“Hard to feel very good about our defense or our crunch-time decision making, but it’s always good to come out of a close one like this with a W,” said Hillcrest Head Coach Ryan Garvin.  “Our boys gutted out a win and that is definitely something to be celebrated.  After playing six games, it’s kind of crazy that this is the first game where we had our guys together.  Justin Peterson and David Stephens-Wangboje missed the previous 4 games, but were back from Christmas break tonight.”

The Comets managed to score only two points in first six minutes of the game, however, they picked up the pace on defense and went on a 20-0 run over the next eight minutes, taking a 32-22 halftime lead. 

Midway through the second half the Comets let 53-35, but the Panthers kept their composure and slowly chipped away their lead, cutting it to 53-50 with around four minutes remaining.  Parkers Prairie put down a couple of free throws with one second left to send the game into the first overtime.

After a pair of Yuchan Ha free throws, Dylan Deblzen knocked down a 3 from the top of the key at the buzzer to send it to a second overtime.  A turnover by Hillcrest and an uncontested layup by the Panthers at the other end ultimately sent it to a third OT.  Free throws from Justin Peterson and the Comets defensive pressure to finish ended up giving the home team a slight edge.

Sam Brumfield led Hillcrest with 30 points, but he also had 6 steals, 5 rebounds and 4 assists.  Yuchan Ha ended up with 11 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.  Justin Peterson had 17 points, including some clutch free throws in overtime, and 3 assists.  Caden Fischer added 13 points, 5 rebounds, Noah Brumfield contributed 14 points and Luke Christensen chipped in with 10.

Jacob Wagner of Parkers Prairie led all scorers with 33 points.  Dylan Deblzen poured in 18 and Cole Koep added 17 points.