Despite the heroics of junior Gabe Board at the end of the first overtime, the Lyon County Lyons dropped a heartbreaker Saturday afternoon, falling to St. Mary 63-59 in triple overtime. The game was a tight battle from the opening tip, and was not decided until St. Mary made a couple of free throws in the final seconds of the third overtime.
Lyon County scored the first five points of the ballgame as it took the Vikings a little bit to get things going. Things stayed fairly even from that point forward in the quarter, as the Lyons ended the first quarter up 14-8.
The Vikings opened the second quarter on an 11-3 run to take their first lead at 19-17. The Lyons responded with a 5-0 run of their own to take the lead back. The end of the half found Lyon County in front 24-21.
Neither team could get much going on the offensive end of the court during the 3rd quarter. St. Mary was able to tie the game at 29-29. However, a late basket by Gabe Board put Lyon County in front at the end of the quarter, 31-29.
St. Mary seemingly had the Lyons on the ropes when they opened the 4th quarter on an 8-0 run to take a 37-31 lead. However, the Lyons were on target from the line during the final minutes of regulation, with Max Wadlington and Board knocking down ten free throws in the final 3 ½ minutes to tie the game at 41. Both teams missed shots in the final 13 seconds as the game headed off to overtime.
In the first extra period, the Lyons took a 49-45 lead inside the final minute. The Vikings fought back with a 7-0 run, capped off by two free throws with 2.5 seconds to go to take a 52-49 lead. Lyon County inbounded the ball to Board, who sprinted up the left side and launched a shot from about 60 feet. With the horn sounding while it was in flight, the ball came down and hit nothing but net, sending Lyon County fans into a frenzy.
The Lyons seemed to take control in the second overtime, jumping out to a 56-52 lead. But the Vikings came right back, tying the game up on a late layup at 57-57.
In the third overtime, the Vikings made four free throws to take a 61-57 lead with 20.1 seconds left. Max Wadlington got a rebound basket with 10.1 seconds to go. The Lyons missed a chance to take the lead, and St. Mary made a couple of free throws to seal the win at 63-59.
In addition to his long shot in overtime, Gabe Board led the Lyons with 23 points, while Max Wadlington added 16. Hale Sims, who was named the MVP of the contest, led St. Mary with 22 points. Gage Mathis added 17.
With the loss, the Lyons drop to 6-14 on the season, while St. Mary improves their record to 8-16.
