Worth County’s boys turned back a heavily favored Northland Christian squad in overtime 57-52 and proved to themselves and others that they could beat a strong squad. The Tigers had been reeling following their 72-54 loss to Pattonsburg, but they were able to get a breather in a win over North Nodaway, then turn back an explosive West Nodaway squad by ten, 73-63.
Northland was supposed to have much more height and depth than Worth County, while matching them in speed and athleticism. But it was Worth County who came fast out of the gate, with Tyler New hitting a 3-pointer and Alex Rinehart getting two free throws. Alex Rinehart carried the Tigers on his shoulders the rest of the first quarter, getting 10 of Worth County’s 16 points. Jackson Runde added a 3-pointer and Aydan Gladstone set everyone else up with his ballhandling and his assists. Northland had some good drives to the basket, but Worth County went through a stretch where they had five stops in a row as they built up a 12-4 lead. Northland began slashing to the basket and cut it to 14-11, but Rinehart got loose in transition to make it 16-11 after one.
Free throws by Isaac Martin cut it to 19-17, but Rinehart continued to carry the Tigers on his shoulders and Runde added two 3-pointers as the Tigers led by as much as 34-23. But then Ethan Kelley hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 34-26 at the break, and then Northland clamped down on defense as the lead shrunk to three.
But some of Worth County’s unsung heroes helped restore order as Grant Cameron got loose off a Rinehart steal, Tyler New hit two free throws, and Jackson Smith his a 3-pointer as the Tigers grew their lead back up to 41-33. Dontae Burch hit a 3-pointer to cut it to 41-36, but then Aydan Gladstone hit a free throw and Jackson Smith’s putback at the buzzer put them back up eight at 44-36.
But then Northland put on a full court man to man press to start the fourth and Worth County started panicking and turning the ball over. The lead disappeared in a hurry and Carson Starns’ steal tied it up at 44 halfway through the fourth quarter. However, neither side could convert for the next two minutes, and after the Trailblazers missed two close shots that would have put them in front, Jackson Runde hit a 3-pointer at the other end to make it 47-44.
Carson Starns then hit a 3-pointer to tie it at 47 with 59 seconds left, and the referees promptly blew the whistle and assessed a technical to Starns for doing the arrow gesture after making his shot; the officials had previously warned the two teams about making such a gesture. Kids from several schools had been doing that gesture from the bench to celebrate teammates’ made threes during the tournament. It was also a personal foul, and it was Starns’ fifth foul, which meant he had to sit on the bench. Video replays showed that it was not directed at either the Tiger players, fans, or the officials.
Worth County made one out of two free throws to regain the lead at 48-47, and then ran it down to 40 seconds before committing an over and back violation. Dontae Burch tried to drive the middle for a runner to take the lead, but then Tyler New knocked it loose and Grant Cameron stole it back, and Alex Rinehart made one out of two free throws with 22 seconds to make it 49-47.
Northland Christian set up a long skip pass to Sam Stanton for a wide open three, and he missed it from the right corner. But the play had left everyone out of position defensively, and Isaac Martin was there for the putback at the buzzer to sent it to overtime.
It was reasonable to wonder how many overtimes this one would go to, since the Tigers had lost a six overtime game earlier this year. But unlike the last time, nobody was in serious foul trouble. The game was scoreless until Northland tried the same long skip pass that had worked previously. But this time, Alex Rinehart got the steal and he hit both free throws to make it 51-49. Sam Stanton had a good look at a 3-pointer with 1:44 left that would have put Northland back up one, but it was in and out and Jackson Runde hit a dagger three to make it 54-49 with 1:12 left.
Runde picked up his fourth foul and Martin hit one of two to make it 54-50, but then Worth County took some more time off the clock and Rinehart hit two free throws with 34 seconds left to make it 56-50. Ethan Kelley’s drive cut it to 56-52, but then Rinehart hit one more with 15 seconds left to make it 57-52. Stanton missed a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds left that would have cut it to two, and Worth County was able to dribble out the clock.
For Worth County, Alex Rinehart had 27 points. Jackson Runde had 17, Tyler New and Jackson Smith 5, Grant Cameron 2, and Aydan Gladstone 1.
Alex Rinehart and Aydan Gladstone had 9 boards each. Jackson Runde had 6, Tyler New 4, Grant Cameron 2, and Jackson Smith and Lucas Wake 1.
Aydan Gladstone, while only scoring 1 point, was facilitating everything else as he had 10 assists. He nearly had an improbable double double as he had 9 boards as well. Alex Rinehart had 2 assists, while Tyler New, Grant Cameron, Jackson Smith, and Jackson Runde had 1.
Aydan Gladstone had 5 tips. Tyler New had 3, and Jackson Runde, Jackson Smith, Brent Harris, and Alex Rinehart had 1.
Aydan Gladstone had 5 steals. Jackson Runde had 4, Alex Rinehart and Tyler New 2, and Lucas Wake and Grant Cameron 1 each.
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