The Jamestown Eagles were waiting to make their move. When the opportunity arose, they didn't waste their chance.
Jamestown posted a 13-0 run during the final 3:30 of the third quarter, erasing an 8-point deficit. The Eagles wavered down the stretch, but never lost the lead, holding off the New Bloomfield Wildcats for a 49-45 win Tuesday in the Capital City Shootout at Fleming Fieldhouse.
"We finally turned it on," Jamestown coach Seth Thomas said. "I really think that's what changed the outlook of the game."
Jamestown took the lead with a 3-pointer by Trenton Barbour, who scored seven straight points for the Eagles during the run, with 58 seconds left in the quarter. The Eagles held a 38-33 lead as the fourth quarter began.
Maintaining that lead would not be an easy task. Jamestown finished the game with 25 turnovers, committing at least five turnovers in every quarter. They had seven alone in the final eight minutes.
New Bloomfield struggled just as much holding onto the ball, finishing with 26 turnovers.
"I think it took us a while to wake up," Thomas said. "Honestly, it took both teams a little bit to wake up. We were turnover happy. 'Tis the season of giving, and we were both in the giving mode in the first half."
New Bloomfield cut the Jamestown lead to 45-44 on a baseline floater from Andrew Powell with 2:44 to play. The Wildcats had a chance to take the lead on their next possession, but a 3-point shot by Jalen Martin was off the mark.
The Wildcats had other scoring chances, but they missed four 3-point attempts during the final two minutes of the game.
While New Bloomfield struggled to shoot from the outside - the Wildcats were 3-of-15 shooting beyond the arc - Jamestown had some difficulty icing the game at the free-throw line. The Eagles missed four straight free throws with a 1-point lead.
"We didn't shoot great from the line today, but when you're playing a close game like that, it's going to come down to free throws," Thomas said.
After New Bloomfield's Jak Kitchens made 1-of-2 free throws to make the score 48-45 with 18.5 seconds left, Jamestown committed another costly turnover. That allowed New Bloomfield one more chance to try to tie the game in the closing seconds.
Kitchens, who led the Wildcats with 16 points and 10 rebounds, caught the in-bounds pass at the top of the key with 11 seconds left and attempted to tie the game with a three, but his shot was off the mark. Garrett Wolfe grabbed the rebound and was fouled, needing to make one free throw to seal the win.
His first attempt was a miss, his fourth straight at the line.
"There were plenty of butterflies," Wolfe said. "It's nerve-wracking, getting up there and knowing you're only up a few (points)."
Wolfe redeemed himself, knocking down the second attempt. He led Jamestown with a game-high 19 points and also had a team-high eight rebounds.
"Making the second shot is always the toughest," said Wolfe, who was selected as the game's MVP.
The two teams were tied at 10 at the end of the first quarter. New Bloomfield scored eight straight points in the second quarter to take a 20-17 lead at halftime.
New Bloomfield struggled with foul trouble in the first half, committing seven fouls in the first five minutes of the game. Kitchens sat on the bench for more than seven minutes in the first half after picking up two early fouls. The Wildcats finished with 25 fouls, which tied at Shootout record set by Fatima in 2011.
Foul trouble nearly caught up with Jamestown in the fourth quarter. Three starters - Wolfe, Barbour and Austin Flippin - each finished the game with four fouls.
"It was going to be who was going to do the little things at the very end of the game," Thomas said.
Barbour finished with 13 points for Jamestown (6-4), which will play Russellville's JV team next Tuesday in the first round of the Stover Invitational.
Martin and Nick Hammann each had seven points for New Bloomfield (5-4), which plays next Tuesday at New Haven.