Comeback falls short in OT

Robert Wagner’s final game was a microcosm of their entire season - huge runs in both directions. They blew 20-point leads in two of their losses, but in perhaps their finest victory - a 70-67 triumph over Port Jefferson (LI) - they trailed by 15 at halftime. Naturally, the Panthers’ confidence never wavered, even as they were manhandled early. “There was never a thought of losing,” Wagner Coach Bob Breung said.
Unfortunately, their final spurt went the wrong way, as No. 14 Wagner saw their season end last Thursday afternoon, 94-86, in overtime to third-seeded Global Studies of Brooklyn in the second round of the PSAL Class B playoffs.
In a contest that featured a 17-point comeback, a near brawl, and countless momentum swings, the Panthers ran out of gas late. “I’m disappointed because it’s my last game,” said Wagner’s star guard Carl Wardlaw, who led the Panthers with 31 points and six assists. Victor Caputo added 19 points and 16 rebounds.
Trailing throughout, Wagner found themselves down 72-55 early in the fourth quarter. But led by Wardlaw, their erratically inconsistent yet dynamic guard who scored eight points in the run, they reeled off the game’s next 17 points, tying it on a Joshua Cushnie three-pointer off a whirling drive in the lane and kickout from Wardlaw, with 2:20 left.
Global Studies regained the lead as Todd Mills hit one of two free-throws before tempers flared when Rodney Frasier of Global Studies and Wagner’s Victor Caputo engaged in a heated exchange. Several spectators charged onto the court, but security guards quickly restored order.
Wardlaw hit one free throw to draw Wagner even again but Darren Lewis, the swift southpaw guard for Global Studies, answered with a runner off the glass. Joseph Chery tied the game again for Wagner but when Cushnie’s half-court prayer at the buzzer rimmed out, it was the Panthers’ last gasp. “I was praying for it to go in,” Wardlaw said. “It looked good. But it didn’t [drop]. We had to play an extra four minutes.”
In those final four minutes, Wagner (22-8) showed the effects of their uphill comeback. Wardlaw, suffering from muscle cramps and a Charley horse in each leg, turned the ball over three times. “I think we were tired,” he said. “It was hard to keep up with them.”
Lewis, meanwhile, took over, scoring eight of his team-high 31 points for Global Studies (23-1) in the extra session.