Broncos look to correct free-throw woes

Special to the News-Mirror

Marchie Murdock couldn’t believe it. The Legacy basketball coach shook his head as his team tried to preserve a late-lead against crosstown rival Lake Ridge last week.

Murdock’s dismay came when he saw Marchie Murdock Jr. inbounding the ball. All Legacy had to do was make their free throws to seal the game. The problem was Legacy’s best free-throw shooter was Murdock Jr.

Murdock Sr. regreted that the team’s best free throw shooter couldn’t get a chance to get fouled and shoot.

Those kind of late-game situations make Murdock Sr. fearful of the Bronco’s chances at a deep playoff run. Legacy ended up beating Lake Ridge 37-35, but the Broncos missed eight free throws in the final two minutes of the game.

“Free throws are going to be our demise if we don’t get it under control,” Murdock Sr. said. “Free throw shooting is going to kill us.”

It hasn’t cost Legacy so far despite multiple occurrences. Against Summit on Feb. 8, Legacy once again allowed a team to stay in the game late by missing free throws. Summit had a few chances at knocking down a game-tying three but couldn’t convert.

Legacy won that game 42-37. The Broncos survived another round of late miss free throws in a 51-40 win against Lancaster in January.

After each of those wins, Murdock Sr. could be heard in the hallway repeating the same thing over and over again -- the Broncos have to fix their free throws.

The fix isn’t so simple. If it were, Murdock Sr. said he’d be richer.

“I don’t know what it is,” Murdock Sr. said. “If I did, I’d be a millionaire.”

It’s not as if Legacy doesn’t have capable shooters -- Murdock Jr., is hitting around 90 percent of his foul shots and Brett Potter is one of the best shooters on the team.

The problem has been when the game gets late in the fourth quarter, free throws suddenly seem more troublesome for Legacy’s shooters.

Luckily, the Broncos defense doesn’t share that problem. Legacy continues to dominate teams on the defensive end. In Legacy’s last three wins in District 15-4A, the Broncos held their opponents to an average of 33.7 points per game.

That defense helped secure the No. 2 seed from 15-4A for Legacy. Murdock Sr. just hopes the free throw shooting comes around so Legacy can win more than a handful of playoff games.

“We’ve got to address the free throw shooting,” he said. “In the playoffs, if you can’t hit free throws, you go home pretty quick. Free throws have been killing us.”

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