Gilman City dug itself into a hole against Mercer Tuesday, January 20th and couldn’t get out of it again as they fell to the Cards 58-57 in overtime. The Hawks had every reason to expect a win; they were riding a winning streak, they had beaten a good team on its home floor, while Mercer was at five wins coming into that game. But when they turned the ball over on their first four possessions of the game, that gave Mercer hope, and that was all they needed to take full advantage.
By the time the dust had settled, it was Mercer, not Gilman City, threatening to run away with the game after Brett Hashman had 6 points and Kobe Hill 5 more as they had an 11-3 lead at the 3:15 mark. They were outplaying and outworking the Hawks, who only had three boards up to that point.
Finally, the Hawks started climbing out of their hole, realizing they had a game on their hands. Camden Griffith went on a tear, getting six in the last 3:04 of the period, and Mason Preston added a 3-pointer as they got their deficit down to 17-12 by the end of the period.
Grady Beavers hit a 3-pointer to give Mercer its biggest lead, 20-12, but Griffith answered with two as they got it down to 20-18. Hill slashed twice to the rim to make it 24-18, but Griffith hit two free throws, Jace Estrada scored from inside, and then Bo Eads got a tip and Camden Griffith got a steal, and he fed Alex Young to tie it at 24.
Gilman City finally moved into the lead when Jace Estrada got a tip, Alex Young got a steal, and he fed Camden Griffith for three to make it 27-24. Beavers posted up inside and scored to cut it to one, but Camden Griffith cut inside and scored to make it 29-26 at the half. Somehow, despite the horrific start, Gilman City looked like they had weathered the worst.
But then the supporting cast for Mercer came through as Dylan Lewis grabbed a putback and made two free throws and Beavers cut inside and scored to make it 30-29. There were nine lead changes in the third period before Brett Hashman got the hot hand again for the Cards, scoring the last eight points to put the Cards up 42-38 after three.
The score was stuck there for the first two minutes of the fourth before Camden Griffith promptly scored five straight to put the Hawks back into the lead at 43-42. Hill slashed and scored to put Mercer in front 44-43, but Mason Preston hit a 3-pointer to put Gilman City back up 46-44. But Dylan Lewis answered with one of his own to put Mercer back up 47-46.
Camden Griffith crashed the boards and got an offensive board, making one of two with three minutes left to knot it up at 47. Griffith then got a steal, but as he was going in for the go-ahead score, he came up limping and Mercer took advantage of the 5 on 4 situation on the other end to put Hill on the line. He made both free throws with 2:19 left to make it 49-47.
Gilman City tried to force a pass inside and threw it away with 2:04 left, but Hashman missed a point-blank shot that would have made it Mercer by four. Camden Griffith was fouled and missed both free throws, but Jace Estrada grabbed the offensive rebound and Griffith was fouled again with 53 seconds left. This time, he made both free throws to tie it at 49.
Mercer held the ball for the last shot, but Dylan Lewis missed a 3-pointer and Mercer missed a putback try, and the game went to overtime.
The Hawks missed two free throws, and Hashman cut inside for Mercer to put them up 51-49. Beavers, their biggest post player, fouled out battling Estrada, and he made one of two to make it 51-50. But then Hashman got all alone in the high post and made both free throws with 2:14 to make it 53-50.
Bo Eads, who had not scored all night, suddenly got on the board with a 3-pointer with 1:53 left after Camden Griffith kicked it out to him to tie it up, but Hashman got loose inside again and made one of two to put Mercer back in front 54-53 with 1:39 left.
Alex Young missed a try to put Gilman City back in the lead, but Bo Eads stuffed Lewis and the ball went out of bounds off Hashman with 1:09 left. Camden Griffith got a good look from the baseline, but missed it. On the other end, Tate Lewis put up a shot and Mason Preston apparently blocked it, but a bad call by the referees resulted in Mercer being awarded the basket. Under NFHS rules, goaltending is only awarded if the ball is on its downward flight entirely above the rim. The ball was halfway above the rim and halfway below it when Preston contacted it.
Mason Preston missed the ensuing shot, but got his own rebound and the possession continued. Finally, Camden Griffith hit two free throws with 20 seconds left to make it 56-55.
Gilman City was forced to foul, and Kobe Hill made both free throws with 18 seconds left to make it 58-55. Griffth missed a tying three, but grabbed his own rebound with five seconds left to cut it to 58-57. This time, Gilman City put Tate Lewis on the line, and he missed both free throws with 4.2 seconds left and Bo Eads grabbed the defensive board with 3.4 seconds left.
The Hawks had a timeout for one last play. Camden Griffith had a runner that would have won the game at the buzzer, but it missed.
Camden Griffith had 35, Mason Preston 9, Jace Estrada 8, Bo Eads 3, and Alex Young 2.
Mason Preston and Bo Eads had 1 block each.
Camden Griffith had 14 boards. Jace Estrada and Mason Preston had 5, Bo Eads 4, Alex Young 3, and Dakota Meringa 1.
Mason Preston had 7 assists. Camden Griffith had 3, Jace Estrada 2, and Bo Eads, Jackson Alldredge, and Alex Young 1.
Camden Griffith, Jace Estrada, and Mason Preston had 5 tips. Dakota Meringa, Bo Eads, and Alex Young had 1.
Camden Griffith had 6 steals and Bo Eads 4.
After the game, seniors from both basketball squads as well as the cheerleaders were recognized. Jackson Alldredge (boys) plans to build a log cabin in the middle of nowhere and live off the land. Chiara Davidson (cheer) plans to attend NCMC for two years and earn an associates degree in Diagnostic Medical Sonography.
Bo Eads (boys) plans to help with the family farm operation. Jace Estrada and Camden Griffith (boys) have received an offer to play football for Simpson College. Kammie Fehring (cheer) plans to go to cosmetology school and own her own salon. Avery Gregg (girls) plans to play basketball and track at Culver-Stockton. Dakota Meringa (boys) plans to go to State Tech to become an electrician. Ella Terhune (cheer) plans to attend Northwest and major in agronomy. Alex Young plans to attend NCMC for two years and transfer to Northwest to get a business degree.
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