Haiden Copeland hit a short jumper with fou seconds left in overtime to give the Thrall Tigers (10-17 overall, 2-6 District 27-2A) a 58-56 win over the Milano Eagles (12-12, 7-1) Tuesday night in a mustwin game for the Tigers.
“It was a heck of a game,” Coach Charles Tindol said after the game. “Our game plan was to make them run the length of the floor the entire game. I think it paid off.”
The first half was an exhibition of long-range shooting by both teams. Each team hit six shots from behind the threepoint arch. Layne Telg hit and Ethan Gordon each a pair for the Eagles while Weston Averett and Jayce Todd had one each. Thrall’s Breken Proctor connected on four threes in the first two quarters and Colter Hill and Stephen Walker add one apiece.
Milano held a 13-8 advantage after one quarter, and threatened to pull away after stretching its lead to 21-12 with 4:04 to play in the opening half. But Thrall got the hot hand shooting down the stretch and outscored the Eagles 16-3 over the remainder of the quarter to take a 28-24 lead at the half.
Proctor, who finished with a game-high 18 points, scored eight in the second period and Steven Walker added five in the quarter. Thrall shot 61 percent from the field the second quarter.
In the third quarter, it was the Tigers’ defense that did as much damage as their offense. Thrall held the Eagles to a single field goal, a threepointer by Telg with 6:55 to play in the quarter. The remainder of the period all the Eagles could muster was four free throws. Meanwhile, Copeland scored five and Proctor, Tyreke Irvin, and Walker each added baskets that put the Tigers up 40-31 going into the fourth quarter.
Foul trouble by the Tigers allowed Milano to claw its way back into the game in the fourth. The Eagles hit 11 of 12 shots from the charity stripe in the final period, but was Telg’s three-pointer with nine seconds on the clock to sent the game into overtime tied at 52.
In overtime, Weston Averett hit a pair of free throws that gave the Eagles their first lead since midway through the second quarter. Thrall answered with an Irvin fast-break layup to knot the score at 54 with 1:43 to play in the extra period. Milano regained the lead on a pair of Jayse Todd free throws, but Walker hit one of two from the charity stripe to tie the score once again at 56.
Milano had a chance to regain the lead with 12 seconds to play, but Walker pulled down the rebound for the Tigers. Thrall drove down the court and Blair Neighbors found a wide-open Copeland under the basket for the winning shot.
The Tigers hosted Holland on Friday and will close out the regular season Tuesday at home against Hearne. The Tigers need to win Friday to keep their playoff hopes alive, and a sweep of their final two games should put them in a play-in situation for the playoffs.
