Southwest's Michael Lisher, Drake DeBiasse and Nick Hassig.

Buzzer beaters.

The rare occurrence reared its ugly head last Thursday night at West Junior High and broke the hearts of the Southwest freshmen boys basketball team.

With less than 10 seconds to play, and the score tied at 40, Blue Valley Northwest used a spread offense to run the remaining seconds off the clock. Some ball movement around the perimeter and a pass into the post, collapsed the Bulldogs’ defense.

And with one quick pass to the perimeter, a pump fake, and one dribble just inside the three-point line, Matt Ornduff’s shot swished through the goal, giving Blue Valley a 42-40 win over Southwest.

A joyous Huskies squad celebrated on the court while Bulldog players wiped away tears, and later returned to their locker room heartbroken.

“A two-point shot – either team could have won that,” Bulldogs’ coach David Schneider said. “They’re both good teams, and we just came up on the short of that one.”

Southwest fell behind 15-6 at the end of the first quarter, but the Bulldogs fought back with some long distance shooting from Daniel Chance, who hit two three-point shots in the quarter to help Southwest take a 24-21 lead at the half.

With the score tied at 30 at the end of three quarters, and two teams so evenly matched talent-wise, the game was truly anybody’s to win.

After falling behind by three points with less than two minutes to play, Bulldogs’ guard Drake DeBiasse wouldn’t let his team down. He hit three straight field goals, and scored six of his team high 10 points in the final quarter.

Trailing 40-38 with less than a minute to play, Southwest’s Nick Hassig tied the score with a jump shot from the free-throw line. On Blue Valley’s next possession, Southwest’s defense rose to the occasion and forced the Huskies to miss a shot. Bradley Jamierson grabbed the rebound, and Southwest streaked down court ready to take the lead.

Schneider opted not to call a timeout, and put the outcome of the game in the hands of his players on the court.

With the Huskies’ defense not quite ready for the streaking Bulldogs, Jamierson received a pass and took an open shot from the left wing. His shot curled off the rim, and the Huskies grabbed the board, setting up the wild finish.

“That came down to me making a bone-head decision,” Schneider said. “I thought we were going to set it up for a last-second shot. We had an open look and we took it, but I should have called a timeout and taken the last-second shot, and made sure no matter what we were going into overtime.”

During the Huskies’ timeout, DeBiasse said the feeling in the Bulldogs’ huddle was one of poise and composure.

“I was confident. I thought we were going to pull it out or go into overtime,” he said.

But play in overtime they would not, and with one shot the Bulldogs’ ended their junior high careers on a sour note. But Schneider, who also coached the Bulldogs as eighth-graders, said the gut-wrenching loss didn’t take away from what they had accomplished the last two years, compiling a 31-6 record.

“Sometimes the shots didn’t fall our way and that happens in basketball,” Schneider said. “They’re wonderful kids. I’ve been with them for two years, and we’re like family. So we’ve been together for a long time, through all the summer camps and two years of going to practice six days a week. We’re together probably more than we are with our families.”

DeBiasse said while the loss was “rock bottom,” the time he spent with his coach and fellow teammates is something he’ll never forget.

“It was fun. I love playing with those guys,” he said. “I love my coach. It was awesome.”