Jason Kandal, who struggled at the line during the Panthers' early-season loss at Ogemaw Heights, was "money" at the line in the fourth quarter of Friday's one-point victory over the Falcons.
Ogemaw's Gio Roberto flies between SSC's Mark Lorence (34) and Adam Gulvas for a rebound.
Brent Baker
Pete VanOosten (33), Kevin Goretcki (42), Kyle Dantzer (32) and Jason Kandal (32) all look for ownership rights to one of many loose balls fought over during the game.

STANDISH-STERLING - Jan. 25, 2008 - There wasn't much finesse involved in Standish-Sterling's 54-53 boys basketball victory over Ogemaw Heights.

Except maybe at the free throw line.

In a contest that had its roots more in Knute Rockne's playbook than Dr. James Naismith' gym class, the Panthers built a nine-point fourth quarter lead, then got a cold-blooded, 6-of-8 string at the charity stripe from Jason Kandal over the final 1:45 that proved to be the difference -- barely.

The last of Kandal's free throws provided just enough cushion to survive Pete VanOosten's buzzer-beating 3-pointer that had Falcon fans buzzing that he should have been given a chance to tie the game.

It was the Falcons' first NEMC loss of the season and made it a race again for the Panthers, Tawas and Pinconning, who all have two league losses.

Kandal found himself at the free throw line more than he would have liked in the Panthers' loss at Ogemaw early in the season, and that game didn't end so well for SSC.

This was a different story.

"Who would have thought he would be the guy we'd want there?" asked SSC coach Tom Murray. "But we did. Jason played a great game. He gives you your money's worth every time out.

"Ogemaw is very good. Just when we thought we'd put them away, they came back like Poltergeist. I'm just so proud of these guys."

Neither team could shake the other through the first three quarters of the bruising contest. The Falcons led by five for a matter of seconds midway through a high-scoring first period that ended with Ogemaw up 18-17. After that it turned into a slugfest that saw just 31 total points scored in the middle two quarters and probably had trainers scrambling for extra ice packs.

"That was when both teams decided to play defense," said Falcon coach Jon VanOosten. "It was a very physical game."

The lead changed hands nine times and the game was tied on eight occasions until a crucial stretch early in the third quarter, sparked largely by Austin Collier's defense. Collier, who had a tough shooting night, more than made up for it in that one stretch alone, coming up with a pair of steals that led to baskets and hitting a 3-pointer that sparked an 11-0 run, putting SSC up 48-39 with four minutes left.

"Austin had a great defensive night," Murray said. "There's not anyone with heart like that. He and Adam Gulvas, we really needed that from tonight. It was real difficult without Ashton (Gulvas, out with a broken wrist). When you lose your leading scorer and assist guy, you're going to struggle."

Kevin O'Neil quickly got the Falcons back in the game with two quick baskets, Kyle Dantzer scored a hoop and VanOosten hit four straight free throws, the last of which made it a 49-48 game with 1:26 to go.

Kandal's free throws offset another basket by VanOosten, which proved to be just enough in the final seconds.

After Kevin Reeves' missed free throw with four seconds left and the score 54-50, the Falcons got the ball to VanOosten in time for a triple at the buzzer that cut the margin to one. The Falcons contended Kandal fouled VanOosten on the play, which would have given the Ogemaw sharpshooter a chance for a game-tying free throw with no time on the clock. The Panthers contended Kandal had been pushed into VanOosten.

The officials didn't call anything one way or the other, and the game was over.

"We told the kids to stay under the 3-point line," Murray said. "That would have been unbelievable, to go to overtime like that. Pete's a great player, and you can't underestimate him."

VanOosten finished with a game-high 21 points for the Falcons (11-2, 6-1 NEMC), with Gio Roberto adding 11 and Dantzer 10. Ogemaw travels to Houghton Lake on Monday, then hosts Pinconning on Wednesday.

Kandal led the Panthers (8-4, 5-2) with 20 points, including 12-of-16 at the line for the game. Kevin Goretcki added 13 points and Mark Lorence scored nine. SSC hosts Whittemore-Prescott on Wednesday.