Oak Hill – Closing out games has been a struggle this year for the Oak Hill boys basketball team. Tuesday night in a crucial sectional clash with Princeton at the Lilly Center, those end game woes reared their head once again.
Leading by seven points with 2:42 to play, the Red Devils watched the lead disappear down the stretch in a 57-47 overtime loss to the Tigers.
“Princeton killed us on the boards tonight. I felt like they really pushed us around and we didn’t match their physicality at all,” Oak Hill head coach Benitez Jackson said. “When you get beat up on the boards like that and still have chance to win, but you turn the ball over in key situations, you are not going to win the game. Give them credit. They are long and big and they played to their strength.”
The first half was not a work of art by any means for both teams.
Princeton struggled with foul trouble in the first 16 minutes while Oak Hill was ice cold from the field.
“The last two or three games we haven’t shot the ball well and we have started off really bad. They are not bad shots, we are just not making them,” Jackson lamented. “I thought we had some open shots and we just didn’t make them. In the fourth quarter and overtime, we missed two or three straight layups. We just keep missing shots in the paint.”
The Tigers never fully took advantage of the struggles by the Red Devils who stormed back late in the third period.
Trailing by seven points, Oak Hill tied the game on four points from Ethan Vargo-Thomas and a 3-pointer from Cade Maynor.
A triple from senior Sammy Crist gave Oak Hill its first lead since a 5-4 advantage in the first quarter.
The Red Devils maintained the lead and pushed the advantage to seven on two free-throws and a drive by Malachi Lewis when he isolated the defender for the easy score.
Although the Tigers looked to be in deep trouble, looks were deceiving.
An old-school three-point play from Kris Joyce was followed by a triple from running-mate Chase Hancock. Nick Fleming then worked his way free underneath for a tip-in which gave Princeton a 45-44 lead with 1:11 to play.
“When they got the lead they had control and they couldn’t close us out. So it worked out good for us,” Princeton head coach Robb Williams said. “We struggled with foul trouble, but again, 10 guys played and 10 guys contributed. I can’t say enough about how we played as a team tonight.”
With the game tied at 46-46, Oak Hill had the ball in the final seconds of regualtion, but could not get a good look and the game went to overtime.
“It has been a pattern for us. We have turned the ball over in key situations in three or four games this year,” Jackson said. “I felt like we allowed them to speed us up and we didn’t make some very good decisions in crucial situations. They did a really good job of pressuring our guards and we didn’t handle the pressure very well.”
In the overtime period, Princeton took advantage of its good looks while Oak Hill couldn’t convert on looks inside or open shots from deep.
“I told them I was proud of them. We were on the road and (Oak Hill) made a nice run on us, plus we were in foul trouble all night,” Williams said. “We didn’t quit and we got the win. They played hard tonight and smart all around, but I am still waiting for my shooters. When we start shooting, we are going to be tough to handle.”
Joyce led the Tigers with 13, while Fleming and Aiden Ash combined for 18 points off the bench.
Jacob Perdue led Oak Hill with 15 and Crist had 11.
While it may be early in the season, the triumph was a key sectional win for the Tigers and a step closer to home court advantage in the postseason.
“We told our guys before we played that this was a huge game tonight. Any of the four teams this year can win this section,” Williams said. “There is not a weak team, so we obviously were very happy to get a win.”
P: 12 13 4 17 11 – 57
OH: 5 15 12 14 1 – 47
Princeton
Nick Fleming 11, Jacob Watson 1, Davon Edwards 2, Aiden Ash 10, Chase Hancock 8, Grant Cochran 8, Kris Joyce 13, Jon Wellman 4. Totals: 20 14-24 57.
Oak Hill
Jacob Perdue 15, Leonard Farrow 1, Sammy Crist 11, Malachi Lewis 8, Cade Maynor 3, Ethan Vargo-Thomas 8, Jeremiah Jackson 1. Totals: 13 15-25 47.
3-pointers – P: 3 (Ash, Hancock, Joyce); OH: 6 (Perdue 3, Crist, Lewis, Vargo-Thomas 2).
