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Prairie Ridge holds off Huntley in OT

For the fourth time in as many meetings over two seasons, a boys basketball game between Prairie Ridge and Huntley came down to the wire.

Prairie Ridge prevailed Tuesday for the third time in those four clashes between Fox Valley Conference rivals, this time 66-61 in overtime at the Hinkle Holiday Classic at Jacobs.

Huntley (4-6) extended its lead to 57-54 when junior guard Matthew Seng sank his first free-throw attempt with 19.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but his second shot rimmed out, leaving Prairie Ridge (8-2) an opening to tie.

Cory Lamb grabbed the defensive rebound for the Wolves, raced up the court and dropped the ball off for senior guard Payton Otto, who decided against a long 3-pointer from the right wing.

Instead, Otto dribbled twice toward the key and sent a kick-out pass to 6-foot-4 senior guard Christopher Bradshaw, who drained his third 3-pointer of the game to knot the score at 57-57 with nine seconds left.

"We knew we needed a shot and coach (Corky Card) said to get the ball into either Payton or me and just let it go," said Bradshaw, who finished with 13 points. "We were also trying to get to the rim, but Payton was able to get me open on that and I knocked it down. That was huge."

Prairie Ridge made 8 of 17 attempts from 3-point range.

"We have a lot of kids who can shoot it, so it's a very difficult guard to not let us get a shot off," Card said. "But I'm pleased anytime Christopher gets his feet set."

Huntley's desperation 3-point attempt from near midcourt didn't fall, prompting a four-minute extra session.

Otto's jump shot from the elbow staked the Wolves to their first lead since early in the third quarter, but Huntley tied it at 59-59 with an inside bucket from Lere Oladipo. The 6-4 junior forward contributed 11 points, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot.

However, Lamb split 2 free throws with 2:36 left in overtime to give PR the lead for good, and Otto extended it to 62-59 when he followed a Huntley missed shot with 2 free throws with 1:13 remaining. The Wolves sank 8 of 10 free throws in the game's final 5:04.

The win over Huntley was Prairie Ridge's second this season. The Wolves won the first meeting 53-51 at the Crystal Lake Central Thanksgiving Tournament when Brian Dorn scored on a driving layup at the buzzer.

"They've got 12 seniors and I think they won their side (of the Fox Valley Conference) last year and they found a way to steal a game," Huntley coach Will Benson said. "There are worse things in the world. Losing to a coach like (Card) and their program? The two teams battled. They just stole it at the end."

JJ Flores led Huntley with 15 points before the sophomore fouled out with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter. Seng finished with 12 points, including three 3-pointers, and Alec Coss contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Red Raiders, who after going 0-3 in pool play will face Corliss on Wednesday at 9 a.m.

Otto led all scorers with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, and Logan Card scored 16 points for Prairie Ridge, which finished second in Pool IV with a 2-1 record. The Wolves will face Crystal Lake South on Wednesday at 3 p.m.

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