Walby, Golden Bears knock off Old Fort in OT

OLD FORT - Old Fort had complete control of the game and held a lead until Reece Walby not only scored a basket but then converted the play into a three-point lead when Gibsonburg needed it the most.The Golden Bears proved exactly why they are the top of the league as they defeated Old Fort in SBC River Division action 56-52 in overtime on Friday."First half they did a good job of getting us out of whack," Golden Bears coach Tony Egbert said. "They are long and athletic. We were stagnant. Defensively, they are damn good when they get strong hands with the six seniors. In the second half, we fixed things defensively, jumping, not giving up strong hands and fundamentals. Small stuff, but we had to play desperate, they did a good job taking us out of that, but our kids made one more play then they did."The Stockaders (10-5, 8-2) tried to get the lead back with six seconds remaining when Isaac Gallagher made a trip to the free throw line, but he split his pair, bringing it to 54-52.Gibsonburg (13-2, 9-1) capitalized on a turnover turned foul that sent Xander Zimmerman to the line, where he made the tallies to end the game."We had chances to win the game," Stockaders coach Eric Hoover said. "We were winning way too much of the game to just give it away. We didn't take care of the ball. We felt the pressure, it sent us into a panic and we lost the game."With 2:45 left in regulation, Zimmerman drove the ball to the basket, pulling Gibsonburg on top 45-43, but Gallagher responded with a basket to tie it up 45-45.Hunter Wasserman broke that tie to give the Golden Bears the two-point advantage.The final points of regulation were put in by Henry Beisner, who scored on a bucket with 1:53 left.Neither team scored after that until the OT came.Grant Havens scored the first two points of the overtime with a pair of free throws.Beisner scored a basket, but less than 30 seconds later, Walby made a trip to the charity stripe and got his pair to go, cutting the Stockaders lead down to two points.Walby forced a turnover, and converted that into a bucket with it not being uncontested and tying it up 51-51."Reece went out there and took over the game," Hoover said. "He was getting every offensive rebound and knockin the ball out of our hands. He was getting every steal. He took over the game and we let him. Great competitor, and he brought them back."At the beginning of the game, Old Fort raced out to a six point start before Walby nailed a triple for the Golden Bears, and a minute later, Aiden Morant got to the free throw line, hitting both making 6-5.As time ticked down, Morant got the three-point shot to bring it one point 11-10 at the end of the first quarter.Towards the end of the half, Morant tied the game 18-18 overall, but Havens got a bucket, and Beisner scored on an inside pass from Tackett, as well as Dimitri Carter adding in a basket.In the third quarter, the biggest lead for the Stockaders came with 2:06 on the board as Gallagher scored a bucket, and then stole the ball away from Gibsonburg. As he went up, he was fouled, but missed the opportunity.Gallagher redeemed himself and drilled a basket. It was 35-29.Leading the charge for the Stockaders was Gallagher with 17 points, followed by Havens with 11 and Carter with 10. For Gibsonburg, Walby had 21 points, followed by Morant with 13, and Wasserman with 12."They know that we were in position to win the game," Hoover said. "Our guys feel bad, as they should, as well as angry with themselves for every play we didn't make that we could have made. We can't feel sorry for ourselves; we have to use it to make ourselves better. We have to learn from it and make ourselves better." Gibsonburg 56, Old Fort 52 OTGIBSONBURG (13-2, 9-1): Aiden Morant 4-4-13, Reece Walby 7-6-21, Xander Zimmerman 1-2-5, Kayden Havens 1-0-3, Chuy Rodriguez 1-0-2, Hunter Wasserman 6-0-12 TOTALS: 20-12-56OLD FORT (10-4, 8-2): Issac Gallagher 7-3-17, Brock Hull 1-0-2, Andrew Tackett 3-0-7, Grant Havens 4-3-11, Dimitri Carter 2-0-5, Henry Beisner 4-2-10Gibsonburg 10 8 13 16 9 –56Old Fort 11 13 13 10 5 –52Three-point goals Gibsonburg 4 (Morant, Walby, Zimmerman, Havens); Old Fort 2 (Tackett, Carter)Rebounds; Gibsonburg 20; Old Fort 29 (Beisner 11, Gallagher 10)Free Throws: Gibsonburg 12-17; Old Fort 8-13Turnovers: Gibsonburg 11; Old Fort 18