Indians get the win in overtime against Horatio
The Poyen Indians had a tough fight at home Friday, at the Jerry and Ouida Newton Arena, against the Horatio Lions.
Despite taking a 14-point lead at the 2:06 mark of the third quarter and leading by nine points at the end of the third, the Lions found a way to claw their way back and force overtime with the Indians. The Indians were able to rally in overtime to get the win 54-51.
The Indians had three players in double figures in Friday’s game. Grayson Graves led the Indians with 14 points. Nate Simmons and Blake Rhodes followed with 10 points each. Also scoring for the Indians were Brandon Sanchez with nine points, Jaxson Carter with eight points, and Dayden Jones with three points.
Starting out, Horatio’s Wyatt Nelson opened scoring to give the Lions their first lead of the game. Poyen’s Simmons answered with back-to-back buckets to tie and give the lead to the Indians 4-2. Carter then got a steal and scored on a layup to put the Indians up 6-2 before Graves swished a 3-pointer to give the Indians a 9-2 lead
with 3:26 left in the first quarter. It was Nelson who ended the Indians’ run with a free throw, but Graves swished another 3-pointer to put the Indians up by double digits over the Lions. The Lions turned things around in the last two minutes of the first with a 3-pointer and basket from down low to trail 12-8.
Horatio’s Luke Bright then started the second quarter by swishing a 3-pointer, his second of the night, to put the Lions down by one-point, 12-11. Nelson then came back
with a bucket to give the Lions the lead again. The lead was short lived as Rhodes and Graves each scored to put the Indians back on top by three. Bright then made his third 3-pointer to tie the game at 16-16 with just 3:45 left in the first half. From there, the Lions were able to outscore the Indians 6-5 to take a onepoint, 22-21, lead at the half.
Coming out of the half, the Indians were able to set up a full court pressure defense that allowed them to outscore the Lions 22-12. Horatio held
the lead until the 6:24 mark of the third when Graves scored off a steal to give the Indians a one-point lead. The Indians then went on a 12-2 point run with Rhodes, Sanchez, Graves, and Carter all scoring. Nelson stopped the run with a rebound put-back. After that the Indians and Lions each scored six points to end the third quarter with the Indians in control by nine-points, 43-34.
In the fourth, the Indians
went up by 11-points after Rhodes scored after an assist by Simmons. The Lions then put together a 12-2 point run to tie the Indians at 47-47
with just 1:41 remaining in the game. The defenses held strong for the next almost two minutes as neither team was able to score. The score remained stuck at 47-47 to force overtime.
In overtime, Carter was able to break the tie and give the Indians the lead, 49-47,
after connecting on two free throws. Nelson then connected on two free throws for the Lions to retie the game at 49-49. With 1:27 left in overtime Horatio broke the tie and gained the lead 51-49. The Indians were able to rally though when Carter retied the game at the 1:15 mark. San
chez then scored after stealing the ball with 40 seconds left in the game to give the Indians the lead 53-51. With just 10 seconds left Simmons went to the free throw line where he sealed the win for the Indians by making a free throw and giving the Indians the lead 54-51.