Cam Jones-Wilson

Down 50-46 with 1.6 seconds left. Game over, right? Wrong. The Bulldogs pulled off an unbelievable comeback against Methacton on Saturday in West Lawn. Wilson trailed by 14 in the third quarter and by 12 with just over two minutes left. The (14-5) Bulldogs rallied for a 60-56 victory in overtime. Aidan Melograna was fouled with 1.6 seconds to go. The 6’2 junior sank the first free throw and then missed the second on purpose. 6’4 senior Foday Sillah got inside position for the offensive rebound and kicked it out to the left wing where Cam Jones was ready to launch. The junior point guard and all-state football player drilled the game-tying 3-pointer to force overtime. Video footage showed that the ball was out of Jones’ hand with 0.1 seconds on the clock. Cleveland Harding scored seven of Wilson’s ten points in OT. His two free throws with 13 seconds remaining put the Bulldogs up 59-53. After Matt Christian connected on his fifth trey of the afternoon, Ofure Odiale converted 1-2 from the foul line to seal the deal. Odiale, a 6’3 junior, played terrific defense on 6’8 senior Cole Hargrove who’s getting lower-level Division I interest. Hargrove finished with eight points. The (19-2) Warriors went 2-10 from the charity stripe. They were 0-7 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Cam Chilson missed the front end of a pair of 1-and-1 opportunities in the closing seconds of regulation. Harding buried a triple with twenty seconds to go that got the Bulldogs within 50-46. The 5’9 junior poured in 13 of his 15 points after the third period. Jones told me that Harding takes a lot of pressure off of him in the backcourt. Jones gave Sillah credit for being aggressive offensively even with Hargrove patrolling the lane. Sillah ended up with a team-high 17 points including 13 in the second half. Jones picked up his second foul with 2:27 left in the first quarter and sat the rest of the first half. Methacton held Wilson to five points in the second quarter. The Warriors were in front 24-16 at halftime and 37-29 after the third period. Christian came out of the locker room on fire after a scoreless first half. He nailed three triples in the first two and a-half minutes of the third quarter to give Methacton a 33-19 edge. Christian had a game-high 19 points. Senior guard Brett Byrne, a three-year starter, chipped in with 14. He made two of the Warriors’ eight 3-pointers. The Bulldogs hit five shots from beyond the arc and went 15-22 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Madyx Gruber scored all seven of his points in the first half. Jones said he knew his game-tying trey was going in as soon as he released it. After his teammates erupted off the bench, Jones reminded them that game wasn’t over. All 14 of his points came in the second half. He stressed that defense was the key to the comeback. Wilson is allowing just 48 points per game. Jones knows that his team will keep fighting until the end. They overcame a 17-point deficit to beat Muhlenberg one month ago. The Bulldogs have won ten of their last eleven games. Jones added that they have a lot of confidence going into Tuesday’s game at Berks Catholic. Saints’ coach Snip Esterly was in attendance for this thriller. Wilson wraps up its regular season schedule on Wednesday at Reading.