ONTARIO — Brayden Fogle made the shots when they mattered most.
Lexington’s sophomore standout drained a 3-pointer late in regulation to force overtime. Fogle then knocked down a contested mid-range jumper with two seconds left in the extra session to lift the second-seeded Minutemen to a thrilling 59-57 win over No. 3-seeded Willard in the second game of a Division II district semifinal doubleheader Thursday at the O-Rena.
The 6-foot-4 Fogle scored all 18 of his points in the second half and four-minute OT period. The 3-pointer to force overtime was just his second all season.
“I spend so much time trying to work on my jump shot to improve it,” said Fogle, who grabbed a game-high eight rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. “Eventually everything you put in, you get out.
“I got the reward from all that work tonight.”
Fogle’s late-game heroics spoiled a brilliant performance by Willard’s Max Dawson. The Ashland University-bound senior guard scored 26 points and grabbed seven rebounds.
“I can’t have any more respect for a player than I have for Max Dawson,” Lexington coach Scott Hamilton said. “I’ve been fortunate to know him since he was about in fifth grade. I have the utmost respect for him.
“He does a nice job of, when you put pressure on him he finds his open teammates. He gives them confidence.”
Willard (19-5) led 39-32 after three quarters, but Lex (22-2) opened the fourth with an 8-1 run in the opening minute to cut the Flashes lead to 40-38 on a Seven Allen layup.
Allen gave the Minutemen their first lead of the night at 48-46 on a layup with 1:56 remaining in regulation.
A Fogle offensive rebound and putback with 1:22 showing gave Lex a 50-47 lead, but Dawson connected on a 3-pointer and was fouled with 1:05 left. The ensuing free throw completed the rare four-point play and gave the Flashes a 51-50 lead.
A pair of Dawson free throws with 56 seconds to go pushed Willard’s advantage to 53-50 before Fogle drained his trey from the left baseline with 39 seconds left.
Fogle scored all six of Lexington’s points in overtime. He had a pair of layups early before hitting what proved to be the game-winner with two ticks remaining.
Willard got a clean look at a potential game-winning 3-pointer, but Cam Robinson’s shot was just off the mark as time expired.
“It’s hard to swallow,” Willard coach Joe Bedingfield said. “Braden hadn’t hit an outside shot … but he stepped up for his team and hit a 3 when he needed to.”
Robinson backed Dawson with 13 points and five boards. Jackson Beamer added 12 points, while Isaac Robinson had six points, five rebounds and four assists.
Allen led Lex with 19 points despite battling leg cramps much of the second half. Joe Caudill had nine points and seven rebounds.
“Willard did so many things well tonight. It’s just a bad thing that somebody’s got to lose,” Hamilton said. “At this point in the season it’s all about survive and move on.”
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