Ferndale Boys Basketball Nearly Pull Off Incredible Comeback At Athens

TROY – The varsity boys basketball team played like a freight train on Wednesday night and almost shocked Athens by storming back in the fourth quarter from 26 points down, nearly pulling off the comeback.

“I thought in the fourth quarter, after I got in their butts a little bit, they came to play defensively,” Eagles head coach Tom Staton said. “I told them this is not the way you want to go out, (losing like this) will give you nightmares.”

Late free throws from Caleb McIntosh and Marcarius Coakley helped the Red Hawks edge out a 81-78 win at home, but Staton gave his players a lot of credit for clawing their way back in a game that looked as if it was over after three quarters.

At halftime, the Red Hawks were holding on to a 35-30 lead. Coakley and McIntosh came out of the break with a hot hand and helped extend that lead to 17 points by the end of the third.

Coakley scored eight of his 25 points in the first three minutes of the quarter and McIntosh did the rest. He finished the third with 10 points and helped Athens (3-0) take complete control of the game.

By the fourth quarter, the Red Hawks had upped their lead to 70-44 with only six minutes to go. Athens head coach David Scott had his starters on the bench and felt confident that the second string would be able to run out the clock.

Ferndale (1-3) had other plans. The Eagles switched to a full court press and ramped up their intensity on defense. They forced four straight turnovers and went on a 12-0.

Nate Stepney and Jordan Ellis hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers and momentum started swinging their way.

“We had two freshman out there on the floor and this was kind of a learning experience for us,” Scott said. “We left them out there a little bit because they have to learn how to play in these situations. I was hoping it wouldn’t get as close as it did.”

Scott rushed his starters back out on the floor, but Ferndale continued to cut into the Athens’ lead.

Aaron Rice came off the bench and hit a 3-pointer to make it 73-65 with two minutes to go. Rice’s basket put the Eagles within 10 points for the first time since the beginning of the third.

The Eagles hit a total of three 3-point shots in the final two minutes to make it a one-possession game.

Aaron Fox missed a pair of free throws with five seconds on the clock with his team ahead 81-78. Ellis grabbed the rebound on the second miss and pushed the ball up the court to Stepney. The senior missed a 3-pointer at the top of the key that would of sent the game into overtime. 

Stepney led all scorers with a career high 29 points and Ellis finished the game with 14 points.

“They hit a lot of three’s in that fourth quarter and a lot of those were guarded,” Scott said. “And our intensity dropped a little bit which enabled them to come back. “

Ferndale only has one more game before winter break. It plays at Ecorse on Friday.