It took seven sessions of basketball to decide who would advance to the Division II Mansfield District Championship, with top-seeded Norwalk surviving a triple-overtime marathon to beat #8 Ontario, 52-48.

 

Offense was tough to come by for the Warriors in the opening half, scoring just six points in each quarter but only trailed 24-12 at the half. The narrative then flipped in the game’s second half where the Truckers could only muster eight points as Ontario closed out the fourth on a 9-2 run to force overtime with the contest tied at 32 apiece.

 

It appeared the Warriors were on their way to a second straight tournament upset with a 34-32 advantage and Shaquan Coburn, who scored a game-best 26 points at the foul line for a 1-and-1 with 7.4 seconds to play, but a front end miss led to a Brandon Haraway coast to coast game-tying layup at the horn to force double overtime.

 

A trio of Ontario starters would foul out, putting them at a talent disadvantage heading into the final session of action. Haraway struggled from the free throw line throughout the game, knocking down just 14 of 25 attempts, but would hit a pair of freebies late in triple overtime to ice the victory, giving him 20 points for the contest.

 

Next up for Norwalk (22-3) is a District title shot against #3 Vermilion (19-5).

Ontario finishes their season at 16-9 overall.