Owensboro outlasted Ohio County Monday night, surviving two overtimes and several lead changes to win 59-55 in a 3rd Region boys’ basketball matchup.
The Red Devils (4-3) fought their way past the visiting Eagles (4-5) by way of another strong performance from senior Darrion Wimsatt.
Scoring was hard to come by at the end of the game, as neither team scored over the final 3:01 of regulation, and they each got only two points in the first overtime. Owensboro held Ohio County scoreless in the second overtime to come out on top.
Head coach Rod Drake labeled the game a chess match, and said it was a good, hard-fought victory.
“That game was a great learning experience,” Drake said. “It was the kind of thing you don’t want to go through, but you’re ultimately glad you did. You can’t simulate anything like this in practice and I’m glad we won. Our guys played with a lot of poise and handled the clock well.”
Darrion Wimsatt led all scorers in the game with 25 points, 17 of which came in the first half. Handling the ball for long periods of time and getting to the free-throw line consistently helped to offset his uncharacteristically poor shooting performance.
On a night when points were hard to come by and shots weren’t falling, Darrion Wimsatt’s big moment came as the horn sounded at the end of the first quarter. He had the ball in transition with time running out when a heave from 30 feet out banked in, giving the Red Devils a 17-13 lead after the first period of play.
The lead was short-lived and after five lead changes in the second quarter, the teams headed into the locker room tied at 33.
With 4:31 to go in the third quarter, Ohio County forced Owensboro head coach Rod Drake to call a timeout after the Eagles opened up a 41-34 advantage. That lead proved to be the largest for either team all night, as the Red Devils closed the gap to 45-44 heading into the fourth quarter.
With 3:01 left on the clock, Ohio County’s Tripp Manning scored a layup on a back cut to the basket. The bucket knotted the contest at 53 apiece, where it stayed for the rest of regulation.
Gavin Wimsatt’s layup in the post erased two made free throws from Manning in the first overtime. A narrow miss on a putback layup by Isaac Humphrey at the buzzer ensured double overtime was necessary to decide the contest.
A floater by Amari Robinson-Wales and two made free throws by Gavin Wimsatt were all it took in the second overtime.
Drake was complimentary of a young and talented Ohio County basketball team. He was also proud of the strong defensive effort of Adante Greer, a senior who he says doesn’t often show up in the box score.
“All our kids play hard on the defensive end of the floor,” Drake said. “Tonight, Adante sacrificed and worked hard and was able to find some extra minutes because of it. We’ve discussed roles with all our players and each of them really embraces their place on the team.”
Owensboro stats: Darrion Wimsatt (25 points), Gavin Wimsatt (10 points), Amari Wales (9 points), Isaac Humphrey (6 points), Adante Greer (5 points), Jaiden Greathouse (4 points).
Looking Ahead: Owensboro plays again later this week in the Owensboro Invitational Tournament at the Owensboro Sportcenter. Their first matchup in that competition is against Hopkinsville at 1 p.m.
