Spartans defeat Raiders in an overtime thriller
By: Noah Cavin
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BIDWELL, Ohio (WOUB) – Both the Alexander Spartans and the River Valley Raiders came into their matchup looking for their first TVC-Ohio victory, and it was the Spartans who came away with the win in overtime, 57-53.
The Raiders raced out to an early 8-0 lead in the first quarter, forcing Alexander’s head coach Jordan Hill to burn an early timeout.
The Spartans were able to bounce back, as they outscored River Valley for the remainder of the period. After the first quarter, the Raiders led 14-9.
The Raiders did an excellent job of spreading the ball out in the second period, and extended their lead going into halftime, leading 26-19.
In the third quarter River Valley led by as many as 10 points, but toward the end of the period the Raiders made some crucial mistakes. A tripping foul and a technical foul resulted in four free points for the Spartans, and by the time the buzzer sounded the Spartans only trailed 37-33.
Alexander started the fourth quarter on a roll, as freshman Jace Cooper rattled off six straight points in the opening minutes via a three-pointer and a ridiculous and-one to give the Spartans their first lead of the game, 39-37.
Both teams traded buckets and leads for the remainder of the fourth, and with mere seconds left on the clock, River Valley led by three points. Cooper stepped up in the clutch once again, drilling a deep three-pointer that would force overtime with the score knotted a 48-48.
The Spartans kept their foot on the gas in overtime, and left Bidwell with a 57-53 victory.
Cooper led the Spartans in scoring with 19 points, and seniors Klaxton Hawk (12 points, 12 rebounds) and Isaac Waller (10 points, 13 rebounds) put up double-doubles in the overtime thriller.
Alexander improves to 3-8 overall and 1-4 in TVC-Ohio play, whereas the Raiders fall to 2-11 overall and 0-5 in the TVC-Ohio.