The Great Falls Electric, 13-1, bounced back from Friday’s 118-114 road loss to the Wenatchee (WA) Bighorns, with a nail-biting win at the buzzer thanks to Lyle Hexom’s layup with one second remaining in the contest for the 109-107 victory against the Salem (OR) Capitals (7-9). Salem thought they might be headed into overtime but Lyle Hexom ended it before the clock hit 0:00.
Lyle Hexom, who is in his second season with the Electric, scored his 31st point right before the buzzer sounded in the fourth quarter to prevent an overtime. The Nebraska native went 10-for-19 from the field and accumulated ten rebounds with eight of those on the defensive side. KD Moore was the second-leading scorer for coach Steve Keller’s squad with 27.
Robert Upshaw played 30 minutes and scored 30 points for the Capitals. Preston Whitfield and Cameron Benzel combined for 49 points while Isaiah Gentry added 13 .
Lyle Hexom’s successful jump shot put the Great Falls Electric basketball team up 12-5 with 7:31 left in the first quarter. A few minutes later, Salem’s Preston Whitfield’s layup gave the Capitals their first lead (15-14) since early in the quarter. A pair of free throws by Lyle Hexom would close the gap for Great Falls (28-23) as the quarter ended.
Great Falls outscored Salem, 29-22 for the 52-50 advantage at halftime.
Robert Upshaw and Cameron Benzel started the third quarter with back-to-back baskets to give the Oregon TBL squad a 54-52 lead. Both teams traded baskets for the next few possessions. Salem led by no more than five points (62-57 mark with 8:53 on the clock). Great Falls did not allow the game to get away from them. RayQuan Evans, a former Billings prep standout, converted a trey from long distance to tie the score at 70-70 with 5:43 remaining. The Electric started the fourth frame with a one point lead (79-78).
The fourth quarter remained close as Robert Upshaw (Salem) evened the score at 101-101. Great Falls’ Tremont Robinson-White, Terry “TJ” Maston, Jr. and Lyle Hexom used multiple possessions to build a 6-0 run for a 107-101 lead with under two minutes remaining. The home team fought back and a three pointer by Robert Upshaw followed by two free throws by Preston Whitfield and one successful attempt at the charity stripe from Tyreek Price tied the game at 107-107 with 18 seconds left. After a timeout by Great Falls to set up a shot, Lyle Hexom took advantage of the Capitals defense and scored a layup with nine seconds left for the eventual game-winning score.
