Eddie Mowen Jr. | The Register-Herald
CAMDEN — Preble Shawnee’s boys basketball team moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference with a 56-51 overtime win over visiting Tri-Village on Friday, Feb. 3 in front of a standing room only crowd.
With the win, the Arrows move to 17-3 overall and 10-0 in the WOAC. Tri-Village fell to 9-1 in the WOAC with the loss.
“What a great atmosphere. Great environment. Exciting,” Shawnee coach Jake Turner said. “You wish you played all 22 games in that kind of environment.”
Shawnee, which claimed a share of the WOAC title with the win, will have a chance to win the league title outright this Friday when it hosts Dixie. The Greyhounds are currently 9-1 in the WOAC.
The Arrows rallied from down six in the fourth quarter to force the overtime period.
“Just an unbelievable game. Crazy game towards the end. Just a hard-fought game from both teams,” Turner said. “In my opinion two really, really, really good teams. I think we’re two of the best teams in Dayton in Division three. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. I really believe that Josh does a great job with his guys. They’re well coached. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. I think both teams knew that coming in tonight.”
After leading most of the game, including a double-digit lead in the first half, Shawnee found itself down 46-40 with 4:11 left in the game. Shawnee closed to within 50-47 with under 30 seconds left.
The Patriots had a chance to seal the game in regulation but missed a free throw with 14 seconds left.
Shawnee junior Mason Shrout then raced down court and fired up a 3-point attempt and was fouled with 6.6 seconds left.
Shrout made the first two free throws to get the Arrows within 50-49. Tri-Village called timeout before the third attempt in hopes of icing Shrout but to no avail. Shrout, who finished with a game-high 18 points, calmly drilled the third attempt to tie the game.
“To step up with a lot of pressure on you to make three free throws in a loud gym and that’s what big time players do,” Turner said of Shrout.
T-V had one final chance to win the game in regulation but its final shot from inside 10 feet missed as time expired.
In the overtime, Shrout scored with 1:58 left to put the Arrows up 52-50. The Patriots closed to within 52-51 with a minute left after making one of two free throws.
A basket by Logan Hawley with 22 seconds left extended the Arrows lead to 54-51. Shrout wrapped up the scoring with a pair of free throws with 9.7 left to seal the win.
Hawley finished with 10 points. Isaac Blankenship added 11, Brayden Robinette had seven and Josh Miller contributed six off the bench.
“We have a great opportunity. We control it (our own destiny). It ain’t going to be easy,” Turner said of hosting Dixie. “Hopefully we get the same environment that we had tonight. Having the home court advantage, I think will help us as well.”
Reach Eddie Mowen Jr. at 937-683-4061 and follow on Twitter @emowenjr.
