With three Bella Vista players surrounding him, Manteca’s Noah Lyons put up a layup off the glass and through the net with 2.8 seconds remaining Wednesday night to give the host Buffaloes a heart-stopping 51-50 Sac-Joaquin Section Division II boys basketball playoff win.
Lyons led all scorers with 22 points, scoring 12 points in the second quarter.
“I just had to go for it,” Lyons said. “I knew that time was counting down and I had to do something.
“I felt pretty confident. I knew it was win or stay home, and I tried my hardest.”
Dylan Harms gave the ninth-seeded Broncos (20-9) of Fair Oaks a 50-49 lead with 12.8 seconds left on a put-back for the sixth lead change of the fourth quarter. Following a timeout, No. 9 Manteca (23-6) worked the ball to Lyons, who bulled his way from the top of the key to the hoop one last time.
The Buffaloes fell behind 5-0 to start the game and were trailing 37-30 late in the third quarter when they went on a 6-0 run behind a pair of baskets by Santiago Sanders (10 points, 14 rebounds) and a basket by Evani Gaeta (eight points).
The Buffaloes took their first lead with 4:37 remaining in the game when Elijah Nelson converted a three-point play to put Manteca ahead 44-41.
“I saw the open lane and I took it,” Nelson said. “I was able to feed off of my teammates’ energy.
“We really had a lot of energy from that point on.”
Harms posted double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, shooting a phenomenal 11 for 11 from the free-throw line. Bella Vista was 16 of 18 from the line, while the Buffaloes were just 5 of 12.
“Their No. 22 (Harms) is up for Sac-area player of the year,” Manteca coach Jason Hitt said. “He averages 26 points and 10 rebounds a game. And they run their stuff so good. We worked on that flex the entire time, and they were still able to get their guys the ball.
“They had 19 points on 17 offensive rebounds, and we were still able to come through as a group. What a play by the senior group at the end, especially Noah with a really good finish to get that win.”
The Buffaloes travel to Sacramento on Friday at 7 p.m. to face top-seeded Rio Americano.
