AUSTIN
Crothersville outscored Rock Creek Academy 10-5 during the overtime period to pull out a 69-64 win Friday night in the consolation bracket of the Scott County Invitational.
Earlier Friday, the Tigers were outscored 49-18 by Austin in the second half and lost 82-53.
Crothersville (7-3) will play South Central today 20 minutes after the conclusion of the Carroll County-Christian Academy of Indiana game, which begins at 2 p.m.
Tigers top Lions
Crothersville’s Josh Thomas made a free throw with 3:15 on the clock for the first point of the overtime. When Thomas missed the second free throw, Logan Brewer pulled down the rebound and scored.
After Terrence Browning made a 3-pointer for the Lions, Lane Wienhorst and Thomas each scored three points for a 6-0 run, and the Tigers were in front to stay.
The game was tied at 42 going into the fourth quarter. The Lions held leads of 54-50 and 57-54 before Dylan Wilson made three free throws to tie the score at 57 with 25.9 seconds remaining.
Browning’s layup put the Lions on top 59-57 with 12 seconds remaining.
Noah Hoskins attempted two free throws with six seconds remaining for the Tigers. He missed both, but in the battle for the ball, he came down with an offensive rebound and put the ball in the basket just before the buzzer to force overtime.
“We got some 50-50 balls there in the overtime,” Tigers coach Greg Kilgore said. “We got a couple offensive rebounds and putbacks. Hoskins had a huge rebound and putback to tie the game after he had just missed two free throws. I think he was kind of determined he was going to put it in the hole, and if we got beat, it wouldn’t be on him anymore.”
Brewer had a hot hand throughout the night, as he scored a season-high 26 points. He had 11 field goals, including four 3-pointers.
Brewer scored eight points in the first quarter to help the Tigers to a 12-all tie.
Brewer added eight points and Thomas made two 3-pointers in the second quarter to spark the Tigers to a 32-31 lead at the break.
Brewer and Hoskins hit 3-pointers in the third quarter to help their team to a 42-42 score going into the final quarter.
“Brewer stepped up real big tonight,” Kilgore said. “He was a totally opposite kid from this morning. Teenagers are teenagers, and sometimes, they’re engaged, and sometimes, they’re not. Logan played a great game tonight.
“Thomas did a pretty good job of handling the ball with (Zane) Elliott out,” Kilgore said. “I thought a couple kids off the bench came in and did a pretty good job defensively and rebounding. We didn’t want to get in a running game with them. They are very athletic and get up and down the floor well.”
Wilson finished with 18 points, and Thomas scored 11.
Kilgore said he liked the way the Tigers defended Browning.
“He was averaging 24 a game, and we just tried to make sure we focused on him and made other people hit shots, and they did hit a few throughout the game,” he said. “I really think that wore on him, and by the end of the game, I think he was really fatigued and had a hard time focusing the way he needed to.”
Browning was limited to two free throws in the first half and finished with 18 points.
“We played a box-and-one the whole first half,” Kilgore said. “In the fourth quarter, we finally came out of that and went man-to-man because it was still close, and I wanted to make sure those other guys didn’t stand outside and make set shots on us.”
Eagles defeat Tigers
The Tigers, behind strong offensive performances by Wilson and Wienhorst, held a 35-33 lead at the half against Austin.
Wilson had seven points in the first quarter, but the Eagles shot 10-for-20 to lead 22-16.
Austin was on top 10-8 midway through the quarter and used 3-pointers by Josh Hollin and John Ashby to build its lead to 18-8.
Wilson continued strong in the second quarter with three more baskets, while Wienhorst hit a pair of 3-pointers to boost the Tigers to a two-point halftime lead.
“I was real pleased with our effort in the first half,” Kilgore said as the Tigers shot 15-for-30 from the floor.
The Tigers outscored Austin 6-5 over the first two minutes of the third quarter to hold a 41-38 lead following a layup by Wilson.
The Eagles, sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by Andy Barnett, outscored the Tigers 21-10 in the third to take a 54-45 lead into the fourth quarter.
Austin opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run, and after Wilson scored off of an offensive rebound, the Eagles went on an 11-0 run to pull away.
Kilgore said Austin’s 27 offensive rebounds were a big factor.
“We were up two (at the half) giving them seven offensive rebounds, and we needed to keep that down to the four or five range in the second half. They got 20 in the second half,” he said.
“We talked in film sessions and on the scouting report all week that we didn’t think Austin was good enough to beat us with the first shot, but if we kept letting them tip it up and playing with it on the backboard that we would be in trouble, and that is exactly what happened,” he said. “We didn’t box out and rebound like we needed to.”
The Eagles had a balanced attack with Barnett scoring 15, Drew Buhr and Isaiah White scoring 14 each and Ashby and Hollin scoring 12 apiece.
Wilson scored a season-high 22 points and topped the Tigers in rebounds with eight, and Josh Thomas scored 10 points.
The Tigers shot 7-for-30 in the second half.
“Our offense got a little stagnant in the second half,” Kilgore said. “They turned up the pressure, and we didn’t match their intensity in the second half.”