Lead disappears in 3rd quarter as Oasis Academy drops playoff game

Everything was looking good for the Oasis Academy boys basketball team, until the third quarter.

Leading by seven going into halftime of the school’s first playoff game, the Bighorns went into a scoring drought in the third quarter, mustering only two points to allow Sage Ridge to come from behind to snatch a 54-47 victory in the 1A West-Central regional quarterfinals on Thursday in Hawthorne.

Oasis Academy ended the season with a 15-11 record, including 7-3 in league.

Jacob Alcala’s field goal early in the third quarter gave Oasis Academy a 29-21 lead but Sage Ridge came back with 12 answered points.

Spencer Uppal, Julian Vlad and Ben Miller helped start the 12-0 run and bring the deficit to within one (29-28) with two minutes left in the third. Ahead 33-29 in the final quarter, Nate Mulvaney hit a 3-pointer to give the team a seven-point lead before Armahn Brantley countered with a 3 to end the 15-0 run. Jacob Ferrenburg-Pike countered a Sage Ridge score to keep the deficit at four points (38-34) but Sage Ridge came back with four quick points to lead 42-34.

Brantley’s score plus a free throw brought Oasis Academy to within five points but Spencer Abts’ free throws with three minutes left gave Sage Ridge its biggest lead of the game at 47-37. Douglas Lee’s field goal cut the deficit back into single digits and Ferrenburg-Pike’s basket under the two-minute mark narro swed the gap to 47-42.

Fouls ensued for Oasis Academy, leading to Sage Bridge expanding the lead on free throws but Ferrenburg-Pike’s 3-pointer closed the gap again from nine to six points (51-45). Needing to foul, Trevor Halloran fouled Vlad, who hit another pair of free throws for Sage Ridge. Uppal’s free throw in the closing minute gave Sage Ridge a nine-point lead before Alcala’s basket at the end.