Photo/Sherri McAninch BELLAIRE’S COLE Runyan (14) eyes the basket as Bridgeport’s P.J. Sauvageot defends during Friday night’s game inside the John J. Havlicek Gymnasium. Runyan hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 21.1 seconds left as the Big Reds won, 54-51.

BRIDGEPORT — Bellaire needed a win in the worst of ways. The Big Reds were 0-3 and trailing late against Bridgeport Friday night before Cole Runyan came up clutch.

The senior southpaw buried a pair of three-pointers in the final 80 seconds as Ben Doyle’s charges overcame a sluggish middle two quarters in rallying past the Bulldogs, 54-51, on Frank Baxter Court inside John J. Havlicek Gymnasium. The Big Reds had been 0-for-9 from behind the bonus line until Runyan tickled the twine twice.

“Coach always tells us to keep shooting no matter what and they’ll fall eventually,” Runyan said. “I always keep shooting no matter what, and eventually I knew they would start to fall.”

Doyle had confidence in his senior.

“I was definitely aware that we were 0-for-something from beyond the arc,” Doyle admitted. “Cole knocked them down at the right time … the end. That’s just a senior stepping up and making the big shot for his teammates. I’m proud of Cole for hitting those two shots.

“We definitely needed to get in the win column,” he stressed. “We’re really glad we did. Now we can take it one game at a time. We got the monkey off our back and got the winning feeling. Now we need to continue it at home tonight (Saturday) against Martins Ferry.”

Bridgeport led 49-46 and called a 30-second timeout with 1:33 remaining. Thirteen seconds later, Runyan drained his first trey to knot the contest. John Starks drove the lane to put the Bulldogs back on top, 51-49 with 44 ticks left. Bridgeport had a chance to add to its margin, but misfired on two free throws with 27.9 showing.

Bellaire brought the ball downcourt and found Runyan wide-open in the left corner. He found nothing but net with 21.1 left for a 52-51 lead. Jacob Marthaler added a pair of charity tosses with 4.1 seconds left, but a desperation shot at the buzzer was not to be for the hosts.

For Bridgeport head coach Donnie Cash, it was deja vu from a week ago when his squad couldn’t hold a lead late in a loss to visiting Beallsville.

“That’s exactly what it was. I second-guessed myself. If I call timeout and set something up, we might throw the ball away,” he said of his decision in the final minute. “In the second quarter we played fast and we had success in the third quarter, so it was a scramble. I was yelling to get to the basket, but we shot a three. However, that shot didn’t cost us. The little things throughout the game that we didn’t do did.

“Our defense in the fourth quarter was not good,” he added. “We built a wall in the second and third quarters and they had a tough time scoring. In the fourth quarter we just backed off and they kept getting to the bucket and getting to the bucket. Give them (Bellaire) credit because they kept attacking and attacking.”

After building a 19-8 advantage after one period, Bellaire scored just 15 points in the second and third quarters combined. The Big Reds were a mere 7-for-27 in the span.

“The second and third quarter I think there was a lid on our basket,” Doyle said. “We had looks right under the bucket, but they just weren’t going in. The end of the game was exciting. Both teams fought hard. The bounces just fell our way this time.”

Marthaler led a balanced Bellaire attack with 13 points. Runyan and Levi Littell evenly divided 20, with Littell’s total coming in a reserve role. A.J. McCarthy added eight, Trent Wilson seven and David Zwack six. Littell and Marthaler also grabbed 11 rebounds each.

“Levi gave us quite a spark early on,” Doyle noted. “That’s why I put him in when I did.”

Trevonn Ray paced the Bulldogs with 18 points before fouling out with 1:11 left to play. Dylan Gregorcic chipped in a dozen and Starks added 11. Gregorcic and Starks had nine and eight rebounds, respectively.

Bridgeport had 16 turnovers, three more than Bellaire.

The Bulldogs trek to River Tuesday.