Baldwin’s boys basketball season ended in the first round of the 4A state basketball tournament with a 60-59 overtime loss to McPherson in Salina.

Junior Bulldog Leo Schoenberger scored a go-ahead layup with eight seconds left, giving the Bulldogs a one-point lead. McPherson ran the length of the court, and Gabe Pyle scored on a driving layup in the final second to win.

Baldwin finished 18-5 and fell short in the state tournament for the third year.

Both teams had a slow start offensively and racked up turnovers. Baldwin alone had four in the first three minutes and didn’t score until 5:15 remained in the first quarter. Junior Cooper Carr started to see his shots fall, scoring five of the team’s eight first-quarter points. Defensively, they held the Bullpups to one field goal, a 3-pointer, and only eight points in the quarter.

Carr started to heat up in the second quarter, scoring eight of the team’s 10 points in the first half of the second quarter. During that time, the Bulldogs built an 18-10 lead over the Bullpups, which they held until the fourth quarter. The Bullpups hit two 3s and a deep buzzer-beater 2-pointer to make it a 20-18 Baldwin lead going into halftime.

Baldwin and McPherson had drastically different ways to score points in the first half. The Bulldogs scored 16 of their 20 points in the paint, while the Bullpups scored only four points in the paint.

McPherson tied the game a minute into the second half before Baldwin scored seven straight points. The Bulldogs consistently got to the free-throw line but struggled to make their shots, only converting 17 of 29 attempts. Carr, who led the Bulldogs with 27 points, finished 9-for-17 from the free throw line despite shooting 9-for-12 from the field.

Carr’s free throws at the end of the third quarter gave the Bulldogs a 37-29 lead. They held that eight-point lead into the fourth quarter before the Bullpups rattled off an 11-0 run to take the lead. The final half of the fourth quarter consisted of back-and-forth free throws. Schoenberger hit two field goals in the final 13 seconds to tie the game at 51-51 as time expired.

McPherson slowed the tempo in overtime as both teams traded leads. Schoenberger scored to take a one-point lead, but Pyle won the game for the Bullpups in the final second.

This was the third straight season the Bulldogs finished their season in the state tournament. Last year, they reached the third-place game but lost to Atchison. The year before, they lost in the first round. Four of the team’s five starters — Carr, Schoenberger, Ethan Smasal and Colton Collum — are juniors and will return to Baldwin next year.