Oak Hill won its Big Atlantic Classic battle with Independence Wednesday night, eking out a 41-40 win on a pair of free throws by freshman Joey Re.

But for a while, it looked like the Red Devils might have lost the war.

When Red Devil star Rondale Watson, considered one of the state’s top sophomores, went down in a heap with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter, coach Fred Ferri saw his season flash before his eyes.

And a lot of what has already transpired was of the lanky 6-foot-2 guard’s play.

That Oak Hill went on to win the game could only half please the coach, until he found out that Watson’s injury wasn’t as bad as it originally seemed.

No structural damage was found and if there is no pain by Friday, when Oak Hill travels to Liberty, Watson could return.

“It’s not about basketball, it’s about the kid,” Ferri said. “And we are going to do whatever is in his best interest. He’s a sophomore. He’s got a great future. We’re going to make sure he is OK before we worry about a basketball game.”

As for Wednesday’s game, Ferri was just glad to sneak out of the Class AA consolation game with a win.

“We shot 30 percent and we won the game,” Ferri said. “We found a way. We made a whole lot of mistakes but we did what we had to do to get the win. There weren’t a lot of points scored but we got the ones we needed. I’m just happy to get the win.”

Indeed, the teams combined for just 16 points in the fourth quarter.

It looked like Independence, a team that has come close to pulling off upset after upset only to fall short, would finally break through with a signature win over the No. 5 Red Devils.

Shaun Pack hit a baseline 3 with just over a minute left to give the Patriots the lead, 40-38

La-Von Elam then made 1 of 2 free throws to make it a one-point lead with 50.8 seconds left.

Independence had a chance to run some clock and Oak Hill had three fouls to give, but after a timeout, Jaquai Multunas was trapped by Jalen Jones and Elam in the corner, forcing a held ball with possession going to Oak Hill.

“I told the refs coming out of the timeout that if we got into trouble, I was going to call a timeout,” Independence coach Chad Perkins said. “I was calling for it but they never heard it. Everything kind of happened real fast.”

The Red Devils missed a shot but Re got the rebound and was fouled.

Jones, who played the role of leader last season as a freshman at Mount Hope, did so again with Watson out.

“I went up to (Re), smacked him on the back and said, ‘You got this, now make them,’ and he did,” Jones said. “I had a lot of confidence in him, I knew he’d make them.”

“I was a little nervous,” Re said. “I was in that position against (Wyoming) East (earlier in a game at Oak Hill) and I made 1 of 2. But Jalen told me I’d make them. It gave me more confidence knowing my teammates believed in me. I wanted to come through.”

And he did with 19.8 seconds left, giving Oak Hill a 41-40 lead.

Independence still had a chance, and Ferri had three fouls to work with.

Oak Hill (11-4) used one of the fouls with 10.8 seconds left.

After a missed 3, Independence got the rebound and called timeout with 3.1 seconds remaining.

Multunas got the inbounds pass but his short jumper fell short.

“Our first option was to go to Caleb Bolen, but he was covered,” Perkins said. “I thought Jaquai had a good look, it just didn’t fall.”

“I told our guys as soon as they inbounded the ball to foul whoever got the ball,” Ferri said. “They said they did but the refs didn’t call it. It ended up working out for us.”

Jones led the Red Devils with 13 points.

“We knew it would be hard without (Watson in the game the final 6:36),” Jones said. “We needed points. I was in this position before (at Mount Hope last year) so I knew I would have to step up and be a leader.”

Elam added 10 points and Watson had seven points and nine rebounds before he went down. Kadrin Goodman added 10 rebounds for the Red Devils, who gave away a lot of size to the Patriots but owned a 36-31 advantage on the glass. Re had eight boards.

Pack was the only scorer in double figures for Independence. Multunas and D.J. Black had eight apiece and Shane Greco had nine rebounds.

“We got everything we wanted but the win,” Perkins said. “It’s the story of our season. We have to have somebody make a key shot and get one of these games against a good team. We’re so close.”

“I feel bad for Chad. He’s a good guy and they have a good team,” Ferri said. “It’s like Chad said himself, they are right there. I like their team. Multunas is good, Pack is good, Greco is good. They have a good team. That’s why I feel fortunate to come out of this game with a win.”

And with a healthy Watson.

Independence (6-9) hosts Westside Tuesday.

— E-mail: demorrison@register-herald.com



OAK HILL 41, INDEPENDENCE 40

INDEPENDENCE (6-9)

Jaquai Multunas 2-12 3-4 8, Shaun Pack 6-10 0-0 14, Shane Greco 3-7 0-4 6, Caleb Bolen 1-10 0-0 2, D.J. Black 4-7 0-0 8, Jordan Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler McKinney 0-1 0-0 0, Jhalen Belcher 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 17-48 3-8 40.

OAK HILL (11-3)

Jalen Jones 5-12 3-3 13, Kadrin Goodman 1-5 1-2 3, La-Von Elam 4-7 1-2 10, Rondale Watson 2-11 3-4 7, Joey Re 1-6 3-4 5, Ervin Fruit 1-2 1-2 3, Marc Logan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 14-45 12-17 41.

I    6    13    13    8    —    40

OH    14    7    12    8    —    41

3-Point Goals — I: 3-12 (Multunas 1-1, Pack 2-3, Bolen 0-8); OH: 1-7 (Jones 0-3, Elam 1-2, Watson 0-2). Fouled Out — none. Rebounds — I: 31 (Greco 9); OH: 36 (Goodman 10, Watson 9). Assists — I: 11 (Multunas 5); OH: 6 (Watson 3). Total Fouls — I: 12; OH: 10. A — 1,456.