LAGRANGE — With a dramatic comeback and a career performance by Matt Herb, Keystone defeated Wellington 54-48 Friday night in a key Patriot Athletic Conference matchup.
Wellington led 20-4 late in the first quarter. But the Dukes saw the margin dwindle to three points at the half as Herb scored 10 of his career-high 29 points in the second quarter. Kyle Smith drilled the first of his two
3-point baskets 26 seconds before the break, cutting the margin to 28-25.
The win keeps the Wildcats (9-7, 7-4 PAC) in a first-place tie with Buckeye in the Stars Division race. Keystone and Buckeye, which defeated Black River on Friday, lead Wellington
(11-6, 7-5 PAC) by a half-game.
“We’ve been talking about this game the last three weeks,” Herb said. “If we want to win the PAC, we had to win this game tonight. And it wasn’t a question of whether I had to play good tonight. I knew I had to do it, so I went out and played well.”
With three straight close-range baskets and a pair of free throws, Herb scored Keystone’s first eight points of the second quarter, making it a 25-18 Wellington lead. He made another layup with about three minutes left in the period, then Smith put Wildcats fans on their feet with his late 3-pointer.
Keystone took its first lead of the night, 31-30, when Mike Herb went baseline for a layup about two minutes into the third quarter. Wellington moved ahead late in the quarter on a drive by Blake Sword and layup by Brandon Schmidt. But the game was tied at 37 after Keystone’s Jimmy Reid drove for his only field goal of the night less than a minute before the period ended.
Wellington took a 42-39 lead two minutes into the fourth after Cory Kidd drove for a basket and Schmidt converted a three-point play. But Matt Herb converted one of his own with 5:55 to play and Mike Herb put Keystone ahead for good when he drove for a layup at 5:16.
“We’ve had trouble in the past having close games at halftime,” said Matt Herb. “We know we have to finish, but we never did. We got down by a lot early, but this time we battled, kept battling, tied them in the third quarter. From there, we were so psyched we just kept going.”
Kyle Smith finished with 11 points and was the only other Keystone player to score in double figures. The Dukes’ Schmidt scored a team-high 17 points. Kidd and Sword scored 12 apiece.
“It was a fun game once we started to get our energy,” said Keystone coach Greg Morgan. “Matt Herb came in and gave us some energy plays and a nice boost toward the end of the first quarter. Once we got the energy going, then it was a fun game to coach.”
Second-quarter foul trouble contributed to the Dukes’ decline.
“We couldn’t hold our momentum in the second quarter,” said Dukes coach Tom Eibel. “We got in foul trouble and had to play a little more passive because we aren’t real deep. That was the turning point for us.”
WELLINGTON (48): Brandon Schmidt 7-2-17, Keith Smith 0-0-0, Cory Kidd 5-1-12, Blake kSword 4-3-12, Mark Calhoun 0-0-0, Erick Saunders 0-0-0, Kenny Natterer 0-0-0, Chris Huelsman 3-1-7. Totals 19-7-48.
KEYSTONE (54): Corey Smith 0-0-0, Jimmy Reid 1-0-2, Kyle Shaw 1-1-3, Nick Wilmoth 1-0-2, Kyle Smith 4-1-11, Matt Osborne 1-0-2, Matt Herb 11-7-29, Mike Herbe 2-0-4, Jeff Knepper 0-1-1. Totals 21-10-54.
Wellington  20 8 9 11 — 48
Keystone 10 15 12 17 — 54
Three-point goals: Wellington 3-14 (Schmidt, Kidd, Sword); Keystone 2-8 (K. Schmidt 2). Field goals: Wellington 19-50 (38 percent); Keystone 21-45 (47 percent). Free throws: Wellington 7-10; Keystone 10-17. Rebounds: Wellington 24; Keystone 25. Turnovers: Wellington 16; Keystone 17. Fouled out: Schmidt.
Junior varsity: Keystone, 42-36.

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