Shafter 39, Kern Valley 36

Kern Valley and Shafter traded baskets in the first half with neither team able to build a lead. The Broncs sat back in a tight 2-3 zone, using their back line mountain beefiness to deter penetration and collect boards. The Generals responded with a barrage of threes, connecting on their first five attempts from beyond the arc, three from Adrian Trujillo and one each from Cristian Barrios and Angelo Senoran. Trujillo became a marked man from that point on and a chorus of "shooter" followed him around the perimeter of the Kern Valley zone for the rest of the game.

The first half ended with the score Shafter 24, Kern Valley 22. Shafter started the second half with stepped up defensive pressure and seemed to rattle the Bronc guards. However, Shafter was unable to capitalize on the turnovers, turning the ball back and missing quite a few shots near the basket. With four minutes to play, the score was tied at 30. Then, with about a minute on the clock, the Generals found themselves down by two with several fouls to give before the bonus. Wiebe called for fouls so that they could send the Broncs to the line if they needed to later.

This is where things took at turn for the weird. With 25 seconds to play, Bronc big man Warren Pappas took offense at being fouled and was called for a technical. It was a potentially costly failure of emotional control. However, Barrios only made one of two, putting the Generals down one point with the ball. After a couple of missed shots and offensive rebounds, Shafter inbounded the ball with 11 seconds left. Trujillo had an open look from three, but his shot lodged itself between the rim and backboard and was stuck. The possession arrow favored Shafter. When Shafter turned the ball over, it seemed they might have finally run out of chances. Warren Pappas exhaled with relief. Kern Valley inbounded to Jordan Lawson, who was fouled immediately, leaving just 5 seconds on the clock. However, on the cusp of victory, Lawson was somehow furious. His outburst resulted in another technical foul. Lawson still had the chance to shoot an empty lane one and one for a measure of redemption, but he was in no state for that. Walking to the free throw line, simmering anger and regret battled within. He missed the front end badly. Barrios now had two free throws for the lead. He didn't miss. Nor did he miss after he was fouled on the inbound.

Just your typical three point victory.