Bob Jones Boys fall to Austin on late foul call

MADISON – The Bob Jones Patriots were mere seconds away from a one-point victory against Austin only to have it slip away at the free-throw line.

Austin senior Harry Malone drained back-to-back foul shots from the charity stripe to push the Black Bears out front for the narrow 44-43 win on the road on Friday.

The cold air outside did nothing to stifle the energy in the building as these two programs scrapped over the course of four quarters.

Austin was led by the strong performances of junior Caiden Ricks with 16 points while Malone ended up with 13.

Bob Jones turned to senior leader Kaden Rickard who racked up 17 in the game as the Patriots appeared in position to win before a later than late foul call at the horn.

Rickard had just made a free-throw with 4.6 on the clock for a 43-42 Bob Jones advantage with seemingly no time left.

Less than a handful of seconds to create a prayer of a shot to win the game for Austin.

The Black Bears needed some good fortune to say the least at this moment.

Austin used a pair of timeouts to creep down the court for one last inbounds with 0.5 on the scoreboard.

When the ball was lobbed toward Malone near the basket, the Austin player was undercut by a Bob Jones defender who caused Malone to fall to the court as the clock hit zero.

The arena dissolved into complete chaos as a foul was called for contact with Malone.

The Bob Jones head coach Bryant Starkey was livid at the late foul call as he tried to argue the decision with an official in vain.

The drama only intensified as Malone made the first free-throw to tie the game at 43-43.

The Patriot student section screamed and motioned in a desperate attempt to throw Malone off his game, but it did little to help as the ball rippled through the net with a silent swish that was drowned out by the mixture of cheers and boos.

After one quarter of play, Bob Jones was leading 13-5.

The teams battled to a 17-17 deadlock by the half.

By the end of the third quarter, the Patriots were holding on to a slim 36-33 edge with the final eight minutes remaining.

For more coverage of Bob Jones Boys Basketball, be sure to pick up the print copy of The Madison Record on Wednesday, December 11 for a game story about the Patriots on the road against rival Sparkman on Saturday night.

Don’t miss the Bob Jones Girls Basketball print story that includes postgame reactions from standout players Elise McClain and Ella Watts who combined to score 54 in the 85-37 blowout of Austin.