Austin Hemmingson | Daily Press Carney-Nadeau’s Beau Koffman puts up a shot over North Central defenders Carter Eichmeier (24) and Cole Timblin Feb. 4 at Carney.

CARNEY — If we all end up getting robbed of the third chapter of Carney-Nadeau and North Central meeting for a district title, at least we got to see a classic played between the two teams back on Feb. 4 in Carney.

This match-up was filled with intensity, clutch plays on both sides, and it needed overtime to determine a winner. In that extra session, it was senior forward Max Baumler making the play of the game to lift the Wolves to a 53-52 victory.

With the Jets clinging to a 52-51 lead and inbounding the ball near midcourt with just over 20 seconds left in the extra frame, Baumler picked off a pass intended for Luke Gorzinski and drove to the other end where he was fouled in the act of shooting by Noah Gorzinski with 19.8 ticks remaining. He then sank both free throws to put the Wolves up by one.

“I saw (Luke Gorzinski) was coming around the corner and I just decided to take a chance,” Baumler said afterwards. “It happened to hit my hands and I just went with it. I luckily got fouled and I sunk the free throws.”

The Jets still had a chance on their final possession, but the Wolves played tight defense and forced them to run off nearly 15 seconds before they even got a shot off. Noah Gorzinski drove to the middle of the lane and lost the ball, then got it back and put up an off-balance shot that fell off the rim. Brien Gronmark grabbed the rebound and tried to put it back in while still in mid-air, but the shot was off the mark as time ran out.

Jets coach Mike Malone described the game perfectly.

“Somebody once said that sometimes you don’t lose, you just happen to be behind when time runs out,” he said. “We did a lot of really good things tonight, we had a few miscues here and there, but the boys executed the game plan really, really well. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way.”

All of this came after it initially looked like Luke Gorzinski was going to be the hero at the end of regulation.

After Baumler broke a 45-45 tie with a deep triple from the left wing with 1:47 left, Carney had a chance to ice the game when Mike Flanagan went to the free throw line for the front end of a 1-and-1, but he missed to give the Jets another chance. They grabbed the rebound and got the ball ahead to Luke Gorzinski, who drained a deep pullup 3-pointer from the right wing with nine seconds left to send the game into overtime tied at 48.

The Jets then started the overtime fast, gaining a 52-48 advantage on a layup by Wyatt Riley with 1:16 to play.

“Give North Central all the credit in the world,” C-N coach Paul Polfus said. “They played awfully hard. They made it tough for us to get into any type of our offense where we got clean looks. We didn’t shoot particularly well, but we made enough big shots to keep us going.”

Right on cue, Baumler came down and knocked down another big triple on the next possession to make it a one-point game before he sealed the contest with his steal and free throws roughly 30 seconds later.

“The first thing I’m going to say is my team (helped me). They always hit me when I was open, and they never told me to stop shooting the ball,” said Baumler, who struggled early in the contest. “When you have that team around you surrounding you, it’s hard not to get down on yourself. You just feel like you’re a perfect basketball player. Coach (Polfus) really helps, too.”

Skyline Central Conference player of the year Brett LaFord led the Wolves with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Baumler added 13 points, eight rebounds and five steals, while Beau Koffman chipped in 11 points and six boards. Carney shot 18 for 50 from the field and 10 for 32 from downtown.

Noah Gorzinski led the Jets with 16 points, while Luke Gorzinski added 10.

“They came out with fire,” Malone said. “They played 110% for me the whole game. (The Wolves) have offensive sets and movement that are really difficult to defend, because you gotta make sure that you’re covering up five (guys). There’s nobody that can’t hit on that team. Any one of them can shoot it pretty decently, so it’s tough. It’s a tough cover.”

After losing their next two, the Wolves went on a seven-game winning streak to reach the district title game before play was stopped due to the coronavirus outbreak. If play were to resume, they would be visiting the Jets, who had won four straight of their own before the stoppage.

The Jets won the first meeting over Carney, 46-41, back on Dec. 19 on their home floor.

It remains to be seen if we’ll get to see the final chapter. The MHSAA has yet to make an announcement on postseason tournaments, and nobody really knows when that decision will be made. But if this game ends up being our lasting memory of how this season’s version of the rivalry turned out, it will be a good one.

Unless, you’re a North Central fan.