Tornadoes top Tigers in OT, 59-56

Columbian got off to a slow start Tuesday, but certainly picked it up after trailing 15-10 after the first quarter to visiting Huron.An 11-0 run for TC in the third quarter created some separation. But not for long. Huron battled back with a 17-9 fourth quarter and a bucket from Quentin Conway with 49.2 seconds left sent the game into overtime.Huron held a 54-52 lead in OT after a Nixon Dike layup, but Logan Gooding was too much for Huron down the stretch, dropping in seven of his team-high 24 points in overtime to give TC a 59-56 victory."I wasn't happy with the way we started the game because I told our guys that they are going to come in here and it's going to be a war. They weren't going to back down from anything," TC coach Jac Alexander said. "If we let them hang around then shame on us … we just weren't playing the right way in the first half. "Then they switched up to a zone, which was good for us to see, but we had some guys step up down the stretch just enough to get it done, but we can't live and die by getting big, tough breaks and I felt like we got lucky a couple times. It's not a great feeling, but learning through winning is good. We have a lot to learn and a lot to fix through learning this time."Down 26-22 at the half, Huron (1-2) started the second half on a quick 5-0 burst to grab a one-point lead, but then TC (3-1) went on the 11-0 run as DaShawn Russell had six points and Logan Gooding added five as TC all of a sudden led 37-27 late in the third.Huron got within 41-33 after three.But the Tigers dominated in the fourth as Paul Murray dropped in six points to get Huron started and then trailing 50-46 with 1:42 remaining, Caleb Staley scored on a layup to the basket and then after a timeout, Huron executed a set to perfection getting the ball in the post to Conway. He then got a shot up over his defender and drained the game-tying shot to send things to OT."I thought our guys battled. I thought there were many chances for them to just give up with the great energy and pressure that Columbian puts on you," Tigers coach Toby Miller said. "We could've folded, but we didn't. We kept fighting, making plays and I'm very proud of how we executed down the stretch, but we were just one stop away from winning the game … credit to Tiffin because they made more plays than us."In the end, Gooding was just too much. Huron tried to get the ball out of his hands, but to no avail.The Tigers started the game well with a 15-10 advantage after the first quarter, but then Columbian started to ramp up the defense and limited Huron to just seven second-quarter points to take a halftime lead.Conway paced the Tigers with 16 points, while Murray added 12 and Staley ended with nine. Blake Miller backed Gooding with 12 points for the Tornadoes. They also got 10 points from freshman Blake Tucker and nine points by DaShawn Russell."We've been in two games like this already and I think it's good for us," Alexander said. "It's good for our players in the way they're maturing and being in these situations because if we want any chance at beating Perkins on Saturday we know it's going to be a battle. We're gonna have to make plays like that down the stretch. We're gonna have to step up and make free throws, gonna have to listen in on timeouts because every single little part of the game means everything." Columbian 59, Huron 56 OTHuron (1-2): Caleb Staley 4-1-9; Quentin Conway 6-2-16; Nixon Dike 2-0-4; Jack Raglow 2-0-4; Parker Schafer 0-6-6; Grant Periat 2-0-5; Paul Murray 5-2-12. Totals: 21-11-56.TC (3-1): Owen Hickey 1-0-2; Nolan Miller 0-0-0; Blake Miller 3-4-12; Jax Diamantopoulos 0-0-0; Logan Gooding 8-6-24; DaShawn Russell 3-2-9; DaZarius Russell 0-0-0; Blake Tucker 4-2-10; Parker Nye 1-0-2. Totals: 20-14-59.Huron&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;11&emsp;&emsp;17&emsp;&emsp;6&emsp;&emsp;– 56TC&emsp;&emsp;10&emsp;&emsp;16&emsp;&emsp;15&emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;9&emsp;&emsp;– 593-point goals: Huron 3 (Conway 2, Periat); TC 5 (B. Miller 2, Gooding 2, Das. Russell)Foul shots: Huron 11-15; TC 14-19Turnovers: Huron 14; TC 13