen, who led all scorers with 23 points, missed a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining, the game qas down to a one-point affair. Payson’s Blake Schwartz rebounded Allen’s miss. A last-gasp shot from Lane Barker near midcourt fell short — and so did the Indians’ comeback.

“You really have to credit Payson,” said Carothers, whose club committed nine turnovers in the fourth quarter. “They just ran out of time.”

Payson coach Tyler Duschinsky, whose team has yet to play at home, liked what he saw late in the game. 

“We dug ourselves a hole, and at halftime we challenged our players to come out in the second half and play with some heart,” he said. “It was a disappointing loss because (of the outcome), but … not a disappointing loss with the way we fought back.”

Duschinsky pointed to first-half defensive lapses that led to numerous Unity breakaways. Coupled with some poor shooting — the Indians made just one second-quarter field goal — Payson found itself on the short end of a 29-13 halftime score. The Mustangs outscored the Indians 17-4 in the second period.

Triggering Payson’s comeback was Schwartz, who dropped 17 of his 21 points in the second half, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Schwartz hit a trio of 3-point field goals in the second half.

“That Schwartz is a great shooter,” praised Carothers.

Allen also credited Payson’s effort, and was admittedly relieved to escape with a victory.

“Things just started to snowball in the second half, but a win is a win,” said Allen, who was the only Unity player to make a field goal in the fourth quarter.

Kendall Knox added nine points for Unity and Blake Arnsman eight. Allen, Adler Gray and Skylor Goudschaal each collected six rebounds to help Unity to a narrow 34-33 edge on the boards. Gray, just a freshman, also blocked three shots.

Sparks knocked down 10 points and Barker eight for Payson. Brodie Dieker led Payson rebounders with six.