Class 1 #1 South Iron Edges Out Class 5 #13 Festus In Overtime, 78-75

(Festus) South Iron’s first trip to Festus ended in winning fashion. The Class One #1 Panthers edged out the Class 5 #13 Tigers 78-75 in overtime.

In the first quarter, South Iron’s Gabe Ruble got hot from three…

That was the last time South Iron would lead until late in the fourth quarter. There were seven lead changes and seven ties in the first quarter. The Tigers led 21-19 at the end of one.

Festus controlled the second quarter and went up by as much as seven points until Elye Krueger hit a layup at the buzzer. Festus led 33-28 at the break.

South Iron cut the deficit to one point three different times in the third quarter but Festus stayed out front and rolled into the final frame up 56-46…

The Tigers went up by 13 points early in the fourth quarter. South Iron followed up by going on a 16-2 run…

The Panthers took a one point lead, 62-61, as the game turned into a free throw battle. With under a minute to go, South Iron down by one, Kolton Dinkins stole the ball from Arhmad Branch and got fouled on the drive. Dinkins made 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 63. South Iron stayed strong on defense in the closing seconds and forced Barnch to throw up a prayer that sent the game to OT.

South Iron’s Martez Burse hit a three pointer at the start of overtime. Festus’ Carter Roth answered…

The Tigers fell behind 73-69, so they looked to Roth for another big shot…

The teams traded free throws down the stretch. South Iron went up by four with seven seconds to go. Branch was fouled on a three point attempt. He made the first, missed the second then nearly made the play of the game…