It was another rainy winter night in Portland, whoops I mean Lafayette, for this huge crosstown rivalry game Wednesday night between your Dons and the Miramonte Matadors (14-7, 4-3). You could tell right away this was going to be another good one that could go down to the wire, and it did not disappoint.

Back and forth high scoring first quarter with the Dons winning the tip and striking immediately on a Brady Quinn layup courtesy Jordan Brown. The Dons got some easy ones with deep passes over the press and then Liam Krackeler found Maddox Malm for the and-1. Ian Salmon went coast to coast to finish with the english off the glass and Gavin Dodge had a nice post move finish with the left. Miramonte was up 20-19 going into the second.

The Dons went scoreless for the first half of the second going down 29-20 before Jordan found Gavin in the post for two. Over the next few minutes the Dons exploded on a 16-2 run. Ian found Maddox who buried the triple, then Gav hit Ian in the post for dos puntos. Ian picked up a loose ball and found Liam while on the ground, who then found Gav for the easy deuce. Then Jordan found a trailing Madd Dogg who bombed a three to get the Dons back on top 32-31. Ultimately, Jordan torched his defender for a nice bucket to give us the 38-33 lead at half. Maddox had 11 points and Gavin 10 at the break.

Dons immediately cashed in out of the break with Maddox finding the esteemed Brady for a pretty three. Gavin had consecutive buckets on a nice lefty drive and a putback. Next Liam hit Jordan for three followed by another on a sick stepback. But we were trading buckets with the Mats an they were hanging tough. A Miramonte player hit a three as time expired and it was 53-50 Dons.

Brady opened scoring with a smooth jumper with just under 6 minutes to go but the Dons would only manage 1 point the next five plus minutes and were trailing 59-56 with Maddox inbounding and 28 seconds to go. He inbounded to Brady in the backcourt who dribbled across and looked to Maddox cutting to the post area. Maddox snared the ball high out of the air and gave it back to Brady who had relocated to the corner while he freed him up with the screen. Brady sprung into the air falling towards the sidelines and SPLASHED the three to tie us at 59 all! The crowd erupted and Coach Hewitt almost ran onto the floor in exuberation. But we still had to play D as Miramonte hoisted a three with 4 seconds left that missed short and 4-5 players dove after the loose ball as time expired and the bench stormed the floor. WE’S GOING TO OT!!!

This was the Dons first overtime game this year and we struck first on a Gavin STRONG drive and finish plus the and-1. Dons up 62-59. But the Mats answered with a three and two easy buckets inside as the Dons struggled to get good looks. We were up against the wall, trailing 68-63 with 30 seconds left. But wait…Cameron Hood took matters into his own hands drilling a top of the key triple to get us within two. Coach Powers called time to gather the troops for his final instructions. The Dons had to foul and the Mats hit both. A few missed three’s later, we had our final 74-66 Mats.

Not the greatest shooting night for the Dons as they were 39% overall, 19/39 from 2FG (49%), 7/28 on 3FG (25%) and just 7/15 from the line (47%). The Mats shot 42% overall, 13/30 on 2FG (43%), a very solid 11/27 from deep (41%) and 15/21 from the line (71%). Translation they were +12 points on three’s and +8 from the line. Foul difference was also significant as we had 22 fouls to the Mats 13. Most other statistical categories were even or slightly favored the Dons.

Gavin went full on Ironman Mode going 35 minutes with a team high 18 points on 8/17 shooting with 5 rebounds. Maddox had 11 points on 4/8 plus team highs of +5 plus/minus rating, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Brady had 13 points on 5/8 plus 2 assists. Jordan had 10 points and team highs of 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Liam had 7 rebounds.

Next up a Friday Night Primetime Special hosting Ygnacio Valley who is only 17-5 and 8-0 in League. Can this young Dons team take another powerhouse down to the wire and get the W? Come on down to Chris Huber Gym and find out for yourself! This DONS team is on the rise and super exciting to watch. Tipoff at 7:30pm.

YouTube Livestream: https://youtube.com/@acalaneshubergym1200

MaxPreps: https://www.maxpreps.com/ca/lafayette/acalanes-dons/basketball/

Twitter :https://twitter.com/ACABoysBball

Photos Courtesy: @NicoleMalm, Unassociated Press