By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
Few words can adequately describe what happened in the final two minutes of Friday’s sub-state boys championship game between Bennington and Ell-Saline.
Maybe it was a miracle, maybe it was an anomaly, maybe it was just good old-fashioned March Madness.
Down 10 with 1:50 remaining, completely dead in the water, the Ell-Saline boy's basketball team pulled off an unthinkable comeback, outscoring Bennington 14-3 in just 120 seconds to win 69-68 and punch the team's first ticket to the 2A state tournament in recent memory.
Brogan Rowley started the party with 1:38 to go, knocking down a tough jumper and sinking the and-one free throw to cut the lead to seven.
On the ensuing possession, Bennington threw the ball away, leading to a transition foul on Kas Kramer, who sunk both free throws to cut the lead to five.
Isaiah Garrett extended the edge by one with a free throw, but Rowley got right back to work with another old-fashioned three-point play to trim the advantage to three.
Needing to play the foul game, Ell-Saline once again sent Garrett to the line, and the veteran delivered for Bennington, sinking both free throws to give his team a five-point lead with 25 seconds to go.
The Bulldogs wouldn’t score again.
On the very next possession, Trey Williams, who had been silenced for nearly 32 minutes, caught a pass on the perimeter and buried a three to get the Cards back within two.
With just 15 seconds on the clock, Bennington inbounded, but their pass out of a trap was deflected and Garrison Zerger took the carom straight to the cup to tie the game at 68-68 with 10 seconds remaining.
Not content to play for overtime, the Cardinals flocked to the ball once more and successfully wrestled the ball away from Garrett, but before they could take a potential game-winning shot, Coach Wendel called timeout to reset.
The designed play got the ball to Reese Krone, who appeared to be stripped of the ball with a fourth of a second remaining, but instead, a foul was called and Krone went to the line with a chance to be the hero.
As if any doubt of what might come next remained, Krone buried the first free throw for the lead, and purposefully left the second short, sealing Bennington’s fate, and completing the unlikeliest of comebacks.
Despite the loss, Isaiah Garrett (22) and Thayne Trout (16) were excellent for a heartbroken Bennington team that will end it’s season, and sub-state run, at 15-8.
Meanwhile, Ell-Saline was led to victory by Garrison Zerger (21) Reese Krone (18) and Brogan Rowley (15), avenging one of their only three losses on the year.
The Cardinals will enter the 2A state tournament at 20-3 overall and will have a chance to play for their first state title since 1980 next week at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.