Geneva pulls out wild 3-OT win over St. Charles East
Pick any adjective and it probably wouldn't be enough to describe Friday night's boys basketball game between St. Charles East and Geneva.
Wild.
Epic.
Memorable.
Crazy - and long.
After 12 grueling extra minutes, the Vikings (14-7, 4-2) finally emerged with an 88-84 triple-overtime triumph over the Upstate Eight Conference River Division rival Saints (10-7, 3-4) before an energetic crowd in Geneva.
"I can't tell you how proud I am of my kids," said Vikings coach Scott Hennig, whose team battled back from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to force overtime on a pair of free throws by junior guard Jack McDonald with 22 seconds left in regulation.
"They believed in the one possession at a time motto. I don't know if this is a game you watch tonight. I may have to go back and watch it after the season."
McDonald, who finished with a team-high 28 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, converted 9 of 10 free throws in the third overtime as the Vikings outlasted the Saints.
"That was crazy," said McDonald, who found sophomore Josh Preston for a corner 3-pointer that gave the Vikings the lead for good at 70-67 in the third 4-minute session. "We just couldn't shake them.
"That was the most fun game I've played. The whole night was just crazy - big crowd and so loud. We've lost a lot of close games this year so we really wanted to pull this one out."
McDonald had plenty of help from his teammates, including junior Mitch Mascari (24 points), who knocked down a pair of huge 3-pointers during the Vikings' 12-2 fourth-quarter run.
Jack Hood chipped in with 10 points while Kross Garth and Ben Johnson added 8 and 7 points, respectively.
"Heck, that was a game and a half there," said Hennig. "I told the kids to enjoy this. It's a game they'll remember for the rest of their lives."
Senior forward Justin Hardy led the Saints with 33 points, 12 rebounds and 5 assists before fouling out with 1:39 left in the third OT.
"Justin Hardy is unbelievable," said Hennig. "As a fan, I love watching him. I just hate playing him twice a year."
Zach Robinson (16 points), Mark Musial (11) and Nate Ortiz (10) also reached double figures for the Saints, who were outscored 21-14 in the fourth quarter.
"Game management - that's where you can start," said Saints coach Patrick Woods. "We were up 10 early in the fourth quarter and we took some bad shots - exact opposite of what we talked about."
Trailing 64-61 late in the second overtime, the Saints tied it on Cody Mitchell's putback of Hardy's missed free throw with 5.7 seconds left.
"I'm sure people thought it was over when he (Hardy) missed but Mitchell got the rebound and putback," said Woods. "I liked that aspect of it."
It marked the third consecutive week the Saints have been involved in close calls.
"This is where we'll see a lot of growth," said Woods.