Late foul ends in Ganado’s favor

BURNSIDE, Ariz.

The final sequence of Tuesday night’s game remained a blur for Ganado shooting guard Tim Benally.

With 1.7 seconds left and his team trailing by one point, Benally was at one end of the court trying to make a play for his team. Since he was the quarterback of the football team they chose him to inbound the ball but his pass to teammate Jamaal Coleman went out of bounds at the other end.

With that the Monument Valley Mustangs regain possession under their basket. This game, however, was far from over. With a chance to end the game with a “W” the Mustangs faithful could only watch in disbelief as Benally stole the inbound pass near midcourt and heaved a Hail-Mary shot.

Needless to say that shot was never close of hitting the rim but that final attempt earned him a trip to the charity line as he sank two clutch free throws in Ganado’s 58-57 win.

“I am still trying to get my head wrapped around it,” Benally said. “That pass I tried to make totally got away from me and I was like, ‘Man I threw the game away’ but I was thinking there was some time left.”

As for the steal near midcourt, Benally said he saw the ball coming his way at the last second and then his instincts took over.

“I just wanted to make contact,” he said. “I think he was trying to take a charge but he was still backpedaling.”

Ganado coach Jeremiah Rector said that last play could have gone three ways.

“There could have been a charge, a no call or a blocking foul,” he said. “We were very fortunate we got that call and Tim came through for us tonight and knocked down two free throws.”

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