AJ Buford’s layup with seconds remaining in overtime lifted Moon to a dramatic 48-45 win over Montour on the Spartans’ senior night Friday.
Jackson Bauman found Buford cutting to the hole to seal the game.
“It was a tough look,” Buford said. “Loic (Kalau) came up, so I had to cut. He found me, and I got the job done.”
The Tigers survived a back-and-forth battle that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties, forcing overtime after the teams were tied at 40 at the end of regulation.
Caden Kopay led Moon with 12 points while Brodie Bauman added 11. Buford finished with 10 points, including the game-winning basket.
At 35-35 with five minutes to play, Kopay knocked down a 3-pointer to give Moon the lead. Montour’s Brandon Bennett answered with a layup to cut the lead to one.
With under two minutes to play, Buford went underneath 7-footer Kalau for a reverse layup to put Moon ahead 40–37.
Montour’s Robert Schmitt buried a 3 with 1:20 left to tie it, igniting the crowd.
Moon wasted clock but couldn’t win it on a Kopay fadeaway, sending the game to overtime.
In the extra period, after a Jackson Bauman miss, Montour pushed the pace but came up empty. Bennett grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled, making one of two free throws to give the Spartans a 43-42 edge.
Buford answered by securing an offensive rebound and finishing inside to retake the lead, 44-43.
Montour’s Zane Schacter countered with a layup to go back in front, 45-44.
Moon’s Braeden Stuart earned two shots at the line, but missed both.
The Tigers then forced a turnover on an errant pass with 21 seconds to play, setting up the decisive moment.
Jackson Bauman found a wide-open Buford under the basket, and Buford converted the game-winning layup to seal the victory.
Moon forced another turnover and Bauman iced the game at the line with under a second left.
Montour played tough defense and ran a diamond-and-one on star guard Jackson Bauman, who tallied just four points.
“We’ve been using it because our advantage is having a 7-footer in the middle,” coach Bill Minear said. “We also have enough guys who can really hound one player and keep him away from the ball. I thought we did a good job with it tonight.”
Minear added: “Holding him to four points says a lot about our effort. We stayed disciplined, we didn’t turn the ball over the way they wanted us to, and we executed the game plan.”
Nonetheless, one turnover up 45-44 was the deciding factor at the end on a pass that went out of bounds late.
“We had the layup,” Minear said. “We could have won if we make that pass.”
The Tigers capitalized and earned the win. Moon adjusted to the defense.
“It was something new for us,” Kopay said. “I thought we handled it decent, but there’s definitely things we could’ve done better. We’re just taking it one game at a time.”
Kopay and Brodie Bauman needed to step up, and they did in the fourth quarter. Kopay hit two 3s and Bauman hit three.
“We practice together every single day, so it’s really just about trusting one another when we’re out on the court,” Kopay said. “For them to trust me with those shots means a lot.”
Although it took them a minute to adjust, the Tigers are proud to take home the win.
“It was kind of rough in the second and third quarter, but the guys stepped up,” Buford said about Bauman and Kopay. “At the end of the day, we got the job done, and that’s all that matters.”
Buford heated up late as all his points came after the first half.
“At first, I was kind of in my head a little bit, but I just stayed focused,” he said. “I didn’t want to let my guys down, so I stayed locked in and went and got it done.”
Montour held Moon in check early on, going into the second quarter up 8-7.
With Moon up 12-10, the Spartans scored on their next four possessions, attacking the paint with Mark Carter leading the charge.
Montour’s Zane Schacter capped off a 10-2 run with a floater to go up 20-14.
Moon closed out the first half with a Joshua Thad Longwell 3 and a Jackson Bauman layup to trail 20-19 at halftime.
Montour opened up on a 7-0 run with Carter getting to the rack and then hitting a corner 3 on the ensuing possession. Montour found itself up 27-19 after a Robert Schmitt layup.
The Tigers clawed back with a 9-0 run. Jackson Bauman threw a cross court pass to Brodie Bauman in the corner and after he buried a 3, Moon took the lead at 29-27.
The teams muscled it out, but the Tigers swiped the win.
“It definitely means a lot, especially on the road,” Kopay said. “They’re a really good team, so props to them. But it means a lot to pull that one out, especially being the last regular-season road game.”
Buford was happy to win in his final game at the Montour Athletic Center.
“Last year we didn’t get them, so to come back and beat them twice this year, especially here for the last time, it means a lot,” he said.
For Montour, Minear sees a team gaining more confidence. With young guards, he loves seeing them develop.
“Hopefully it just makes us hungrier,” he said. “We know we’re in, but that doesn’t change anything for us. We want to keep getting better and keep building momentum. We’ve shown we can play with the top teams in the WPIAL. Losing to Lincoln Park by three and games like this keep proving it. We have confidence in our guys. They just need a little more experience in games like this, and that’s what these moments are for.”