BOULDER — Fairview boys basketball tried holding out for the last shot at the CU Events Center on Wednesday night.
Its rival, Boulder, led by just two points as the clock winded down in the last 45 seconds. A costly turnover gave the ball back to the Panthers and the Knights fouled to try to stop their progress. Grayson Donaldson hit the first of two free throws to increase the lead to three, leaving the Knights with little options as the clocked neared zero.
Enter Owen Foster.
With just seconds remaining and BHS ahead 67-64, Fairview’s Foster launched a 3-pointer just left of the top of the key and drained it without leaving a single doubt. He left little room for Boulder to respond, and the Panthers couldn’t get a shot off before the buzzer to avoid overtime.
“It honestly didn’t really feel like it was going to go in and then it just swished and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” Foster said. “I can’t even describe the feeling. I think it’ll give us a big push. We’ve been struggling this season and just having a close-game win in this environment, it’ll really push us for the rest of the season.”
Throughout the last minute of regulation and into the extra period, the building was electric as fans from both teams cheered with a deafening roar.
“You couldn’t hear yourself in the huddle,” Boulder’s Logan Marshall said. “(The fans) were just going crazy and you don’t feel tired at all. You just have all the energy of all the people behind you and it’s just amazing.”
Much like regulation, it was anybody’s game throughout the extra four minutes of play. Boulder consistently muscled its way into the post while Fairview got the job done at the foul line. Fairview’s Myles Moskowitz sunk the final dagger free throw with 0.7 seconds left to secure the 77-75 victory.
Both teams saw star-power performances throughout the contest. Foster netted 27 points en route to victory while Kyle Blauch and Marshall took the reins of Boulder’s offense with 27 and 24 points, respectively.
Fairview took the early lead in the first few minutes of the game as Boulder needed some time to warm up. But once the Panthers started to break off the ice, they played hot and stayed that way through the end of the first half. They took a slight, 19-17 lead at the end of the first quarter, then worked harder to get in the paint and to the charity stripe.
By the half, that lead grew to 42-34, but the Knights weren’t going to make it that easy for them.
Fairview stormed back in the first three minutes of the second half as it systematically chipped away at the deficit from every point on the floor but mainly from long range. The Knights reclaimed the lead at 47-44 with 4:16 left in the third quarter on a smooth 3-pointer from Moskowitz.
From there on out, the two teams battled point-for-point until the final buzzer.
Fairview improved to 5-11 and 3-2 in Front Range League play as Boulder fell to 4-12 and 1-5. The Panthers will next head to Legacy on Friday as the Knights prepare for a matchup at Horizon on the same night.
“I think it’ll give us fuel, give us fire for our next few games,” Marshall said.
