Though only one did, both Gallatin and Albany walked off the court believing they should have been the winner of Friday night’s Grand River Conference matchup.
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The Bulldogs squandered a double digit, first half advantage after Clint Richardson hit a putback shot ahead of the buzzer to close the Warriors to within 29-25. After four lead changes in the first four minutes of the third quarter, and five turnarounds overall, Albany entered the final period with a 41-40 lead.
The Warriors extended their lead to nine before Kayle Hefley banked in a three-pointer, and Colton Selby added another trey to pull the Dogs to within 55-52. With 1:12 left, Gallatin controlled the rebound on a missed free throw and Hefley drove to the other end for a field goal.
Derrick Sprague contested a shot by Richardson and pulled down the rebound to kick off a Bulldog possession. Fouled on drive to the hoop, Andy Ward hit the front end of a bonus to reach a 55-55 deadlock.
Jeff Lloyd brought the ball down for the Warriors and dished to Richardson for a layup with under 10 seconds remaining. Hefley’s stab from the wing at a game-winner rang off the backboard.
Hefley paced Gallatin, 3-10 overall and 1-2 in the league, with 20 points. Selby came off the bench to score 11. Sprague and Ben Adams each contributed eight points for the Bulldogs.
Albany, which evened its conference mark at 1-1, received 28 points from Richardson and 11 from Lloyd.
Following this week’s action in the Hamilton Tournament, the Bulldogs begin a tough, three-game road trip through the GRC. They travel back to Hamilton on Jan. 29, go to King City on Feb. 1 and head to Maysville on Feb. 5.