With 2.2 seconds left and Derby trailing Topeka by three in the Class 6A third-place game, senior Bryant Mocaby was fouled on a three-pointer.

He missed the first free throw but made the next two to get the Panthers within one. Derby had one more chance, though, when senior Tyler Brown stole the ball and shot it from half court.

The buzzer sounded as the ball bounced off the back of the rim.

An overwhelming ‘ah’ was heard from the Derby fans, and the Panthers’ players doubled over in shock and defeat at the 71-70 loss.

One point is all that separated Derby from taking third.

“It was a good ball game,” Derby coach Brett Flory said. “It just didn’t go our way unfortunately. And it’s hard to swallow because you obviously (want to) be able to go out with a positive feeling with your group, but it didn’t go our way today.

“But it doesn’t change how I feel about those guys.”

The Panthers were up for 14 of the first 16 minutes of the game and held a 34-33 lead at the half.

By the 5:08 mark of the fourth quarter, the Trojans took the lead and didn’t let up the rest of the game.

Statistically speaking, both sides were evenly matched in field goals, three pointers and free throws, but the small differences made the one point count.

“Everyone that gets this far is a really, really, really good team, and Topeka is here for a reason, too, as they got some great players,” Flory said.

It was a foul-ridden game on both sides. Topeka shooting 15 of 19 from the free-throw line, while Derby made 21 of 25. Mocaby hit 10 of 13.

Mocaby led all scorers with 21 points, while Brown scored in double digits (15) for the first time in the tournament.