Boys Basketball: Huron tops Skyline in overtime – two teams meet again on Friday
In the first of two games in less than a week, the Huron River Rats struck first, knocking off Skyline on Saturday in a boys’ basketball thriller in overtime 57-51. The two teams will meet again on Friday at Skyline in an SEC Red Division matchup.
With just 4 seconds left in regulation, Skyline senior Jack Williams knocked down a triple to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Eagles had played three nights in a row and apparently that wasn’t enough.
Huron made two big baskets early in the extra period and then made their free throws to lock up the victory.
“It was a really good, tough competitive game throughout,” said Skyline Coach Mike Lovelace. “Huron got out to an early lead around 14-6 and after a couple timeouts we did a much better job being physical in the paint and kept chipping away until finally taking the lead in the fourth quarter.”
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The River Rats, one of the top teams in the state along with a young Skyline team, showed some rust in this game by missing 20 free-throw attempts. Huron coach Waleed Samaha will certainly have his club working on improving that statistic before Friday night.
Skyline’s always aggressive pressure defense forced plenty of turnovers in the game and the Eagles took advantage.
It’s been a busy start of the season for Skyline. The Eagles opened with a win over Father Gabriel Richard on Thursday, then knocked off Monroe on Friday. Skyline played its third straight game on Saturday – it was the first of the season for Huron.
The River Rats came out strong and led 23-11 after the first quarter. But the Eagles chipped away and trailed by just three (38-35) heading into the fourth quarter.
Seniors led the way for Huron. Kinsgley Perkins had 19 points, Julian Lewis scored 17 and Devin Womack scored 10.
Williams led Skyline with 13 points. Will Gardner scored 11 and Jermaine Davis had eight points.
The Eagles play two city rivals this week. First up is Wednesday at Pioneer. Then comes round two with Huron on Friday night.
Huron plays at Monroe on Tuesday.
