“We had a couple of breakdowns and a couple of miscues, and (Moeller) made us pay,” Springfield coach Isaiah Carson said. “You’ve got to defend against a team this good. We kind of let up.”
Moeller (15-0) tied the game early in the fourth quarter, then forward Riley Voss got a steal and followed with a thunderous two-handed dunk with 4:16 left to give Moeller the lead at 51-50.
Springfield missed three shot attempts and two free throws over its next four possessions. McBride hit two free throws with 32 seconds left to put Moeller up by three points.
Leonard Taylor missed a 3-pointer with five seconds left, but Springfield got the ball back after Moeller threw the ball out-of-bounds. The Crusaders fouled RaHeim Moss with 3.8 seconds left, and he made 1-of-2 attempts. Springfield fouled Moeller’s Cameron Seemann with two seconds left, and he made 1-of-2 attempts.
After several timeouts, the Wildcats got the ball to Danny Davis at half court, and he missed a desperation shot after a Moeller player collided with him. Springfield fans wanted a foul called, but didn’t get one.
Davis missed two free throws with 50 seconds left that could have given Springfield the lead, and he said he’ll be shooting more in practice to insure he doesn’t miss at a critical point in a game again.
“We’ve got to make our free throws, man,” Davis said. “I put that on me. That’s my fault. I have to finish better. We just need to work on our free throws and defend better.”
Springfield made 8-of-17 foul shots in the game and shot 18-of-46 from the field.
The game was tied 27-27 at halftime, but Springfield started the third quarter on a huge run. Taylor started the run with a 3-pointer with 6:57 left, then Davis made a jumper and two free throws over the next minute. Michael McKay and Davis hit two 3-pointers with 5:35 and 4:36 left, respectively, to put the Wildcats on top 40-29.
“We were aggressive there and we defended,” Carson said. “When we defended well, we turned it into good shots and were able to build that lead. Defense is everything with us. We can’t let up.”
Moeller finished the third on a 17-8 run, then tied the game 13 seconds into the fourth quarter. Davis was in foul trouble during Moeller’s run and spent part of it on the bench.
“They started getting in the paint and had some and-1’s,” Davis said. “Our transition defense wasn’t that good tonight, but we’ll come back stronger.”
Springfield’s other loss came to Beavercreek in overtime in the second game of the season. The Wildcats had won their previous 10 games before Saturday, and Davis said the team will work to quickly forget the loss and start another long winning streak.
“We’ve got to forget it right now,” Davis said. “It’s over with and we can’t change it now. It’s back to lab on Monday, and we’re going to get better.”
If Moeller and Springfield win in the tournament like they have in regular season, another meeting between the two teams is possible. They played twice in the 2014-15 season, including in the regional semifinals. Springfield won both games.
“If we play them again, you can bet we’ll be ready,” Carson said.
McKay led Springfield with 18 points, while Taylor added 14 and Davis scored 12.
Springfield returns to action on Friday at Springboro.
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