JAY — The 2012-2013 season came to an end for the Baker boys basketball team Tuesday night as the Gators suffered a 53-47 overtime loss to Jay in the opening round of the District 2-1A tournament.
The Gators had their chances as they led 40-32 with 5:05 left in the fourth quarter following a Josh Hartzog basket set up by a blocked shot by Garrett Sanders.
Jay closed out the fourth quarter with a 13-5 run sparked by Eric Trevino who scored 11 points down the stretch for the Royals.
A 3-point basket by Trevino with five seconds left in the fourth quarter sent the game into overtime where Jay outscored the Gators 8-2 to pull away for the win.
Turnovers plagued Baker (10-14) in the first half as the Gators gave the ball up 13 times.
"It (the loss) didn't happen in the last seconds of the game, it happened in the first half when we had 13 turnovers against no pressure," Baker coach Mike Martello said. "It's something that kind of built up on us the whole game. If we don't make those mistakes early in the game it never makes it into overtime.
"We jumped out to an 8-point lead late in the game (fourth quarter) and we got a little happy with that and loose with the basketball and didn't convert on our possessions and they just outplayed us down the stretch.
Jay took advantage of the miscues in taking a 13-10 lead at the end of the first quarter as Trevino scored the first five Royal points.
Strong play by Justin Morgan kept the Gators close as he scored six of Baker's 10 points in the opening period.
Morgan continued to enjoy as strong game in the second quarter scoring six more points on his way to a 19-point night.
With Morgan leading the way and Hartzog getting a hot hand in the second quarter the Gators pulled even with Jay at 20-20 at the half.
The close game continued through the third quarter as the Royals took a 32-30 lead into the fourth quarter.
Baker came out smoking in the fourth quarter as the Gators scored 10 unanswered points.
Sanders got things started with three quick points and Hartzog added a 3-point basket followed by a 2-pointer from Morgan.
The blocked shot by Sanders that led to the score by Hartzog capped the Baker run. It was all Royals the rest of the fourth quarter and into overtime as Jay came away with the win.
Hartzog led Baker with 20 points and Morgan added 19.
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Baker boys fall to Royals