BELPRE - In a Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division boys contest no one is going to forget about anytime soon, visiting Federal Hocking let a double figure second-half lead slip away as Belpre rallied for a 64-61 overtime triumph.
Golden Eagle junior Nick Therriault took a feed from Dakota Hoffman and calmly drained a 14-foot baseline jumper with 1.9 seconds left to send the game into overtime squared at 51.
Therriault, who tied Federal Hocking pivot Max Carney for game-high scoring honors with 20, then put the hosts ahead for good when he bombed in a corner triple from a Bryce Pittenger assist at 3:03 of the extra session.
Carney scored half of his points in the second quarter for head coach Howie Caldwell's club, who led 28-24 at intermission when Peyton Seel found Terrance Mayle open for the final hoop of the first half with two ticks left on the clock.
Belpre senior Ryan Leasure had a scary moment after he tied the game at 22 with 1:22 left before the break when he dislocated his kneecap. A total delay of about 15 minutes ensued, and although an ambulance arrived, Leasure was able to eventually stand up and it popped back into place. However, he didn't return.
The Golden Eagles (2-1, 2-0) trailed 42-34 with 1:21 left in the third, but proceeded to go on a 13-3 spurt to take the lead midway through the fourth. Thanks to tough pressure defense from head coach Jordan Thornhill's Golden Eagles, the hosts were able to get back into it after three Austin Forshey deuces and consecutive field goals from Sam Petty and Hoffman.
A putback basket by Carney made it 49-47 Lancers with 3:15 left in the fourth, but the visitors didn't make another field goal and missed 3 of 5 from the foul line, which included a one-and-one opportunity. In all, FHHS (3-2, 2-1) shot less than 26 percent for the game from the floor and dropped in just 5 of 13 charity stripe tosses.
Despite getting a Pete Crum layup for a 53-51 cushion in overtime, Therriault got his corner triple, Hoffman hit two foul shots and Therriault added another bomb to make it 59-55 Belpre with 91 seconds left.
Although Shawn Parsons, who finished with 15 points and five assists, cut the deficit to two just 11 seconds later, the Lancers trailed 62-58 after Pittenger hit two free throws with 26.1 remaining. Crum banked in a trifecta with 5.6 left to close the gap to just one at 62-61, but Forshey sank two freebies with 4.8 to go for the final margin of victory.
Federal Hocking, which plays host to Trimble on Friday and also received six points and as many boards from Mayle, failed to get a shot off in an attempt to force another overtime.
Hoffman tossed in 17 points and Forshey added a baker's dozen for the Golden Eagles, who return to action Friday with a road trip to Waterford.
Pittenger chipped in seven tallies and had eight caroms while Carney collected the game's only double-double as the senior finished with a game-high 12 rebounds.
