Augusta wound up missing both free throws and Maize South’s Micah Kiser drove to the basket for a layup right before the buzzer. The Mavericks went on to outscore the Orioles by five in overtime to earn a 58-53 victory.
Dinkel and Barney were crucial parts in Maize South’s comeback from 18 points down at halftime and 21 early in the second half. Dinkel scored 13 of his 17 points after halftime and Barney had 15 of his 17 in the second half.
During halftime, Dinkel said coach Kip Schultz discussed doing a better job of running the offense. Schultz told the Mavericks to act like they were at practice and to execute the way they do then.
“We practice this everyday; just run it like we do in practice,” Dinkel recalled Schultz saying. “We changed our attitudes and went from there.”
Barney used his inside and outside shooting to rally the Mavericks. The sophomore scored 12 points in the third quarter, including a personal 10-0 run to cut the deficit to 37-31. After Alex Clausing hit a free throw to put Augusta (7-6) up seven, Kellen Filby hit a 3-pointer at the end of the third quarter to make the score 38-34.
Barney thought the key to his 12-point quarter was being more physical on offense.
“I feel like I worked harder in the second half to get the ball,” he said.
The Mavericks continued to battle in the fourth quarter but could only get as close as three -- 43-40 -- until the final minute. Trailing 51-44 after Augusta’s Brandt Patterson made a free throw with 41 seconds remaining, Maize South (3-11) got a bucket by Dinkel and a 3-pointer from Barney to set up the finish to regulation. In overtime, Dinkel gave Maize South the early lead and sealed the win with a pair of free throws.
Augusta coach David Stephenson said Dinkel and Barney were focal points of the Orioles’ game plan. He thought his team did a good job against the Mavericks’ duo before fouls started to be an issue at the end of the first half and after halftime.
“We definitely wanted to hold those guys down. They’re good players, bigger than anybody we’ve got,” Stephenson stated. “We executed it for the most part until getting everybody in foul trouble.”
Maize South scored 22 points total on free throws and five of them came in overtime, something Stephenson felt doomed his team.
“We just fouled too much,” he said. “When you foul that much you can’t win, I don’t care what your lead is at halftime.”
Dinkel hit seven free throws after halftime and was exhausted following the win. He felt all of the effort his team has put in at practice this year was worth it though with Tuesday’s game.
“Everyday you try so hard in practice and it finally comes together in a come-from-behind victory,” Dinkel said.
Barney believes the Mavericks are moving in the right direction after picking up their second win in five games. Maize South was 1-8 after its Jan. 13 contest against Rose Hill and all of its losses were by 14 or more points.
“I think we turned the corner because a couple of weeks ago we were getting beat and not playing good defense,” Barney said.
Kiser finished with 10 points for the Mavericks and eight of them came in the second half. Austin Mormando added five points, including three free throws in overtime.
Chase Winter led the Orioles with 13 points and his 3-pointer at the beginning of the second half gave Augusta a 34-13 advantage. Patterson also hit double figures with 10 points before fouling out and Kyler Steinkamp had nine.
