“That’s the kid, Tyler Kachnovich, one game he had five 3s in a quarter,” Bessey said. “If you were going to give me one shot with Tyler Kachnovich wide open and down two with 15 seconds left, if you told me we were going to have that opportunity, I would have taken it in a second. He’ll make nine out of 10 of those.”

With seven seconds remaining the senior forward’s try at the lead didn’t fall. Lake Region got the ball and sealed the victory with free throws for a 41-37 win at the Portland Expo.

“I thought for sure it was going down,” Bessey said.

The Phoenix (11-8) had rallied from as many as 10 down in the first half and were even down double digits early in the fourth. Spruce Mountain’s Peter Theriault led the comeback with 10 of his 19 points in the final quarter and helped the Phoenix get within one.

Deonte Ring had nine for Spruce Mountain while Anthony York had seven.

“Peter took over in that fourth quarter,” Bessey said. “That gave us the opportunity to get that open 3 to win it or at least take the lead. He was incredible. My heart bleeds for him. I love that kid. I’ve had him since his freshman year. It’s like that with all four of the seniors.”

Lake Region (14-5) got 13 from Nick Hall and 10 from Nate Smith. Jackson Lesure add eight.

“We made the plays when we needed to make them,” said Lake Region coach J.P Yorkey. “We struggled there for a little bit with their press. We made some adjustments and got the ball where we wanted to. We got some layups and some big hoops.”

After trailing 28-19 to start the fourth, a Hall basket off an offensive rebound made it 33-23 with 5:36 left. Spruce Mountain picked up the defense and started hitting shots to spark the rally. The Phoenix hit six of their first eight shots in the final quarter.

After a Ring drive, Theriault had a three-point play to make it 33-28. Quinn Piland scored for the Lakers but York and Theriault hits shots to close it to 35-32 with 2:19 left. Lake Region answered again with a press breaker by Piland, but a rebound by Theriault kept it a three-point game.

When Lake Region missed free throws late, Spruce Mountain got within striking distance. After a Theriault free throw with 38 seconds left, he hit a jumper with 24 seconds remaining. That made it 38-37.

Lake Region missed a free throw at the other end and the Phoenix had the possession and a chance to take the lead for the first time. Spruce Mountain got Kachnovich open on the left side of the arc. He had an open look but it didn’t drop.

“That was the story of the game,” Bessey said. “That’s been the story of our season. We’re a championship-level defensive team. Our defense is off the charts. It’s always been good enough. So it always comes down to making shots. It’s a big shot sport. That’s where we’ve struggled all season.”

Lake Region got the rebound. Lesure hit two free throws to pad the lead. After the Phoenix turned the ball over with five seconds left, Smith added another from the line.

“We’ve finished well,” Yorkey said. “That’s something we’ve gotten better at. We graduated both our guards from last year. Both were very good. In terms of finishing games, that’s something we had to learn early in the season and how to do that with different kids.”

The Phoenix got behind early and spent the entire game battling their way back. Spruce Mountain was down 11-3 in the first quarter after seven turnovers and an 0-for-10 start from the floor.

“Historically, every time we come down here, it takes a while to get going and get comfortable,” Bessey said. “As much as we tried to talk about it and try to learn from the year before on what to expect, the same thing happened last year.”

Lake Region had its share of struggles too. The Lakers had nine turnovers in the second and shot just 3-for-8. A late surge by the Phoenix erased a 15-5 lead to get Spruce Mountain within 20-15 at the half.

Theriault had six points during an 8-3 surge to end the half. Ring added a pair of free throws. 

Spruce Mountain wasn’t consistent though and couldn’t hit enough shots to keep the pressure defense applied to the Lakers. Lake Region used six straight points late in the third to open the lead again. Smith hit a pair and Lesure scored on a fast break to make it 28-19.

“You’re not forcing them to have to play against your defense,” Bessey said. “They’re getting out in transition. We knew if we could hit shots and get a defense set up, they’d struggle.”

After shooting 1-for-9 in the third, the Phoenix shot 8-for-15 in the final quarter.

“They didn’t pull away from us,” Bessey said. “We got close, but we couldn’t consistently get shots.”

kmills@sunjournal.com