WWW arkcity.net

By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor

NEWTON -- John Miller, with his hands behind his head, was beside himself shortly after the final buzzer had sounded.

Just moments before, Miller had a chance to sink a pair of free throws and force Newton into a situation in which it had to make a three-pointer in the final seconds to tie the game. Instead, Miller, with the chants of "airball" echoing down from the Newton student section, barely got any air under the first attempt on the front of a one-and-one as it hit the front end of the rim.

The Railers grabbed the defensive rebound and pushed the ball down the court. Tyler Mitchem missed a mid-range jumper, but Jake Reinhardt was there to grab the offensive rebound and record the short putback just at the final buzzer sounded, sending Newton's student section into a frenzy as they rushed the court to celebrate with the Railers and leave the Bulldogs stunned and stamped with a 48-47 loss on Tuesday night.

"I don't know, maybe we lost our focus a little bit," Ark City coach Ben Proctor said. "But I'm just proud of the way our kids competed. It's a disappointing way to end a game."

Proctor felt the Bulldogs should've left with a one-point victory.

"I'm pretty sure the shot went after the buzzer," he said. "So, that's what's disappointing about it. But it was close."

Miller's attempt was set up by a Jordan Fields rebound on a missed free throw by Jordan Voelker, who had a chance to tie the game on a conventional three-point play with 15.6 seconds. But Voelker's attempt bounced off the rim and sailed sky-high to the right, where Fields used his athleticism to beat out several Railers.

After Ark City (3-3, 0-2 AV-CTL Division II) held a 23-19 halftime lead, the Railers (4-4, 3-1) crashed the boards in the third quarter to take a three-point lead heading into the final quarter. Jordan Voelker asserted himself down low in the third, scoring six of his 20 points.

Voelker recorded a putback to give the Railers a 25-23 lead. He also hit a baseline jumper and a layup during Newton's 10-2 spurt to open the third quarter.

"He's big. He's strong. I think we did about as good as we could on him," Proctor said of Voelker, who also finished with a game-high seven rebounds. "He's just a real good player."

Overall, Newton outrebounded the Bulldogs 27-21 for the contest.

Reinhardt added eight points and five rebounds, none more crucial than the one which set up his buzzer-beating basket.

Fields looked to single-handidly take over the game in the fourth quarter. And it started on the opening possession.

Fields picked off a pass near the left baseline and converted a leaner at the other end, while being fouled. Fields missed the free throw, but it was just the start of a dominating quarter by the Bulldog senior.

He scored the first five points of the quarter, including a jumper which reclaimed a 32-31 lead for Ark City. He also mixed in two three-pointers and a pair of free throws with 23.8 seconds left for a three-point lead. He scored 15 of his game-high 23 points in the fourth.

"He did a good job," Proctor said. "He hit big shots. We need him to do that every single game. He's a good enough player. He's a good enough shooter."

The Bulldogs led for most of the first half. Miller gave Ark City a 12-7 lead on a three-point play, in which he hit a jumper from the top of the key late in the quarter. He finished with eight points and three rebounds. Kestian Harris added seven points and a rebound.

Proctor thought the Bulldogs played one of their better games on the season, but it was Reinhardt who left them feeling empty.

"I've been part of a lot of buzzer-beaters," Proctor said. "It's nothing new, but it just stinks when you're on the losing end."

Ark City 12 11 5 19 -- 47
Newton 10 9 12 17 -- 48

Ark City -- Fields 23, Miller 8, Harris 7, Freeman 4, Rock 3, Rohrs 2. Totals 17 (4) 9-11 47.
Newton -- Voelker 20, Reinhardt 8, Douvier 6, Claassen 5, Thaw 5, Mitchem 3, Kaufman 1. Totals 19 (1) 9-13 48.