There is a fine line between winning and losing

Bloom-Carroll boys basketball coach Tom Petty has been around long enough and has been successful long enough to understand what it takes to win.

Petty — who is in his 35th year coaching the Bulldogs and recently won the 600th game of his illustrious career — has had some trying moments this season.

The Bulldogs have had some heartbreaking losses. Of their seven losses during the regular season, two have been by one point and two other losses were by only two points.

I’ve heard so many coaches talk about how they tell their players to value every possession. I’m sure players are listening, but I also wonder if they are taking much stock in it until the game comes down to the wire.

When you lose any close game, let alone four games by two points or less, it’s easy to go back and look at all the little things that would have made a difference — the difference between winning and losing.

“We talk all the time about making each possession count, whether it is in the first quarter or the fourth quarter,” Petty said. “When game comes down to one possession at the end and you lose, it is going to get magnified.

“But really, a possession in the first quarter is just as important as it is the end of a game. The entire game counts, it’s not just that one mistake at the end of a game.”

Now that it is tournament time, like Petty said, things seem to be magnified even more.

Fairfield Union knows the feeling of how each possession counts in a close game. The youthful Falcons trailed by 10 points midway through the fourth quarter in their Southeast Division II first-round tournament game against Sheridan.

Fairfield Union was able to cut the deficit to just two points with less than two minutes left. The Falcons had a chance to tie or take the lead on three consecutive possessions, but a couple of missed shots and an unforced turnover, sealed their fate.

“It comes down to making plays down the stretch and single possessions are crucial,” first-year coach Alex Eversole said. “You just can’t have, in a one possession game, a series of bad shots and turnovers.”

Fairfield Union had two freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on the floor during that stretch, and as Eversole said, it was a learning experience for his young team.

When they actually go back and look at it, I’m sure they will have a better understanding the next time they are in that situation.

Inexperience definitely factors into the situation when the game is on the line at the end of the game.

You can’t coach experience, and players that have been there have a better understanding of what value every possession means.

“You have to have guys that are mentally tough when the game is on the line,” Petty said. “Basically, it comes down to making plays and are players tough enough in certain situations.”

As the tournament starts to heat up this week, and if a team loses a close game, look at the entire game, not just the end result. Again, things are magnified when a team loses a close one at the end. People will look at what happened in the final minutes, but in reality, they need to look at how each team did in each possession.

Did they execute, did they take care of the ball, and did they make their free throws? All of those things are telling points in a close game.

twilson@lancastereaglegazette.com

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Twitter: @twil2323