AUBURN —Toeing the free throw line with 1.1 second remaining and his team down by two points, Patrick Scott had the ball — and, in essence, Monday’s game against Del Oro — in his hands.

Bear River’s senior captain said he’d have it no other way and his coach said there’s no one else he’d rather have at the stripe with the game on the line.

Yet, the front end of Scott’s bonus situation bounced in and out, leaving the Bruins on the short side of a 65-63 score Monday in the first round of the Kendall Arnett Tournament.

Scott got the rebound on his purposely missed second attempt, but didn’t get the whistle when he tried to follow up the shot in a flock of Golden Eagles.

“I’d much rather be the person shooting them,” Scott said after the loss. “It just kind of sucks when you miss like that.

“But what can I take from it? I’ve got to practice my free throws.”

Scott, who has led the Bruins throughout their 9-3 start to the season, was once again the game’s top scorer with a 32-point performance.

But after he and his senior running mate Garrett Barbic combined to torch the Golden Eagles for 28 of the Bruins’ 37 first-half points, Del Oro coach Geoff Broyles decided to switch up his defense.

“They went to a triangle-and-two,” Bear River coach Duwaine Ganskie said. “It did take us out of our flow, so I’ll give them credit for that. But we still scored enough points to win the game. If we don’t turn the ball over and give them easy baskets ...

“But I’m proud of the kids. They played their hearts out. It was a hell of a game. They’d hit a shot and we’d hit a shot. I’m happy with our effort and with our execution in a lot of areas. I’m just not happy with the way we took care of the basketball.”

The Bruins had a relatively low total of turnovers with 12, but four of those came in the fourth quarter while Bear River was in the thick of a back-and-forth battle. Yet, down the stretch it appeared as though Scott would once again lift the Bruins over the top.

He scored 15 of Bear River’s 26 second-half points, while Barbic was held scoreless and the rest of the Bruins totaled 11 after the halftime intermission.

After Bear River struggled to hit just one of its first nine field goals in the fourth quarter, and trailed 62-57 with 1:54 to play, Scott drove by three different defenders on the way to a bucket that pulled the Bruins within three. He then hit both ends of a bonus situation to pull within one point at 62-61 with 38 seconds to go.

And after Del Oro junior Spencer Butterfield missed the front end of a bonus situation, Scott dished off to fellow senior Tanner Mathias with the go-ahead score, 63-62, with 20 seconds left.

But the Golden Eagles got one more shot and made it count, as senior Brian Rowe hit the bottom of the net on a 3-pointer from right side of the arc with five seconds left for the eventual final margin.

Barbic finished with 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tanner Mathias totaled six points and six boards, while Michael Spencer had six points on a pair of 3-pointers. Johnny Jewett and Will Gray each had four points in the loss.

Del Oro (6-1) was led in scoring by sophomore Aaron Hendricks, who had 26 points, while Butterfield totaled 16 points and grabbed a game-high 18 boards. Rowe was the third Golden Eagle to find double digits in scoring with 11.

Bear River is back in action at 3:30 p.m. today against Pioneer Valley League rival Colfax (6-5), which fell to Nevada Union 48-47 Monday night. Del Oro will meet the Sierra Foothill League rival Miners (7-4) in today’s 6:30 p.m. winner’s bracket semifinal.

To contact Sports Editor Brian Hamilton, e-mail bhamilton@theunion.com or call 477-4240.