The Blythewood (4-5) boys’ basketball team outlasted Dutch Fork (1-3) Dec.11, 70-66 in overtime. It was a game that teeter-tottered back and forth with each team making runs at the lead, but eventually it was ZekeWashington’s (Blythewood head coach) squad that came out on top. After the gameWashingtonwas proud of his team’s resiliency.
“They played extremely hard and I’m happy for them to get this win,” Washington said.
Dutch Fork started the game with a 9-0 lead, but the Bengals would use a 12-0 run to take a 20-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. The run was fueled by Bengals’ juniorSamLake, who knocked down two shots from downtown. Lake would finish the game with ten points andWashingtonwas pleased to seeLakefind his stroke shooting the basketball.
“He (Lake) shot well in the summer,” Washington noted. “We were just waiting for it to come back.”
Blythewood was able to stay out in front of Dutch Fork throughout the second quarter and took a 31-23 lead into the locker room at the break. The Silver Foxes wouldn’t stay down for long though. Halfway through the third quarter they started an 11-2 run that was ended with a shot from beyond the arc at the buzzer by Dutch Fork point guard Jordan Davis. The three-pointer pull his team to within two points at 43-41 going into the fourth quarter.
Three minutes into the fourth quarter Dutch Fork junior Watson Harris soared high for a dunk that tied the game up at 47, and would eventually extend their lead to 58-49. With three minutes remaining in regulation the Bengals would chip away at the deficit by knocking down their free throws and going on a 9-0 run to tie the game up at 58 and send it into overtime.
In the extra frame Blythewood would spread 12 points out over six players, and senior Raheen Jackson would put an exclamation point on the win with a slam dunk at the buzzer as the Bengals went on to win 70-66.
Washington believes that defense was the key in the win.
“We applied some extreme pressure,” he noted. “It forced them to turn the ball over in key situations.”
The victory was truly a team effort as five different Bengals scored at least eight points. Kevin Crawford led the way with 13; Kenny McCray added 12 and Sam Lake cracked double digits with 10.
