Saginaw defeats Fort Worth Dunbar on buzzer beater

By Kevin Casas

Special to the Star-Telegram

Dominique Johnson is getting used to the spot.

It's on the right side of the court, about free throw line-high, where the senior guard made a game-winning 3-pointer to lift Saginaw to a 69-68 District 6-4A win Saturday over Fort Worth Dunbar.

His buzzer-beating shot at Billingsley Field House wasn't his first this season. Johnson made the same final-second shot to beat Wichita Falls last week.

"Really, any of us that get the call can finish the job," Johnson said. "But I guess lately I've been the go-to guy and I'm comfortable taking that shot. You really can't do anything different, so it's just about trusting your shot."

Whereas last week's game-winner broke a tie, this one was all-or-nothing.

After Dunbar rallied from a 14-point deficit to lead 68-66 with 11 seconds to play, Saginaw point guard Zach Tomblin worked the ball the length of the floor and penetrated left into a double team.

He dished back to Arique Moss, who swung the ball right with three seconds left to Johnson.

Johnson stepped back off coverage and made the game-winner as the buzzer sounded. It was a fitting end to a strange sequence in which turnovers, fouls and spectacular plays dominated the final three minutes of the game.

"I'm just proud of how these kids kept their composure," Saginaw coach Brent Craft said. "We talked about how we had to keep pace and beat Dunbar in each quarter if we wanted to win this game."

Saginaw (9-5, 4-2 in district) did that in the second and third quarters and had a 51-37 lead with 2:46 left in the third.

But Dunbar (10-8, 5-1) slowly started to build some offensive rhythm as Quinton Brigham made a free throw to cap a 10-2 run and tie it 57-57 midway through the fourth quarter.

Things were squared again twice more before Tomblin gave Saginaw a one-point lead after hitting just the back end of a one-and-one.

After Tomblin missed the front end with 19 seconds, referees huddled briefly before deciding to award him the second free-throw attempt.

Dunbar's Da'lante Brooks appeared to give the Wildcats the upper hand and a 68-66 lead by making a 3-pointer with 11 seconds remaining.

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